40+ Ways To Promote Your Book Successfully

  

If I asked you: What does it take to promote your book successfully?, I am likely to get one or more of these answers:  

1. Lots of Time

2. A Reserve of Money

3. Hiring a Publicist

4. The Skills to Market 

5. A Savvy Book Campaign Strategy

6. Knowledge of How To Do What’s Needed

7. Courage to Get Out There

8. A Publisher’s Resources & Guidance

9. Some Good Luck

10. Key Connections or a Big Network  

Then, you would start to focus on the targeted areas that singularly or collectively can brand you, move books, and get your message out there, such as these things. 

11. Having A Great Social Media Following

12. Lots Of Professional & Consumer Book Reviews

13. Landing Podcast or Radio Interviews

14. Buying Influencer Testimonials

15. Book Club Adoptions

16. A Good Website

17. Making Public Speaking Appearances

18. Ad Campaign Buys

19. Applying For Book Awards

20. Guest-Posting on Blogs 

And, if you gave it some more thought, you may offer any of these activities: 

21. Creating Your Own Blog, Podcast, You Tube Channel, or Newsletter

22. Writing Articles or Op-Eds For Newspapers, Magazines, Newsletters or Digital Media Sites

23. Attending Conferences/Displaying Your Book

24. Finding Readers At Meetups.com

25. Joining Writer Associations

26. Postcard Mailings To Regional Bookstores

27. Emails To Local Libraries

28. Soliciting Businesses, Non-Profits, Schools, Gov’t Agencies, and Houses of Worship, If Relevant

29. Contacting Gift Shops, Airport Newsstands, and Specialty Shops

30. Doing Whatever Successful Authors In Your Genre Do 

As you can see, without even discussing any specifics, dozens of options may be available to you. How much — and how well — you do any and all of them will dictate your level of success. 

There are many more things that you can do, including: 

31. Give Books Away To Get Word-Of-Mouth

32. Bundle Your Books Together

33. Sell Your Book With Another Service, Product, or Piece of Content

34. Partner With A Company or Author To Sell Your Book In Conjunction With Their Book, Product, or Service

35. Sell It On The Street Like A Lemonade Stand

36. Seek Out TV Interviews

37. Pull Off A Stunt, Filing A Lawsuit, or Starting A Public Fight To Garner News Media Coverage

38. Craft  A Piece Of Viral Content To Share

39. Change Your Name To Stephen King, Zadie Smith, or Colleen Hoover

40. Take Ownership Of Your Book’s Marketing & Sales Fate With Your Attitude 

If you can’t do some of these things, you can outsource it or ignore it and instead bet heavy on your remaining options. Just don’t pick the most common option: nothing. Yes, you know what I am talking about.

You worked hard to research, write, and edit your book.. You struggled to find a literary agent or book publisher. You have spent thousands of dollars to publish your book and countless hours on making your book a reality. But you can’t just stop there. Your job is just beginning.

A book is like having a baby. Now you need to nurture, clothe, feed, and send that kid to college. Your work as a parent dies not end at birth; it begins with life. So, without complaint, fear, or confusion, commit to your book’s marketing and accept your role here. 

Ok, so I saved the best for last. You must take responsibility for your book’s life. No one else will or can.  

You need to develop an opportunistic mindset. Don’t wait for something to happen or to be offered to you. Instead, get on the offensive and determine how to manipulate and generate your own marketing opportunities. 

This means you may need to:  

* Take risks 

* Be up for a challenge

* Accept some upfront losses

* Plan aggressively

* Act and speak with confidence

* Always be persistent and persevering

* Believe in your book and speak with conviction

* Remain optimistic and driven

* Know that your breakthrough moment could be coming

* Feel energized and step with some pep

* Have moving goals 

What do authors need to do to be successful? They must be ready, willing, and able to Do, Buy, Trade, Beg, Borrow, or Collaborate for what they want and need. Ask for a favor or call one in. Repeat that. It should be your mantra. Feel it in your bones, think it, say it, know it, believe it, and live it. 

Doing what others do but better, faster, and more creatively is your starting point. 

Do what others don’t believe in, don’t know exists, have fears or insecurities about doing them, lack the ability to do something, or simply are too lazy to do or have some kind of mental block over doing.  

Free yourself of misinformation, a lack of information, or a self-imposed limitation. You can break through barriers by simply not putting them up in the first place. 

The strategy, attitude, effort, time, and budget that authors need to have to promote a book successfully is up to you. There is no one-size-fits all approach but there are some model behaviors and best-practices worth patterning.  

You need to adopt the strategy that fits your mental, intellectual, physical, and financial make-up. For most authors, marketing is not at all in their DNA. Know what you could or should do and then commit to what you can do. Outsource other areas. And for what you won’t do and can’t afford to pay someone to do, walk away from what is no longer a possibility for you — and give yourself permission to not feel guilt or concern over it. 

What should you do to promote your book successfully? You show me your answer!

 

Need PR Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, with over 3.9 million page views, 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!

 

About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2024. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This award-winning blog has generated over 3.9 million pageviews. With 4,900+ posts over the past dozen years, 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 www.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 director of publicity positions 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, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, 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. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.