Okay, let’s get started. You’ve written a book or novel. Or hired a ghostwriter to write a book either about your life, your personal success, business success, overcoming big odds to succeed in this world. Or a book about how a loved one overcame a life-threatening disease. Book topics are endless. I’m sure your book is good, perhaps fantastic.
So just imagine:
You’ve published a book and your dream has come true. You imagine a spectacular book signing, making money, and appearing on America’s most watched TV shows and radio stations. Just think. Here’s the coup de grace: your book gets noticed by Hollywood and a movie is made based on it. Wow! All good … so to say.
But I must be brutally honest: the book may not land on the list of Oprah’s Book Club or New York Times bestseller list. Anyway don’t fret. Because guess what? These days you really don’t need Oprah or to appear on the bestseller’s list to promote and make a book successful (Of course, it doesn’t hurt for Oprah or New York Times to notice your book).
What I am trying to tell you, as a book promoter and publicity specialist myself, is this: what used to be typical in an old fashioned way for authors to promote their books or novels is almost extinct, almost. Not quite.
These days there are many ways to promote a book on a shoestring budget or graduate and shell out the big bucks for promotion and publicity it can be done. With a few targeted social media strategies combined with Youtube or other digital platforms you can effectively promote/advertise any book or novel online within 24 hours!
Book Promotion Ideas
Below is a list of 21 ways to successfully promote any book to make more sales. In my next post I will provide the secret details on how to promote books on nationwide TV talk shows.
Cheers
1. Re-Post one of your 5-star book reviews
You can add a review on Facebook and Twitter along with the book cover image and pin it to the top of your feed so every visitor will see it – for weeks.
To get the link to a review on Amazon, go to the review, and click the permalink button. Then copy this address from the browser address bar.
2. Whizbuzzbooks
Whizbuzzbooks is an invaluable book promotion service that will promote your book or novel to over 550,000 connections in popular Social Media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Google-plus. Following the first round promotion of your book on Social Media, Whizzbuzz will then promote your book on Social Media on a regular basis for one year.
3. Open a Pinterest account
Pinterest helps gain image search traffic to your site or blog. It’s an ideal social network for book covers.
4. Add a comment on a popular book blog
Look for articles on three high traffic book blogs and post a comment.
You’d be surprised how many people click on comment links, which will lead readers to your profile, author website or blog.
It’s a bit like a book tour, but it is much easier and quicker for you.
5. Add a comment to a newspaper article
Look for a major newspaper lifestyle article. Make sure it is a non-topical article though. Avoid politics! Once again, your profile link as a published author will be valuable in gaining some traffic to your blog and books.
6. Check your author bio again
Carefully read your bio or profile on social media sites. Has it been exactly the same for a very long time? Does it need refreshing to make it more appealing to readers? Can you improve it? There is always room for improvement.
Authors hate writing bios, and would much prefer to write a book instead. But it’s a task that has to be done.
If it has been a while since the book was published, check the book trailer again too and improve it.
7. Publish to Medium
Open an account on Medium and re-publish your best-performing blog posts.
It’s a very easy process to import articles from your blog and Medium can help you gain a lot of new readers. Remember to put a link at the end of the article to your author website.
8. Do you have a Facebook Page?
If not, create one and invest a little money in gaining Facebook Likes for the page.
On average it costs about 8 to 15 cents per Like. That’s cheap, and also a wise long-term investment to get people to read the book, as Facebookers very rarely unlike a page.
9.Open a short URL account
Open an account on bit.ly and shorten all your commonly used book links so they look far more attractive when posting them on social media or add links to your blog posts or comments.
Tip! Edit these short links to reflect a little of the book title or author name.
With bit.ly you can change this very ugly book link:
https://www.amazon.com/One-Las
To this attractive and meaningful link:
http://bit.ly/onelastlove
10. Run an ad
Run ads on Facebook or on Amazon if you are enrolled in KDP Select. But with either, be prudent and stay within budget.
11. Place an ad on your blog
Find your three best-performing blog articles and place the book cover image as a text-wrapped ad, with a link to Amazon, or use a universal link to all your book retailers.
12. Find three high traffic book, writing or publishing blogs and write an article
Make contact and ask if you can write an article for them.
Many sites have a Write For Us or guest posting page, so keep your eyes open for opportunities to promote your writing to a much wider audience.
Tip! In fact, some writers don’t even bother with having their own blog, because having articles published on popular sites brings far more traffic, readers and importantly, social shares.
13. Set up a free ebook promotion
It’s a lottery, but hopefully, someone will read your free books and be kind enough to post a review. Online book clubs often use free ebooks, so it’s worth a try.
On this point, I discovered I had a new book review today, which I think came by way of a free Kindle copy of an ebook I last offered for free over a year ago. Now that is long-term book promotion!
14. Is the book cover absolutely fabulous and eye-catching?
Now, be brutally honest, or better, ask people what they think. If you don’t have a top-shelf killer book cover, take a few minutes to search for a reputable book cover designer and get one.
15. Buy affordable long-term book promotion
Whizbuzz Books offers one year of book promotion for only $49.00. There are many sites offering different book promotion services.
16. Read an article about SEO
Read an article about SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and put one or two ideas into practice for your blog or website.
Search engine traffic is by far the best way to attract new potential readers and book buyers, day in and day out.
17. Check the book metadata (SEO for books)
Check the keywords and categories for your book on Amazon KDP or any other online retailer you use.
Can you make a few small changes to categories or keywords that would help readers find the book more easily?
18. Is your book in KDP Select?
If your book in not enrolled in KDP Select, why not try it for 3 months to see if you can attract Kindle Unlimited readers.
Or, if you have been in KDP Select for quite some time, perhaps try open publishing for a while.
19. Change your book price
Is your book too expensive, or even perhaps, too cheap? Try changing the price for a few weeks.
20. Use the Amazon book widget
Add Amazon’s embedded book widget on your website or blog. It looks fantastic and gives visitors a chance to read a preview of your book and buy it, directly on your site. It is one of the best widgets to help you sell books.
21. Create an Amazon author page
Every bestselling author has one. If you haven’t done so yet, create your author page on Amazon Author Central.
Add your blog feed, change and improve the look of the book descriptions, add editorial reviews and much more.
An Amazon author page is a must-have promotion tool.
Tip! Create your author pages on Amazon US, Amazon UK and Amazon Germany.
Bonus Tip – Update your email signature
You use email a lot, and it is as close to word of mouth advertising as you can get.
So add your, blog, Amazon Author page or even a thumbnail or your book cover to your email signature.
It will then be automatic and ongoing book advertising for you.
Newsblaze Journalist & Feature Writer Clarence Walker is also a Book Reviewer, Publicity Book Specialist and Copywriter.
He can be reached at: newswriter74@yahoo.com or communicationspecialists@aol.
Inspiration for this story from JustPublishingAdvice
