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Updated September 24, 2023
Subtitle
Practical, popular, proven-to-work, and inexpensive ways to market your book
Synopsis
Here is a beginner’s list of practical, popular, proven-to-work, and low-cost ways to market your book. The steps to marketing your book and deciding which avenues look promising for you might take several months to figure out. But all the tips on this list are straightforward to set up, are generally low maintenance, and have low or no cost to you.
What You Will Learn
1. You will learn several low-cost and low-maintenance marketing tips for your book.
2. You will learn how to develop a robust and easy-to-maintain book marketing plan.
3. You will learn how and why book sales depend on using several different marketing avenues simultaneously.
Introduction
Here is a beginner’s list of practical, popular, proven-to-work, and inexpensive ways to market your book. I use all of them, so I know they are an effective way to build up your audience and sell more books.
The steps to marketing your book and deciding which avenues are promising for you to utilize might take you a few months to figure out. But all the tips on this list are straightforward to set up, are generally low maintenance, and most are low or no cost to you.
10 Amazing Low-Cost Ways to Market Your Book
Tip # 1. Blog Your Book: Post articles from your book and articles on related topics on your blog. This strategy is a great way to prove to your audience that you know what you are discussing. Writing on your blog is also a practical way to create content that might eventually go into your next book. The best website for this tip is WordPress.
Tip # 2. Write Guest Posts on Popular Blogs: This can be a very effective way to get your name in front of the readers on other blogs that also cover topics like yours. By other blogs, I mean a website written by someone with a similar interest and audience.
A good strategy would be to talk to them directly about posting to their website, and they post to your website. Be cautious about who you choose to start this kind of relationship with. You should already know who the legitimate names and websites you should be associating with.
A good strategy would be to talk to them directly about posting to their website, and they post to your website. Be cautious about who you choose to start this kind of relationship with. You should already know who are the legitimate names and websites you should be associating with.
But do not confuse posting to another person’s website with “article directories” and “article syndication websites.” I have learned from personal experience that they are scams set up to steal and profit from your content. I believe that Google must know this, too.
Tip # 3. Get Published on a Big-Name Media Website: Try to get an article or two published on the website of a big-media magazine or a newspaper. This strategy will get you a lot of credibility with your audience – and this credibility will eventually help you sell more books.
The major mass-media publications are challenging to get published in – especially for beginners. So, it will be easier to start with industry-specific publications. These smaller publications are always in need of high-quality content from someone that they can trust.
Tip # 4. Post Your Profile: Post your profile and picture on the most popular social media websites. This strategy is a great no-cost way of getting broad exposure on the internet – and, most importantly, in Google searches.
At the very least, ensure your profile is on the most important sites, such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Amazon, Instagram, and, most importantly, your blog. Ensure your profile is always up-to-date and accurate and includes a link to your website.
Tip # 5. Connect Your Blog: Websites like Amazon and Goodreads will connect your blog to your profile page on their website. This connection means that whenever you post to your blog, it will automatically appear on their website. Some industry-specific membership organizations also provide a profile page.
Tip # 6. Create an Instagram and Pinterest Account: These websites are popular, free, and powerful ways to connect and share with others. Each one is trendy, fun to explore, and very easy to use – and ranks highly in Google searches. It takes a while to figure out how to use all their features.
Tip # 7. Use LinkedIn to Develop Your Professional Network: LinkedIn is one of the best ways to show the world what you have accomplished. It is also a fantastic way to connect with people worldwide with similar professional qualifications and interests.
Some might become part of the audience for your book. You might also connect with some to ask to write testimonials and endorsements for your book. Plus, LinkedIn allows you to post content to show the world you know what you are discussing.
Tip # 8. Use Everything Amazon Has to Offer: Amazon is just about the most fantastic tool for marketing your book and yourself. It has several tools that are very effective and generally easy to use.
One of its best features is the Author’s Page, where you can add information about yourself and your publications, photographs, and a video. This Author’s Page is like having an additional website devoted to you. You should spend some time learning to use Amazon and its marketing tools.
Tip # 9. Word-of-Mouth Marketing: This is free advertising initiated by a customer’s experiences of their interactions with you. Every customer, reader, client, patient, etc., you interact with is your opportunity to wow them with your knowledge, service, honesty, and friendliness.
Your behavior encourages them to spread the word about what you are selling. You, your products, and your services must exceed their expectations to make word-of-mouth marketing work.
Tip # 10. Post Videos on YouTube: At the very least, you should post at least one video about your book. It only needs to be a short video of three to five minutes long. This approach is your chance to show yourself to your audience, let them see you talk about your book, and see how confident you are about your topic and your book.
Conclusion
Successful book marketing happens because of the cumulative effect of using many different marketing efforts over the long term. Some marketing efforts might produce better results for your book than others. So, it will take some time to learn which ones you should focus on and which to avoid.
If used to their fullest extent, each of the tips given here can become a powerful marketing tool. But using as many of these tips as possible, all at the same time, can help your marketing plan become much more powerful, effective, and successful – especially over the long term.
Questions to Think About
1. What are the most common ways other writers in your genre market their books?
2. Have you asked your book buyers how they learned about your book?
