I recently read about one successful author who said he spends half his time writing and the other half marketing. These days, unfortunately, marketing and promoting are a major part of an author’s job description.
Unless you have unlimited funds, you can’t put your book’s title in front of every potential customer. The best you can do is make sure that whenever (and wherever) someone is looking for a book, you are there.
Below are 37 ideas for promoting your book. Very, very few authors will apply all of these tactics, but the more you implement, the greater your exposure and the greater the chance of being noticed. They are in no particular order, except that the first three are more geared toward new authors.
I won’t go into much detail on any of them. If any solicits a lot of comments, we’ll explore that one in more depth in a future post.
- What’s in a Name? (Part 1)
Using Amazon as an example, people frequently search for books using keywords. Let’s say they search for ‘strong women.’ Which book do you suppose has the best chance of showing up in the search results, “Grandma Was Our Rock” or “Grandma Norma – A Woman of Strength?”
I’m not saying “In Cold Blood” should have been titled “Needless Brutal Murder,” but, if you have the option, consider how people will search for your book when deciding upon a title.
- What’s in a Name? (Part 2)
If you’re in love with the title of your book or you’re an egotist or you’re using a traditional publisher, skip this step…and the next one.
If you have an existing book that isn’t selling well, consider re-releasing the book with a new title, new pen name, new cover and rewritten synopsis.
If possible, try promoting the book from a different angle. There are a lot of websites that automatically list new releases.
- What’s in a Name (Part 3)
Unless you have a unique name, find a good pen name. For best results, you want to dominate Google and Amazon for your own name. You can’t do that if your name is “Kathleen Smith”, but you can if your name is “Kathleen Shoop.” You want to make it easy for people to find your second, third or fourth book.
- Write More Books
It’s difficult for an author to build a following from just one book. If someone likes your first book, they are much more likely to buy your next book. It’s the old sales adage, “it’s much easier to keep a customer than to find one.”
- Facebook Author Page
(These next four tips are closely related. Every author should strongly consider using all four.)
You want to make it easy for people to find you and all your books. For a good tutorial on the effective use of Facebook pages, check out the free report Facebook Fan Pages for Photographers. (Most of it applies to authors, too.)
- Facebook Book Page
You should create a separate Fan Page for each of your books. You can make announcements and engage conversations here.
- Author website
Believe it or not, some people’s lives don’t revolve around Facebook. Check out the websites of your favorite authors for ideas about what you can do with your author website to acquire and retain loyal readers.
- Book website
In addition the ideas in 6 & 7, above, your book website should include a press kit for your book. Include everything that might be requested by a potential reviewer, interviewer, agent or publisher. (e.g., synopsis, author bio, book cover, sample chapter)
- Amazon Author Central page
The Amazon Author’s Page includes a photo and bio, as well as listing all your books. You can also upload a video and automatically post your latest Tweet.
I’m the world’s worst Tweeter, but I’ve been told that you can create a following of readers and/or fellow authors. Maintaining a dialogue keeps you in people’s minds.
- Use multiple platforms
If you restrict your book to one platform, you have zero chance of capturing customers who only use a different platform. Consider Kindle, Createspace, B&N, Smashwords, Overdrive and others.
- Craig’s List Ad
Craig’s List has a For Sale / Books category. Once a week or on a rotating schedule, list each of your books. List them in as many cities as you can (within the Terms of Service.)
- Create a Blog
Write about your books, write about writing, write about the topics covered by your books. Again, check out what your favorite authors are doing. Make sure your blog includes an RSS feed so people can follow you.
- Blog Tours
I know very little about these, but some authors swear by them. As I understand it, a group of authors agree to write guest posts on each other’s blogs on some type of schedule. Each post gives you a link back to your own blog as well as whatever exposure you get from the fans of each blog for which you write a guest post. Here’s a description of blog tours.
- Mailing list
Mailing lists are arguably the most effective method for retaining potential customers. You give people an incentive to sign up for your mailing list, then use the list to announce your next book. If you have maintained a good relationship with the members of your list, your percentage of sales should be high.
- Book Review Sites
People are wary of buying books from an unknown author. There are hundreds of blogs & websites that will post book reviews, sometimes for free, frequently for a fee. Depending on the size and reputation of the review site, a good review from one or more of these sites could give your sales a push.
- Tagging
Books listed on Amazon can contain “tags.” These tags are one or two word categories that apply to your book, such as ‘fan fiction’ or ‘women sleuths.’ Amazon uses these tags when organizing the placement of books within search results. Each book can contain multiple tags. Anyone can add tags to any book, but if you don’t tag your own book, no one else is likely to. There are “tagging circles” on the Amazon discussion boards where people agree to tag each other’s books. These can be time-consuming, but results are undeniable.
- Goodreads.com
Possibly the most popular place for authors to promote their books. An account is free and you can list your books, form a book club or book list, and get known by participating in the discussion boards.
- Kindleboards.com
The most heavily-visited discussion forums about all things Kindle. Authors aren’t encouraged to promote their work here, but you can list your books in your sig.
- Shelfari.com, Librarything.com, etc.
These are sites built for book lovers, but each has an author’s section and/or author pages.
- Google “free advertising”
Type “free advertising” into Google. List your books anywhere that seems to fit.
- Book signings, book fairs, writer’s conventions
Are they worth it? Probably not, unless your publisher is hosting a major launch of your book. In most cases, your time & money are better spent on one of the other activities on this list (or, egad, writing.)
The exception is, sometimes, specialty occasions. If you live in
- DIY Interviews
Look around for websites & blogs that have questionnaires for you to fill out about yourself or your book. You won’t get much exposure from these, but each one is one more chance to get noticed by a potential customer.
- Loan yourself out
Develop relationships via Facebook, Twitter, discussion boards, etc. where you agree to review each other’s books, write jacket notes or prefaces.
- Squidoo lens
I’m out of my league here. Some people swear by Squidoo, the rest of us wonder why. Use your profile to self-promote. Check out Allan R. Wallace for an example of somebody who “gets it.”
- bloggerlinkup.com
This free service is similar to HARO (Help a Reporter Out.) Once you sign up, they will put you on an email list that lists bloggers looking for expert sources, requests for guest posts, bloggers and web masters offering guest posts, and PR reps and others seeking reviews of products. When you see a request that you can fulfill, just respond directly to the requester.
You can also submit your own requests which will be forwarded to the list.
- hootsuite.com
Automatically submits posts to multiple social networks & feeds. Various plans available, including “free”.
- 99-cent-network.com
If your novel sells for 99 cents, you can list it here for free, but you must cross-promote their site (using Tweets, Facebook posts, etc.). Buyers go here looking for bargains.
- Multimedia Release
This one isn’t for people lacking imagination. Release your book in conjunction with other products, such as activity books, games, puzzles or merchandise.
- Book Trailers
Just like movie trailers, book trailers are videos which aim to arouse anticipation in the hearts of potential customers. When they work, they work. If they are badly done, people will assume your book is also badly done. And if you figure out how to get wide exposure for your trailer, you can write a book about how you did it when most others couldn’t.
- Network on writing and reading sites
This is a catch-all tip in case the point wasn’t clear in the previous tips. Getting your name and expertise recognized in forums where readers or writers hang out will go a long way toward building confidence in the probable quality of your writing.
- Paid ads
Most people waste money with their first foray into paid ads. With enough diligence, some authors have found it possible to develop an inexpensive ad campaign that results in a profit rather than a loss. Don’t enter this arena unless you are sure of what you are doing. Then ask your peers why your plan won’t work. Then develop a more realistic plan.
- Offer pricing incentives
Don’t tell any of your author friends that you’re doing this or you may start an argument. If you have multiple books for sale, but are not getting any sales traction, consider slashing the price of one of them just to get one of your books moving. Once readers know your work, they are more likely to buy your other books.
- Local media
Your local newspaper, TV stations, radio stations or regional magazine may be willing to highlight a local author. Query them to find out what you need to do to make your situation interesting enough to feature in their venue.
- Press releases
Think of these as just one more Google vote for you. They may or may not be seen by anyone of importance, but they may provide valuable “link juice” for your book or website.
- “Reviews Greatly Appreciated”
Positive reviews are your most valuable asset. At the end of your book, why not ask people for a review? “If you enjoyed this book, please leave a positive review at xyz.com. Thank you for reading “Mama was a Pistol.”
- “If you enjoyed this book…”
If you’re selling a Kindle book, include links to your other books at the end of the book.
“If you enjoyed “The Black Fawn,” you may also enjoy these other books by Jim Kjelgaard:
Please Retrieve
The Fork in the Trail“
(I’ve read conflicting reports that Amazon allows you to link to anyone except Amazon. To get by this, I created a “redirect” on one of my websites that anyone can use. Just link to http://bitelets.com/product.php?asin=B004O0U16K and replace the B004O0U16K with your book’s asin. It will send the reader directly to the Amazon page for your book.)
Which of these tactics have worked for you? Which haven’t worked? What methods have you used to increase sales?