These free, cheap and easy book marketing, promotion and publicity tips will get you headed in the right direction fast. It’s one thing to write a acim, but an entirely different thing to write one that’s saleable, viable, and marketable. As a self publisher you can market and promote your book on a shoestring budget, thousands have done it; be careful about your promotion and marketing dollars and don’t plunge into unknown waters — test, test, and test.
Using press releases for marketing or promoting your book or book’s website has become increasingly popular as publishers discover the powerful benefits of using press releases. Mail a press release to at least 1000 print and broadcast contacts just prior to publishing your title and again and again after you publish; you can never send too many. When picked up by wire services, a press release can easily end up generating hundreds of mentions for your book.
Send out at least ten press releases to the print and broadcast media in your area every month. Learning to write and use powerful optimized press releases can often drive tons of traffic to your website while providing multiple back links that can lead to increased page rank and numerous top ten search engine rankings for your targeted keywords. Make sure your press release spells out the ‘who, what, where, when, and why.’
Mail a press release to all the trade journals in your field over and over again; you can use the same release. Press releases can generate thousands of dollars in sales when picked up by national trade or print media.
Make sure not to overlook the Internet; get yourself interviewed or profiled for sites both about writing, publishing and about the topics covered in your book. Submit articles to online article directories that focus on your book’s topic to drive customers to your website. Contact non-bookstore booksellers and offer to leave books on consignment.
Make sure your sales letter or flier is first class; this is your formal presentation of your title to the prospective buyer. If your book solves a problem, focus on this in your marketing. Contact any companies, corporations or organizations that might use your book for promotions; offer significant discounts for volume orders or for thousands of copies offer a specified amount above book production costs.
Women buy more books then men; see how you can fit your book into the women’s market. If your book fits a specialty market, find a store that fits the genre and offer to leave books on consignment; many publishers have sold thousands of books this way. Make five telephone calls a day that relate to marketing your book.
Arrange to speak at local, regional and national events that relate to your book topic; bring books along and have an associate sell them at the back of the room. Local radio shows and television appearances are good but are often forgotten within hours of the broadcast; make sure to make or get a copy of any television broadcast for future promotions.
I’ve seen publishers lose a lot of money paying for expensive display ads, so beware if you do this; I don’t advise it in the beginning — get your feet wet first so you know what you’re doing.
Be your own publicist and send a press release along with a review copy of your book to publications in your book’s genre and to book review magazines. Get as many testimonials about your book, as possible, from experts in the field relating to your title, not customers; use on your fliers and back of books.
Market your book to your number one market first, and then go after the secondary markets. Find a non-exclusive distributor with a good reputation to carry your book for the book store trade, as well as for other retailers.
