Wondering how to market your new book?
Hi – I am Teena Hughes and I’d like to share a few ideas to get you started.
Online and Offline ideas for book marketing
- make a list of all the different ways you can think of to tell
people about your book (this is called “marketing”) - start with the easiest ways – email your friends and family
- share on your social media accounts — Twitter, facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest etc
- write a Press Release as though you’re being interviewed by a journalist, publish this on all the free press release sites, and even the paid ones if you so desire
- check how many followers you have on your Author mailing list (you DO have a mailing list sign-up form on your Author website, don’t you?)
- email your mailing list followers with regular updates 2 to 4 times a month – talk about your characters, or whatever is in your book that they would find interesting, engage with them to build a rapport so they’ll want to know more about your book/s
write down how often you are contacting them with a little chapter or two each time to whet their whistle — this should be at least once per week (a blog post is ideal)- post different types of enticements on different social sites to encourage people to sign up for a freebie (via your author website/blog) – a chapter, a page, sketch from the book etc
- make sure to set up your Amazon Author page with as much info as possible
- make sure your Amazon Author page is set up to receive updates from your Blog
- ensure your book’s page on your Author website is filled with lots of great, additional information to entice your readers
- make sure everything you do is interesting and encourages folks to sign up for more information about this book, you as the author, and your upcoming books (via your website form)
if appropriate, make animated gifs showing your book and a few strong sentences within to pique folks’ interest – consider creating a gif of someone reading the book (for more help with this, send us a message and we’ll give you some tips)- create a slideshow and/or video to promote your book and post on as many online places as possible – Youtube, Vimeo, your author website, Amazon author page, social sites which allow videos (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, etc) (for more help with this, send us a message and we’ll chat with you about how to make this happen)
OFFLINE MARKETING
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- create a Book Flyer and have them printed (for more help with this, send us a message and we’ll send you a Template)
- distribute to libraries and offer to do a reading (this is great for kids’ books)
- visit coffee shops and offer to do the same and leave flyers
- if the book is business-related, contact the local Chamber of Commerce and offer to give a talk on the topic, with a chance for someone to win one (or more) autographed book/s
- contact the local radio station and offer a chance for someone to win one (or more) autographed book/s — and let them know you’d love to be interviewed (if this happens, ask for a copy of the interview recording for your marketing)
- contact local business groups (search Meetup.com for your area) and see if their members would be interested in you providing a free talk about the topic and offer a chance for someone to win one (or more) autographed book/s.
Here is an example Book Video Trailer we created:
These are just a few of the things to consider if you’re wondering how to market your new book.
Do you have other things you do you’d like to share with us? Great! Post in the Comments below, send us a message or pop over to the Facebook page to chat with us.