You wrote a book and you got it published. You are one of 7,500 people to do this today.
How will you market the darn thing in order to break through the massive
clutter of content that blitzes and chokes society?
The process should not seem mysterious nor magical. It is quite straight
forward. But it will take some time, money, effort, mindshare, luck, and
fortitude to formulate and execute a smart, efficient, and productive book
marketing campaign.
You can neither outsource everything nor do it all yourself. A happy blend of
using paid book marketing mercenaries and relying on your own gumption will be
the secret brew here.
Ok, so what could or should be done?
Here are your leading options to consider:
* Applying to book awards and writing contests
* Seeking out public speaking engagements
* Generating news media coverage
* Being active on social media
* Advertising
* Building, expanding, and updating a web site
* Sending out E-blasts to targeted markets
* Conducting free content marketing campaigns
* Developing affiliate sales partners
* Running discount campaigns
* Offering freebies
* Developing partnerships
* Packaging it with products/services
* Getting testimonials
* Securing reviews
* Doing pay-to-play
Set specific goals for the year, quarter, week, day, and hour.
Take ownership of your time. Set priorities, seek short cuts, make tough
decisions, take risks, be willing to sacrifice things, and prepare to be tired
and cranky.
Define an outsource plan:
* To whom?
* To do what?
* For how long?
* At what cost?
* What is the pay-off?
Options
* Buy things like book reviews
* Hire help for any aspect of marketing
* Do it yourself
* Trade favors with others
* Beg your network for help
* Do giveaways to build word-of-mouth
That is all that you need to know. Book marketing is not a choice—it is the foundation for an author’s success. There is nothing so mysterious about it. Take the first step: commit to your marketing. The rest will come.
Do You Need Book Marketing & PR Help?
Brian
Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, with over four million page
views, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com He is available to help authors like you to promote
your story, sell your book, and grow your 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
This award-winning blog has generated over
4.4 million pageviews. With 5,300+ posts over the past 14 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.” Copyright 2025.
For
the past three decades, Brian Feinblum has helped thousands of authors. He
formed his own book publicity firm in 2020. Prior to that, for 21 years as the
head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and as the
director of publicity 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.
His
writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s
The Independent (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/whats-needed-to-promote-a-book-successfully).
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. He served as a judge for the
2024 IBPA Book Awards.
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.
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.
You
can connect with him at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum/ or https://www.facebook.com/brian.feinblum