47 Ways Authors Can Promote Books

What can authors do to promote and market their books?  

They can do plenty of things. Here are 47 ways an author can market themselves:  

1. Build or update a website.  

2. Print up/ improve business cards.  

3. Create an email signature.  

4. Develop or revise a marketing campaign.  

5. Hire a marketing consultant.  

6. Work with a book publicist.  

7. Apply for book awards.  

8. Join several local/genre-oriented writer associations.  

9. Create press kit materials.  

10. Develop a speaker’s kit.  

11. Craft a 35-second elevator speech.  

12. Make a 90-second book trailer.  

13. Pay for professional book reviews.  

14. Seek out non-paid book reviews.  

15. Ask friends, family, neighbors, and your inner circle to buy the book and post a book review on Amazon.  

16. \Have the same people ask their circle of friends and family to do the same.  

17. Build a subscriber list by giving a free download of content away.  

18. Create and hand out fliers.  

19. Create and mail postcards.  

20. Design and distribute swag for a fee or free.  

21. Cross-promote your book with another author.  

22. Bundle your book with another product, service, or book.  

23. Create a webinar.  

24. Launch an online course.  

25. Enter writing contests.  

26. Grow your network size and quality.  

27. Interact with your existing network.  

28. Attend/display at book fairs, trade shows, conferences, or conventions if your type of book warrants it.  

29. Be active on NetGalley, Library Thing, and GoodReads.  

30. If you published several books, consider giving one away as a loss-leader introduction to your writing.  

31. Look for trade associations that you can sell your book to.  

32. Send holiday cards and thank you notes to people who have or can help you.  

33. Donate some copies of your book to a charity to serve a cause and build some good community will.  

34. Arrange for speaking experiences at bookstores and libraries.  

35. Beg, trade, buy, or give away something in order to get others to help you.   

36. Explore selling your book to Canada and other English-speaking countries.  

37. Consider having your book available in all formats: hardcover, trade paperback, audio, e-book, and mass-market paperback.   

38. Seek out schools, churches, businesses, non-profits, and corporations for speaking gigs.   

39. Explore your online advertising options with Google, Amazon, and Facebook.   

40. Be active on 2-3 social media platforms: Linked In, Facebook, Tik Tok, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube.   

41. Submit op-ed ideas to targeted publications in order to promote your book.  

42. Let your alumni association know about your book.  

43. Develop your own blog or podcast -- or both.  

44. Guest-post on the blogs of others -- or ask to be interviewed/ reviewed by them.  

45. Seek out testimonials from people with a name or credentials.   

46. Pay influencers to promote you in a social media post.   

47. Seek out interview opportunities with podcasts, radio shows, and TV.  

Need Book Marketing Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com He is available to help authors promote their story, sell their book, and grow their brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

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About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on Twitter @theprexpert. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2023. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This award-winning blog has generated over 3.2 million pageviews. With 4,400+ posts over the past decade, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and two jobs at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Susan RoAne, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America, and has spoken at ASJA, IBPA, Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. He has been featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald. For more information, please consult: linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum.