How to Promote a Translated Title and Conquer a Foreign Market
A comprehensive guide covering everything —
from pre-launch to launch week and post-launch strategies to promote your translated title!
Promoting a translated title in a foreign market involves a multifaceted approach to reach the target audience effectively. As overwhelming as this might sound, you should not lose focus on one important detail: if you succeeded in your home market and are ready to move on to foreign ones, you have all the skills required to succeed again!
Today, we are going to analyse a lot of different ways to help you successfully promote your translated books. You don’t have to do them all at once. In fact, planning ahead is key. You want to get the word out about your translations as soon as you decide to take the first steps and build buzz all the way to launch week, where you will focus on other ways of promotion. And after that? There is always something you can do to keep promoting your books. So, let’s start, shall we?
NB: Even though this article is mainly focused on Spanish audiences, you will find most of the advice here relevant for other markets, so whereas you have translated titles to German, Italian, French or any other language, you’re going to find it useful!
Pre-Launch Phase:
To begin with, this is the phase that starts right after you find the perfect translator that aligns with your genre and requirements. You have crossed the Ts and dotted the Is, the contract has been signed, and the manuscript has been sent for translation.
Now is the time to sit back and relax for a few weeks or months until your translation is ready to be released, right? Well, actually, no. This is the time to focus on one thing: generate buzz about your coming book among foreign readers and start building your audience.
“But how can I do this when I don’t even speak that language?” you might be wondering… Well, it is actually not that hard. In fact, all you need is a little help from an expert. And guess what? You just hired a translator! So, who better to do this for you? (Remember to stipulate marketing materials in your translation contract or to ask your translator to keep count of all additional material and add it to your invoice.)
Here is a list of things you can do in the following weeks to start building momentum:
Good set-up
- Get your website translated from the get-go (this is where your foreign audience will find official information about you and your future releases). You do not have to spend a fortune here, and you definitely don’t need to translate every single blog article you might have posted for your home audience. Please, keep it simple, but let your new audience know who you are and what you are up to. Make sure to mention any other translations you may have on the works (are you planning an entire series? Let your readers know right away!)
- Set up a Newsletter for your foreign audience. This will be key to gathering all those precious email addresses from potential buyers.
- Announce your new venture into the foreign market. Send out a Newsletter to your current audience in search of those loyal fans who are also speakers of the language you are translating into. Get them on board ASAP; they will be your sidekicks! Ask them to join your foreign Newsletter so you only send your news to those who want to receive it, and don’t risk overwhelming your existing audience.
- Remember the Newsletter announcing your exciting news? Ask all your readers to help you by leaving a comment on your best-performing social media platform to generate engagement and reach more people! (They are your fans and will be thrilled to contribute to your success, even if they won’t buy your foreign books.
Once the translation project is underway:
- When you have your professionally designed book cover for the translated title… Share a cover reveal on social media and in the Newsletter! What’s more, ask your readers their opinions. Or get them to vote between two different cover options! Or even ask them to sign up as your first reviewers!
- Now that your audience is visually hooked, it is time to captivate their hearts with your words (or, in this case, your translator’s). Share your blurb and let them know what to expect from your first release!
- When the translation is well underway, ask your translator to send you a few chapters carefully edited (if possible, by the book editor as well) and share a first chapter in your Newsletter!
- Share some catchy taglines and calls to action on social media. Work with your translator and designer. This is not the time to scare your readers away with poorly edited content.
- Invite your fans to join your launch team.
Full-force marketing
- Set up your translated novel on pre-sale(*) and make sure your fans add it to their “Want to Read” lists on Goodreads and StoryGraph. (Remember, these are readers who have friends who share reading interests and probably enjoy books in your genre, so this is as close to “word of mouth” as you can get before even releasing your title.) (*) Make sure you choose a release date that far exceeds your translator’s deadline (especially if this is your first international release). Life happens, deadlines are missed, you are still getting to know one another professionally, and you do not want to put out readers and Amazon by not having your title available on the promised date.
- Have a reader magnet ready. This can be a prequel, a novella, a few sample chapters of your next release or a lot of other creative ideas. Check out this website for more lead magnet ideas.
- Get your ARCs ready for your launch team.
- Start planning your promotions for launch week. Plan ahead. If using promo sites (**), book your dates. Choose where you will advertise and design your ad campaigns with plenty of time (again, ask your translator and designer to help you with this).
- Contact bloggers regarding blog tours and review opportunities (you might need your translator’s assistance to get the message right).
(**)Some paid promotion sites for Spanish titles include:
Ebrolis: According to some, this website is “the Spanish Bookbub”, and their website is translated into English.
Qué libro leo: Even though they don’t offer much information upfront, this popular website among Spanish-speaking readers offers promotional opportunities for authors.
Lecturalia: On their website (only available in Spanish), they mention that you can email them regarding promotion opportunities (get your translator to help!)
Many Books: You’ve probably heard of this one, or maybe even used it to promote titles in your home market. But did you know they also promote Spanish titles?
Launch Week:
Undoubtedly, this is probably the most anxious time you’ll have when it comes to this venture of entering a whole new market. Hard as it might be, try to avoid just refreshing your sales board and focus on other more important and productive endeavours:
- Now that your book is live, reach out to your ARC readers and ask them to post their reviews on online retailers, social media and Goodreads or StoryGraph.
- Participate in interviews and features with bloggers, vloggers and influencers.
- Take the time to thank bloggers, vloggers and influencers in a comment on their posts or social media related to your launch. Share their stories and their content!
- Set up a giveaway! Who doesn’t love a giveaway? Extra Tip: If you are translating into Spanish and wish to reach a broader audience, make sure to contact lecturalia.com/contacto regarding giveaways and promotional opportunities!
- Create targeted social media campaigns on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok.
- Create Amazon ads/ads for your foreign title.
- Send out a Newsletter to your foreign audience announcing your new release!
- Consider Promotions and Discounts: Run promotions, discounts, and limited-time offers to attract new readers.
Post-Launch Marketing Strategies:
Now that your book is out there, we can focus on other strategies that will help you get the word out and get new subscribers into your mailing list:
- Encourage readers to leave reviews on local review sites and platforms like Amazon, Goodreads, and local equivalents.
- Translate more books: If you have been at the writing game for a while now, you know that a writer’s long-term career is built on sell-through, or in other words, on readers loving your books and coming back for more (either your backlist or your next series). Releasing constant new books on a foreign market will keep your audiences hooked and help you develop your author brand overseas.
- Promote in your books: Once your audience has finished reading your book, there are some key pages you don’t want to leave out:
- Call to action: Direct your new readers to your NL or website.
- Call to review: Ask them to leave an honest review of your book.
- Reader magnet page: Collect other materials you've written and share them, or maybe add some teasers for your upcoming releases!
- Thank you: Let them know how much you appreciate them for choosing your book
- Teaser: Do you have more translations in the process? Make sure to let your new audience know! Include the cover and blurb of your next release, as well as a link to a pre-order. If available, add a few sample chapters of your next book.
- Research local success stories: Look at local authors and how they have successfully marketed their books, and learn from their approaches.
- Promote on Goodreads and on StoryGraph. Read this interesting article on all the resources Goodreads offers in the most subtle ways.
- Promote on Babelio.
Final Thoughts:
By now, we have covered quite a lot of marketing ideas to get you started on the right foot in a foreign market. By employing these strategies, you can effectively promote your translated book in a foreign market, ensuring it reaches and resonates with your target audience.
However, you should always remember no venture is without risk, and there is no amount of marketing or the right formula that can 100% guarantee the success or failure of a book.
What is for sure, though? Without marketing, your translated book is set up to get lost in the sea of releases that hit the shelves every day, every hour, every minute, and you have little to no chance of a successful launch.
Bonus: Where to Find Foreign Book Buyers?
Finally, did you know that Spanish book readers do not always rely on the vendors that are popular in your home market, such as Amazon and Apple Books?
For Spanish readers looking to purchase books, several retailers offer extensive selections of books in Spanish, ranging from physical stores to online platforms. Following, here are some of the best book retailers catering to Spanish readers; make sure your books are available to purchase on:
Online Retailers
- Amazon.com (for USA Hispanic readers), Amazon.mx (for Latin-American readers) and Amazon.es (for European Spanish readers). Offers a vast selection of Spanish books, including bestsellers, classics, and new releases. Amazon’s Kindle store also has numerous Spanish e-books.
- One of the largest online bookshops in Spain, offering a wide range of books in Spanish across various genres. They ship internationally.
- A popular bookshop in Mexico with an extensive online catalogue of books in Spanish. They provide shipping options to many countries.
- A well-known European retailer with a strong presence in Spain and France. They offer a wide selection of books in Spanish, both online and in physical stores.
- While primarily an English-language retailer, Barnes & Noble has a good selection of Spanish books, especially for learners and bilingual editions.
- A historic Mexican bookshop chain that offers a wide selection of Spanish books online.
- An independent bookshop based in New York that specialises in books by and about Latinos, offering a good selection of Spanish books.
Digital Platforms
- Offers a wide range of e-books in Spanish, including bestsellers and classics.
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