As a new author, we face many challenges of getting our book out there and into the hands of the public, but I have learned through the process of book promotion or what I refer to as marketing is that so many people write books but have no idea who their target audience is or how they plan on reaching them so please research your audience before publishing your book. Aside from that, here are a few marketing tips I use to promote my book and they don't cost any money. Of course, you will need to make a monetary investment, but pull on all the free stuff first. Best of luck to you.
1. Do as many blog talk radio interviews as you can- they are free promotions and there are lots of them for authors out there.
2. Dominate social networking sites like this one, Facebook, Twitter and Linked In.
3. Get as many book reviews as you can, start from family and friends first and then work your way up to others
4. Since I am a motivational speaker, I have a platform for my book as I am also founder of my own ministry, so you need a platform such as blogging which is popular right now. So many of them out there, but your blog has to be of such interest to other people that they will want to follow it.
5. Do book signings at schools, libraries, bookstores, hair salons (if your audience is women, then this is a good place to be), YMCA, or wherever else you can think of to get yourself out there
6. A lot of bookstores allow your book to be on consignment, meaning your book is placed in their bookstore for a certain period of time, say 3 months, and once they sell, they will send you a certain amount of proceeds from the book, usually it's a 60/40 split with the author getting 60%.
7. You have to pay for this service, but do a book trailer for your book. Everyone is on u-tube and they are a great marketing tool
8. Get yourself a press kit (press release, business card, book synoposis, book reviews) and send them to local book clubs in your area. You'll be suprised how many responses you get and even if the club doesnt choose your book, they usually review it as well and reviews are helpful.
There's still so much more marketing tools that require money such as television ad, newspaper, radio, but the ones above are for starters and to create buzz where you can make money to invest more in yourself. Hope this is helpful.
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If anyone is interested in getting marketing ideas, I would like to invite everyone to check out my Linked In group
"New Authors Need Marketing Ideas" http://www.linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=1725677&trk=anet_...
Hi, my co-author, Linda Lombri and I, under the pen name of Crystal Sharpe, have Book One of the Sandra Troux Mysteries, Mystery of the Ming Connection , up as an ebook on Amazon, Apple, B&N and Sony Books. We are deciding which free web site provider to use--Word Press or Weebly. Facebook page, twitter account in the works as well. Any advice as to the web site provider? Our book stars a trio of babyboomer s/hero sleuths who were Nancy Drew fans as girls and now have plunged into the exciting new world of international crime. Linda and I have pretty good PR and marketing skills, but are low end for tech. So user friendly is tops for our website. Thanks, Virginia
Thanks for the tips Quiniece. It is hard to market your book, I keep plugging away but there are a few tips here I haven't tried yet. Thanks for sharing.
Some very good suggestions. Many of those worked when we were actively promoting our first book. The part of "know your audience" is crucial because how can you target them if you don't know who they are? I would add to make sure the marketing is ready when the book is ready because if your book is timely, working on the marketing after the book is finished makes your book content old and that can be a problem for some books, although not all books.