Help for authors timid about technology
Fresh out of ideas on how to help your writing take off? You’re in luck.
We’ve compiled a list of 89 book marketing ideas that will change your life, build your brand, and sell your book. There’s something for everyone on the list.
Best of all, the list is free. Completely free.
Sound intriguing? Read on.
89+ Book Marketing Ideas That Will…
Increase your web presence:
- Create a testimonial page on your website
- Retweak the SEO on your site
- Ask fans to post their reviews on your Facebook page
- Ask fans to post their reviews on Amazon
- Ask fans to post their reviews on Goodreads
- Sign up for Twitter
- Clean up your social footprint
- Create an author FB page and use it instead of your profile
- Sign up for Google Authorship
- Offer bloggers advanced reading copies
- Go on an online book tour
- Create a book launch team
- Host Q+A sessions on Google+
- Create Facebook Friday videos
- Register as an author on Amazon
- Register as an author on Goodreads
- Create a book trailer
- Get a new Author Website
- Create a hashtag for your next book
Build your fan base:
- Start a FB campaign to increase your fans
- Start a Google Campaign to increase traffic to your site
- Start a controversial web series
- Link up with other writers for your controversial web series
- Start weekly twitter chats with readers
- Keyword your blog posts
- Create a monthly newsletter
- Create an affiliate program
- Host guest bloggers
- Become a guest blogger
- Create business cards with your web address on them and hand them out
- Put your photo on your business card for stronger branding
- Start commenting on other blogs (early and often)
- Host regular author hangouts on Google+
- Host regular author interviews on Google+
- Record your Google+ hangouts and put them on YouTube
- Get social media coaching
Cultivate Community:
- Create an online community with a forum
- Say thank you to readers with special incentives for being a fan
- Ask your reading community to design merchandise for your store
- Create a fan page for your main character (works well if they are in a series)
- Ask fans to create their own book trailers and post them online
- Offer core fans advanced copy of future books
- Ask fans to post pictures of “character spottings”
- Offer “extra features” on your website
- Use Twitter hashtags
- Poll your readers and listen to what they say
- Answer all your blog comments
- Engage with your fans on FB
- Ask your fans to post pictures of them reading your book
Make some extra money:
- Repackage old blog posts and sell them as an e-book
- Join an affiliate program
- Speak on the core topic of your book
- Become a content writer
- Host paid webinars
- Freelance with niche magazines
- Sell ads on your website
- Sell ads in your newsletter
- Write a new ebook tailored to your fans
- Mentor another writer
- Become an Amazon Affiliate (and use MyBookTable)
- Offer customizable ebooks for readers
- Sell your book on your site, not just Amazon
Tweetables:
- The @AuthorMedia crew just gave me 89 free book marketing ideas. Watch out world! – click to tweet.
- My sales should spike soon. I’m going to try out some of the book marketing suggestions from @AuthorMedia. – click to tweet.
- 89 Book Marketing Ideas That Will Change Your Life. Try one today! – click to tweet.
- Have you tried any of these marketing tips from @AuthorMedia? They look great! – click to tweet.
- Dang. I needed book marketing ideas and I found 89 of them via @AuthorMedia. - click to tweet.
- If you write books, you should look at this list ASAP. Unless you are my competitor. – click to tweet.
- Need some book marketing ideas? One of these ideas should do the trick! – click to tweet.
Build your brand offline
- Write a Press Release
- Ask to be interviewed by your local paper
- Ask to be interviewed by the paper your book is set in
- Ask to be interviewed by the local radio host
- Ask to be interviewed on the local morning show (read this article first)
- Partner with a band that has the same cause as you
- Go on a physical book tour
- Start thinking local
- Sell themed merchandise (Think “Team Edward” shirts)
- Rent a billboard
- Host a book release party
- Link with an activity that supports your cause and sell your book there
- Create a viral video about a scene from your book
Find a Place To Give a Book Reading:
- Your local coffee shop
- A hospital
- A retirement community
- A rehabilitation center
- A local church
- A locally owned bookstore
- The library (try the five closest to your house)
- The local community college
- A school
- Wherever the main setting of your book is
- Google+
- Videos you upload to Facebook
- Goodreads
Discover where to donate your book (and make new fans):
- Women’s shelters
- VA hospitals
- Homeless shelters
- Children’s hospitals
- Retirement homes
- The five closest libraries to your house
- The library in your hometown
- Summer camp
- Community libraries at coffee shops
- The local community college library
- The libraries in the town where the book was set in
- BookCrossing.com
- Local B&B’s
- Local motels
- Prisons
- Church libraries
- Rehab centers
- Cruise ship libraries
- Doctor’s offices
- Community centers
- Senior Centers
Become an expert:
- Become a HARO source
- Get active on LinkedIn
- Write Op-Ed pieces on the core message of your story
- Write freelance pieces on the core message of your story and pitch to niche publications
- Give lectures on the core message of your story
- Host webinars with other experts
- Create a series of web-videos interviewing experts on the core message of your story
- Make sure your author about me page is interesting and relevant
- Create a Meetup group
Have any book marketing tips you’d like to add to the list? Leave them in the comment section.
Need help implementing some of the ideas? Author Media can help.
Great tips. I’m actually working on lots of these as I promote my client’s upcoming novel. The best advice I could add is to set up your social media hubs well before the book comes out. This way you can network and build your audience in advance, instead of fighting an uphill battle at the book launch.
I also agree when you say to answer all your blog comments. That’s so true–it makes you feel more connected and validated. Very important for new writers to make that connection with their readers.
Next on my list? Creating business cards and getting a FB fan page set up. Thanks for this!
Great point. Marketing your next book starts before you begin writing chapter one. Playing catch-up doesn’t work in social media because you haven’t been around long enough to build trust or a tribe that will willingly follow you.
Best of luck with your client!
Hi Caitlin! Fantastic book marketing tips whether you’re ‘new’ or ‘old school’. Similar comment that Mary made, I try to encourage my students to start their marketing before they publish their book. This presents the opportunity and time to create anticipation, excitement & buzz for the book & can help in creating/building an author platform (for those new to publishing/authoring) as well as build credibility as an expert in the subject. Well done — Eric V. Van Der Hope
Thanks, Eric.
I agree with what you said – marketing should start before you start writing the first chapter. Commit to your book and to your success.
Great tips and I’m going to be working my way through them!
Fantastic! Let me know how they work for you!
Caitlin, nice list. Well done. I just ‘Tweeted’ it too.
I also recommend that authors read “How I Sold 1 Million eBooks in 5 Months!”
Author John Locke (not the guy on LOST) reveals how he sold 1 million ebooks. He discusses how step by step he created a fan base that keeps coming back to buy more books. It is important, as an author, to always be aware of the changing field of social media and embrace it as a marketing tool for your book. It’s a must read in our Kindle ebook world. http://www.amazon.com/Sold-Million-eBooks-Months-ebook/dp/B0056BMK6K/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1321461364&sr=1-1
Scott –
Did you catch our review of John Locke’s book? http://www.authormedia.com/2012/01/05/know-your-audience-the-secret-to-author-john-lockes-success/
Great list. Thanks for sharing
Thanks for stopping by, Jo!
Feel free to add suggestions.
Every businessman wants that their business will reach to the sky….For that thing one has to follow the tips given in this blog….I feel really great after reading these tips…Thanks for the valuable information and the post….
Thanks for stopping by. Are there any tips that you would add to the list?
Loved your tips. Lot’s of things to consider and do!!!!!!!!! You are appreciated!
Thanks, Rachel! Let us know how your writing journey goes.
This is absolutely remarkable. I’ve bookmarked the site as well. I feel like I will be re-reading this information over and over again. I wonder if JK Rowling built a fan base before HP was published. Either way, this is a great post and much appreciated.
Thanks for your kind words, Jessica. What kind of books do you write?
What a great find!
Thank you so much Caitlin.
I’m off to share some of these with my clients, colleagues and readers, right after I subscribe to your blog.
Thanks for your kind words, Flora! I’m honored!
Thanks for the great advice!
I was wondering if you could help me with a Facebook dilemma. I have hundreds of FB friends on my personal profile, which I created before fan pages were available (or before I was aware of them, not sure which). I intended it for true friends, but I now have reader/writer acquaintances friending me there. I’d rather not have them seeing all my personal posts. I also have a page for my first book, but the following closely parallels that for my personal page.
I’ve since created a fan page as an author, but I don’t know how to get any friends for that page. I don’t see an “invite” link, and even when I click “Promote with an ad” it tells me I can only do that from my personal profile page. Do I have to send personal messages to all my FB friends and give them the URL for my fan page, asking them to like it?
You aren’t the only author facing that problem!
It’s a blessing that you only have hundreds, and not thousands, of people to worry about. There are a few ways you can approach this.
1) When you first set up your author page, you will be able to invite all of your friends in one step. This is the only time the FB lets you do that. If you didn’t do it when you first set up the page, you’ve lost that opportunity.
2) Facebook Ads. That’s something that we can help you set up. Making an ad will help you reach more than the hundreds of readers on your page. It will also help you connect with other writers off your personal page.
3) Emailing all your “friends.” I’ve gotten mass emails like this from other authors. I don’t mind because I understand that there is a line between writer-buddy and genuine friend. It can be incredibly tedious.
4) Setting up different FB lists. This is also incredibly tedious and if you have hundreds of people to go through, it can take hours. We recommend that all authors use lists to some extent.
Do you want to set up a free consultation to talk about this in more detail? You can call us at 888-432-7734 or fill out the “free consultation” form.
I’d need to verify with you here. Which isn’t one thing I normally do! I get pleasure from reading a post that can make people think. Also, thanks for allowing me to comment!
I have to say that I think this is a great resource! As I went through the lists I found that I already do some of them and that there are so many more that I can work on and get started. Thank you so much for putting this out there for everyone!
I am veterinarian and author of 25 books and one trimonthly magazine POULTRY SANSAR in Nepali language in Nepal related to veterinary science and animal husbandary.I am very happy to your marketing tips.Thank you very much.
Glad to help!
These are great ideas for every author.I think doing a weekly podcast does help.thx for the tips.I’m using them.
If you start podcasting, be sure to send us a link!
Thanks for your suggestions, most of them are great and I really appreciate them, though the truth is that my brief encounter with amazon’s authorcentral has been a total and utter nightmare.
My problem is that the author page you get stuck with (which replaces your search results when someone clicks on your name) is a killer if you have a book that is a second edition, and to make matters worse you have no way of deleting that page once it has been created (though they will happily cut off your access to it if you complain, leaving you worse off than you were to begin with). As far as I am concerned, if you haven’t made the mistake of creating an account, the potential trouble from going that particular route is just not worth it (if you want to know what happened I wrote a post about it, you can find it here: http://booksandtales.com/blog/?p=468 ).
Clea –
That does sound like a nightmare. Thanks for sharing that information with us. We’ll have to write a blog post about navigating the tricky waters of Amazon.
Thanks, but I’m exhausted. It has come down to quitting my day job as a psychotherapist helping abuse kids, or letting come what may to selling Rarity from the Hollow so I can finishing writing more before I die. I’m 61 and marketing can become a full-time profession.
Robert –
That’s a dilemma many authors are facing. You aren’t alone. Have you been able to check out the Bestseller Society? They can offer you the in-depth marketing help you need.
i just joined publication house. please give some different ideas to promote our books like children section
Kartik, you could use these same ideas for children’s books.
Caitlin i want to publish my book,so which is the best Technology platform that i can used & how can i market the authors.
Reply soon
Thanks & Regards
Sagar Kudale
I have had a radio show and am about to celebrate 4 years on Blog Talk Radio. Here’s the thing– I do it because I love it, but realized last week that especially over the last 1 1/2 years, the show has had 45,000 downloads! Naturally, I now know what works, and will be promoting my books more actively on the show!!
Thanks for your tips! Will use as time allows.
Great job, Kate!
I just discovered your website through Publishing Pulse and I’m LOVING it! Thanks so much for everything on here!
One little editing catch … you might want to change the title of this from:
89 Book Marking Ideas
to 89 Book MarkETing Ideas!
To me, writing comprises 10% of your effort…and the remaining 90% is all marketing.
If you write the best book there is, if no one knows about it, your efforts are dead, dead, dead.
It’s all about how you promote yourself and the book. A lot of hard work, but until you can hire this part out, it must be done.
Thanks for your tips!
Linda Gross
Men’s Advocate and Author of THE CAVEMAN FORMULA
I would like to refer business to you: coaching for authors and book marketing.
do you have an affiliate program or have ideas for something similar that we could set up?
just needs to be auto-mated and trackable.
719.306.6975 mbl
Caitlin, I LOVED these tips since i am always looking for ways to push my work further to the fore front. I believe that good marketing is the key to a successful writing career. I look forward to reading more of your post. God bless.
Thanks, Eve! That’s incredibly encouraging!
These are all great tips and i am currently learning and starting to implement alot of these tips to help me build what I am doing as well, Thanks though because i have learned a few other valuable lessons from this as well..
Thanks, Michael!
Its tips like these that really help businesses move forward. Thanks for taking the time to share this information
Thanks, Julie! Best of luck!
Caitlin,
Great article!
I have a book website http://www.SMARTgoalsBook.info that I established and promoted way before the book. As soon as I launched my book trailer http://youtu.be/ahnLnWvcEr0 PayPal money starter pouring into my e-mail – I set a PRE-sale for the book: $9.99 now instead of $14.95 later after book release. Also, I created an author profile BEFORE releasing my book on Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/AuthorAnnaStevens I uploaded full bio, created BLOG, submitted reviews for other books, found friends, and set a profile for my NOT YET RELEASED book: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17618437-turn-your-dreams-and-wants-into-achievable-smart-goals Most importantly, I set 5 books for a giveaway on Goodreads. It runs till June 1st and it’s FREE to enter. What it did is it helped me attract more attention from potential readers. As of today, there are 92 people who entered. I think it’s a good tool to utilize for PRE-launch phase of book marketing. You also advice on book testimonials page. I did that, too, BOTH on my website and Goodreads book page. Here are the VIDEO testimonials I uploaded on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/videos/list_author/6998064.Anna_Stevens And here’s an example of the review page on a website: http://smartgoalsbook.info/testimonials-from-readers/ I also created a LinkedIn record as an AUTHOR and asked people to endorse the book there. And last but nt least, I did ask people to post their reviews on Facebook and it has been helpful, too: https://www.facebook.com/TurnYourDreamsAndWantsIntoAchievableSMARTgoals
As far as creating your own hushtag as you advice, I did that too #SMARTgoalsBook, but I’m not seeing any benefits of that yet. I’m not sure how to maybe spread the word about my hushtag.
Thank you for this post. Author need a lot of helpful information when they’re indies. I am glad I came across your blog.
Read aloud from your book in front of indie bookstores.
Have you done it yet?
These are some very great tips for any author. I’ve completed many of these tips prior to reading the article but there are some ideas that I should implement in my marketing plan. I’ve been promoting my autobiography, The Courage To Believe, for a while now. Currently, I am working on two more books.
I recently tried something a little different than
my usual local business marketing methods.
I bought a cartoon video and used it to promote
my business. the cartoon was hilarious and my
customers were all talking about it.
Im using another one to promote our summer
specials. Its not for every business but worth
a look. The company that creates them are very creative
and helpful.
here is their link
http://wp.me/1z138
Super-duper list! Mega helpful. I scribbled a plug for my book “Meaty Balls!” on a rusty bathroom stall in an ice arena recently and earned a sale and fan from it. Consider adding it, because “90 Book Marketing Ideas” is a nice even number.
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I am in two minds about fb.. having hundreds of fans or likes really means nothing to sales through fb, unfortunately.
However, you mentioned book trailers.. I agree they can be a great asset but I think that damage can also be done too if it the video boring and badly produced! Research well before hiring someone. I found a great company to do mine but it took some time to sift through all the options. I think they did a very good job at keeping interest, and the music used is very important!
My choice is Book Candy Studios. This is what they produced for me http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl1BxrPk4t4
I’m still experimenting with twitter.. find it hard to know what to tweet!
Wow, they did a great job on your video. One of our readers did this. He’s also our book cover artist.
http://youtu.be/I-cIs5_tMl8
That’s the mobile link but hopefully it will still work.
Like the trailer! – can I be cheeky and ask roughly what they charged you to produce it?
Create memes with quotes from your book that can go viral on Facebook and email.
Hmmmm. These should keep me busy for a while. Good idea re local library – wouldn’t have thought of that one!
Thanks for the tips.
alot of these sound great, but there’s not alot here that we can do with the author , my father in law being dead.