So you've written a book and it's been published — wonderful!
The next thing is to make sure the book actually gets read by an audience. But promoting is expensive, isn't it? It can be, but it doesn't have to be.
What are some of the ways an author can promote a book with little to no cost:
Ideally you started promoting your book BEFORE publication date. Build the buzz, Post blogs. Make a video and post it on YouTube. Tweet tag lines. Post a cover reveal on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, or your own blog. Add a signature line to your emails. Get people talking about your book before it's ready for sale and you will see sales. As a matter of fact, one method some writers use is a pre-sale order discount.
Ok, your book is or has been available for sale already. Don't worry, there's still plenty of ways to get your book to market. Blog posts are terrific promotion tools — PROMOTE, don't just sell. On your own or other hosted sites, here are some ideas: Interview a character from your book. Tell everyone WHY you wrote this book (back story). Is there currently relevant material in your book? In other words, if your book is about a politician who is just taking office, by all means tie it in with your local elections. If your book is about a fictional outbreak of some exotic but fatal outbreak, write a post about recent epidemics and do a "what if". So many ideas and ways to tie your book's subject to something people are already thinking about.
Contests are terrific for getting discussion about your book going. Offer some type of freebie for every Facebook post of someone holding your book, these could be bookmarks, a pdf copy of a free, unpublished short story, a tip sheet on how to do something, a small recipe booklet of some meals your lead character cooks, etc. Use your imagination.
Contact other bloggers who cater to the same audience your book is written for and set up a Virtual Blog Tour. A VBT is done online within a specific time frame, it's a series of posts featuring excerpts, back story, interviews, about you the author, etc. The author "visits" these blog sites the kind of way that Hollywood always shows book tours and lots of stops in various bookstores, libraries, etc. Web casts and YouTube videos also make for great "appearances".
Look around the internet for sites to promote your book, one such place to find listings is from GalleyCat. Don't forget to ask friends to host a guest blog for you.
Host a Facebook event where potential readers can ask questions and you are actually present to answer them. Send a press release to PRWeb
Who is your audience? While we would like to think that EVERYONE would like our book, think of the cliche "you can't please everyone". Ideally you had an intended audience in mind while you were writing the book. Are there special interest groups that would be interested in your book's topic? Contact these groups and see if you can arrange to give a presentation, this works especially well for non-fiction books. Make a mini presentation on YouTube and tweet about it, be sure to #Hashtag the topic so that interested parties can find you.
Before you start your promotion campaign: make a list that includes your budget (and yes, it can start with FREE); identify your target audience; list places (real or virtual) where your target audience congregates; set a timeline for your campaign; read and comment on other blogs and social media site (be truthful but always polite).
Writing Exercise: Write a 2-3 paragraph bio that could be used on a book jacket,
Writing Prompt: List some of the pertinent themes in your book and then list WHY an audience would be interested.
Challenge Assignment: Write a press release promoting your book - remember that it is more important to inform readers about the book and raise their interest than it is to say "Buy It".
Look around the internet for sites to promote your book, one such place to find listings is from GalleyCat. Don't forget to ask friends to host a guest blog for you.
Host a Facebook event where potential readers can ask questions and you are actually present to answer them. Send a press release to PRWeb
Who is your audience? While we would like to think that EVERYONE would like our book, think of the cliche "you can't please everyone". Ideally you had an intended audience in mind while you were writing the book. Are there special interest groups that would be interested in your book's topic? Contact these groups and see if you can arrange to give a presentation, this works especially well for non-fiction books. Make a mini presentation on YouTube and tweet about it, be sure to #Hashtag the topic so that interested parties can find you.
Before you start your promotion campaign: make a list that includes your budget (and yes, it can start with FREE); identify your target audience; list places (real or virtual) where your target audience congregates; set a timeline for your campaign; read and comment on other blogs and social media site (be truthful but always polite).
Writing Exercise: Write a 2-3 paragraph bio that could be used on a book jacket,
Writing Prompt: List some of the pertinent themes in your book and then list WHY an audience would be interested.
Challenge Assignment: Write a press release promoting your book - remember that it is more important to inform readers about the book and raise their interest than it is to say "Buy It".
