There are so many ways to market a book these days that many writers become overwhelmed. They try to do it all, then get discouraged because they can’t – or at least not well. You don’t have to have a giant budget to market your book successfully. But you do need to decide how much money and how much time you have to spend on marketing. If you have a lot of time, but not much money, you can still successfully market your book. The trick is to get organized. Develop a marketing plan and then follow it.
A book is like any other product. You can’t just put it on the store shelf and hope that someone will buy it. Amazon is the first “store shelf” that most authors work with. But there are literally millions of books on Amazon. Listing your book is only one step, and not even the first.
My 3×3 Plan
Here are a few ideas for marketing your book. Pick three of them – then sit down and develop a plan to work these three ideas for the next three months. At the end of that time, evaluate. Which of your ideas has worked the best? Which hasn’t worked? You may want to try a new mix of ideas for your next three months. Make sure that as you develop your plan you are realistic about how much time and/or money you will need to spend. If you are going to use social media, set up a regular schedule to blog, tweet, post on Facebook, etc. several times a week (or several times a day on Twitter). You can use a scheduling app, such as HootSuite to help you. If you are planning a seminar, make sure you have budgeted enough money to adequately advertise it.
__ Send out news releases to local, regional and national publications about your book
__ Send copies of your book to book review websites
__ Have a party! Invite your friends, family and business associates and announce it to the press, too
__ Place a book trailer on YouTube and other Internet sites to advertise your book
__ Blog and Twitter about your area of expertise
__ set up a Facebook page for your book
__ Develop add-on products that sell your book. If you’re a fiction writer, can your book be adapted for a computer game?
__ Give seminars and workshops and sell your book as a part of the package
__ Give radio and television interviews
__ Don’t forget Internet-based radio stations, which often have excellent niche audiences
__ Maximize your book listing on Amazon using an Author Page and Listmania
__ Most books aren’t sold in traditional bookstores these days. Make a list of gift shops and boutiques that sell items related to your book. Then go talk to them about carrying your book.
There is a lot of competition out there; and it is up to you to help your readers you’re your book. Marketing a book is an ongoing process. The day you quit marketing your book is the day it stops selling.