How Do Authors Get Strangers To Help Them?

 

There are far more strangers in the world than in our circle of family-friends-acquaintances. There are over eight billion people in the world — and close to 350 million in America. Chances are, you know a few dozen to a few thousand at best.  The biggest pool of potential help to market your book can come from those you don’t know, never met, or never even heard of.

So how do you meet strangers?  

Join groups on line. Become members of real- life organizations. Get introduced to the connections of your connections. Tall to people in any circumstance — when on a line, next to someone at an event, a passerby. Just make a mindful effort to speak to others. Find something in common with the stranger.  

Shared values? Familiar past? A rooting interest? Maybe you come from the same hometown or live in the same area. Perhaps you have the same hobby, are a fan of a specific team or sport, belong to the same house of worship, share someone in common, or volunteer at the same place?

What will endear a stranger to help you market your book?

Be open, friendly, and kind. Introduce yourself. Get to know them. Offer them something.   

You can then…  

* Ask for help. Some people will help you simply because you asked.

* Beg for help. Some can feel guilted into assisting you. 

* Trade something for help. Give them some favor or thing that they perceive to be of value.

* Pay them to assist you.

* Reward them if they provide results in their efforts to help you. 

Nearly everyone that is in your life was once a stranger to you. Now is the time to meet more strangers and convert them into friends, resources, and allies. The more people that you know — and that they know — will yield success for your book.

Marketing Help?

Brian Feinblum 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 8,200,000 page views. With nearly 5,700+ posts over the past 15 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 2026, 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.”  Copyright 2026.

 

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) and (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/10-things-my-dog-taught-me-about-marketing-books). He was recently interviewed by the IBPA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0BhO9m8jbs

 

He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, three times at BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers Association, Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, five times at Morgan James Publishing Red Carpet, 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