You have a finished book. You have done all the research and decided to self-publish it, or you have lucked out in finding a small indie house to publish your book. In the first case, you will be paying for everything or doing it yourself – editing, formatting, book cover design, etc. In the second case, those things will be covered by your publisher. However, there is one big part after publishing your book that you’re going to have to do all by yourself, and that is selling your book.
The truth about self-publishing, and any publishing really, is that your book will not be seen unless you actively put it in the right places. To be read by its ideal readers. That’s called marketing.
Unfortunately, most authors don’t know anything about book marketing and promotion, so they put their book up on Amazon and hope for the best. Then, nothing happens. Your book gets buried by the endless flood of new books on Amazon.
It’s really discouraging and unfortunate.
Not only have you paid all this money for editing, book cover design and formatting (if you have chosen to self-publish), but now you’re expected to be some kind of salesman as well? To pay for ads and learn promotional strategies? How is an author to handle that?
First of all, let’s get something straight. Marketing doesn’t just mean ads. It means everything from having an author platform (think website, social media profiles, profiles on all the popular book sites, etc) to getting editorial reviews to promoting on social media to doing joint promotions, and so much more. Marketing includes an endless supply of strategies, and some of them are very creative.
You don’t have to be that salesman on the corner, shouting ‘BUY MY BOOK!’ and turn everyone off the idea. You can be the smiling individual at the local bookstore, doing a signing. Or the social butterfly who organizes a group promotion with fellow indie authors. Or the business-savvy author who contacts book bloggers and vloggers and asks them to read their book and talk about it. Or the soulful writer who shares their favorite quotes or moments from the book on social media. Or the funny individual on social media making silly pictures of your book traveling the world. Et cetera.
You can do so much with so little. I have personally promoted books for anything between $0 to $1000, so it is possible. It depends on your budget. Obviously, the bigger your budget, the better chance you’ll have of reaching the right people.
The most important thing to remember is – nobody’s going to sell your book for you. The second most important thing is – you can be just as creative in marketing as you are in writing. So put on that brainstorming cap and write down a list of ideas. Make sure that you’re not just writing down what you know to be marketing or sales, but anything that can promote your book.
Think outside the box. That’s where the best ideas lie.
If you still need help, let us help you with your next book launch. We’re dedicated to helping authors spread the word about their books. Whether you’re self-published or traditionally published, we want to give everyone an equal shot to be noticed.
Reach us through our contact page, and good luck!
