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32 Marketing Ideas to Promote Your Book

Mar 19, 2015 | Writing | 12 Comments

“People are in such a hurry to launch their product or business that they seldom look at marketing from a bird’s eye view and they don’t create a systematic plan.” —Dave Ramsey

Image courtesy of KROMKRATHOG at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I’ve pursued many of these marketing activities for Calculated Risk. Decide which you have time for, would enjoy, and can afford.

For any of these ideas, search online for help on how to do the activities well and for testimonies on their effectiveness.

Marketing Ideas

1. “About Content” – Update the content about you on all your social networks. Include interesting tidbits about your book.

2. ACFW Fiction Finder – Check requirements to add your title to this American Christian Fiction Writers listing for people looking for fiction.

3. Ads – Join multiple authors in magazine ads. Newspaper ads for author events. Some blogs will display your cover in sidebars.

4. Amazon Author Central – Set up an account and author page.

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5. Announcements – Build email lists now. Send your promotion postcards to readers and libraries.

6. Audience Analysis – Define your audience and where members gather. Join their online groups and build relationships.

7. Blog – Post regularly. Display your book cover on the sidebar. Publish book-related posts around your release date. Guest-blog on others’ blogs.

8. Blog Tours – Find bloggers willing to host you during a set period.

9. Book Clubs – Include a website tab. Offer free bookplates to groups that discuss your book. Offer to attend meetings through phone or Skype.

10. Book Launch Party – Plan a celebration at a local bookstore or a community center.

11. Book Signing – Hand out bookmarks. Join multi-author signings.

12. Book Trailer – Put your trailer on your website and other sites, such as Amazon’s Author Central.

13. Drawings – Hold drawings for a book or basket of book-related items at book signings and local businesses.

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14. Conferences – Offer books at the center’s bookstore. Leave book promotional materials on appropriate tables. Build relationships.

15. Contests – Enter respected contests. Winners can add “award-winning author” to their bio. Runner-ups can mention that fact.

16. Consignments – Approach local gift shops to sell your books on consignment.

17. Email Addresses – Collect them on drawing entry forms or in your guestbook at author events. Ask participants to subscribe to your newsletter.

18. Endorsements – Include them on your website’s Book Page, promotional materials, press releases, and author pages.

19. Excerpts – Choose book excerpts for your website, interviews, and speaking events.

20. Facebook Author Page – Post regularly. Share book news.

by MrMagic

21. Festivals, Fairs, and Craft Shows – Set up a book table and chat with people.

22. Goodreads – Hold book giveaways. Participate in Goodreads groups.

23. Influencers – Gather people to read your advance reader copies, write honest reviews, and promote your book on their social networks.

24. Interviews – Obtain interviews on blogs, websites, and other media.

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25. Library Events – Contact local libraries and plan fun meet-the-author events.

26. Newsletter – Produce a newsletter periodically with content exclusively for subscribers.

27. Press Release – Send releases to local newspapers and the content to library and bookstore coordinators for your events.

28. Promotional Materials – Order bookmarks, business cards, postcards, posters, car magnets, banners, and book-related giveaways.

29. Reviewers – Request book reviews from bloggers and professionals who write reviews.

30. Speaking Engagements – Prepare talks to use for various types of events.

31. Virtual Parties – Host an online party with book-related blurbs and giveaways.

32. Website – Maintain a quality, updated website.

Peruse these marketing ideas & start promoting your upcoming book now. Click to tweet.

Add to the list. What are other marketing ideas?

Here’s a plug for a marketing idea my publisher is doing:

For the entire season of Lent, all e-books in the Pelican Book Group store are free. Yes, free–all e-books in the catalogue–from 18 Feb to 2 April. Calculated Risk is included in this promotion.

5 Steps to Save Days in Marketing Your Next Book

Mar 12, 2015 | Writing | 6 Comments

“Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.” — William Penn

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

To save days marketing Book 2, you need to become a super-crazed, organized packrat for Book 1. If you failed to do these steps on Book 1, do them during Book 2.

by taliesin

Step 1 – Save

During the writing and publishing process for Book 1, save every email and link you come across with information and ideas about book marketing. Stick adhesive notes in magazine articles and books you read on marketing. Save marketing handouts from workshops.

by Ladyheart

Put the emails and links in an electronic mail folder. File the paper info in a big manila folder. Let it be a mess.

Step 2 – Suction

Four months before promoting Book 1, block off a day’s worth of time on your schedule. Gather the saved documents from Tip 1. Suction all the ideas from these materials and enter them into an electronic spreadsheet. Write good titles to sort on for each Project, such as Launch Party, Newsletter, and Book Signing 1.

Step 3 – Assign

For each Project in your spreadsheet, assign a Project number and a tentative month to work on that item. As you work on the projects, insert rows for the tasks to be performed. Record the months you actually do each task. In cases such as Library Event 1, change it to Library Event Wythe County.

Suggested Columns: Month, Project Name, Task, Sub-task, Due Date, Work “Done”, Live Date, and Notes (for links and contact info.)

Example for Calculated Risk:

Step 4 – Store

by Penywise

Purchase a 3-ring binder. I used a 3 ½-inch binder. For each Project-related document, write the project number in the upper right corner. Then file it by Project number in the binder. Here are some examples of Project documents.

Example: Project #23 Book Signing

“Tips for a Successful Book Signing” article from your messy marketing folder
Info about the particular store
Important emails between store contact and you (leave others in your electronic folder)
Questions for the initial meeting with store contact
Press release content
Ad specs

Step 5 – Evaluate

When Book 1 promotion winds down, note in your spreadsheet which Projects you would remove or change. You’ll probably have a few Projects you didn’t pursue that you might consider for Book 2.

Two timesaving resources to develop now for marketing your next book. Click to tweet.

Now you have two timesaving resources:

Your electronic spreadsheet contains all the marketing projects and tasks you performed. And possible ones for future books. You know when to schedule tasks. You can click on the saved links. You have email addresses and telephone numbers.
Your document binder is cross-referenced to your spreadsheet by project numbers. You have all the documents and forms you need to repeat the tasks for Book 2.

For example, the forms you completed to order bookmarks, business cards, and postcards have all the technical specs recorded. You already know what finish to choose.

In an upcoming post, I’ll share possible marketing ideas.

What time saver have you used in marketing your books?

Here’s a plug for a marketing idea my publisher is doing:

For the entire season of Lent, all e-books in the Pelican Book Group store are free. Yes, free–all e-books in the catalogue–from 18 Feb to 2 April. Calculated Risk is included in this promotion.

Your Words Can Possess Power – It’s Your Choice

Mar 5, 2015 | Writing | 4 Comments

“Mark Twain said, ‘The right word is to the nearly right word as lightning is to the lightning bug.’ Fill your book with lightning.” — Robert Littell

It’s our choice to choose the word that gives our sentence the most power in creating a robust image in the reader’s mind. Often, power words don’t naturally pop into our heads.

What? Take the time to think about all 80,000 words in our manuscripts? Good news. You need to deliberate only the verbs, adjectives, and nouns.

From Wimpy to Forceful

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Eric gave Elle the paper. I picture Eric extending the paper to Elle and her taking it. And maybe this is enough, if you’re simply getting the paper into Elle’s hand. You intend to call little attention to the action. You want your readers to focus on more important actions or items in your paragraph.

But even in the no-special-attention instance “gave” can be improved. And “paper” can be more specific. How about: Eric handed Elle the letter.

But look at the sentence in the following contexts. You might go through this process armed with a thesaurus/dictionary.

1. Anger. Elle has presented Eric with divorce papers. Eric is incensed.

Gave⇒handed⇒pushed⇒shoved⇒thrust⇒threw⇒flung⇒hurled

Paper⇒pages⇒document⇒divorce papers⇒divorce contract⇒life death sentence

Eric flung the divorce papers at Elle.

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

2. Joy. Eric presents his first book contract to Elle.

Gave⇒handed⇒waved⇒flapped

Paper⇒document⇒contract⇒book contract

As Eric strode toward Elle, he flapped the book contract. She whisked it from his grasp, examined it, and then danced him around the dining table.

3. Awe. Eric has discovered a Biblical document in a cave.

Gave⇒handed⇒presented⇒laid⇒deposited⇒slid⇒settled⇒rested

Paper⇒document⇒fragment⇒scroll fragment

Eric rested the ancient scroll fragment on Elle’s upturned palms.