How to Market Your Book

Congratulations, you wrote a book! Before you can bask in success, though, you have to sell it. And no, people aren’t going to magically stumble across your book just because it’s great. To succeed in book sales, you have to devise an effective marketing strategy. Sorry, we didn’t make the rules, but we do create comprehensive book marketing packages to help you sell your book and promote it online. 

Marketing is essential to the success of any book, and independent authors have to work that much harder to promote their work without a big publisher or an agent to back them. In fact, even authors signed by traditional publishers have to do most of the marketing themselves. 

Marketing your book is a hard endeavor, but if you do it well, it’ll pay off—literally. Below are some book marketing ideas you can implement on your own to spread the word about your work.

An author website

Besides being active on social media, you’ll need a dedicated website, which should go live well before your book is published. You want to generate hype before your book is released so that it can start its public life off strong. Building a personalized website is vital because it’s a space you can use to promote yourself and your book on your own terms and post any relevant information, such as reviews, features, and information on events you’re attending. You’ll want an attractive, user-friendly design that builds excitement about your book while making information easily accessible.

Once your website is set up, you can also start an email newsletter and a blog to keep in touch with your audience and promote your work directly to them. Make these bulletins original and engaging but don’t push your content too much—you don’t want to overwhelm your followers. It should feel less like a deliberate marketing campaign and more like interesting and useful information for your fans. You should also consider strategies and incentives such as offering free chapters or a special discount to those who subscribe. 

Additionally, if you’re selling your eBook on Amazon, you should claim your Amazon Author Central Page, where readers can follow you and learn more about your work.

Online promotional strategies

From blogs and podcasts to YouTube, crowdfunding, and Amazon reviews, the internet offers all sorts of opportunities for you to promote your book. 

Established blogs and podcasts are great places to advertise your work in a way that will engage the audience and feel less calculated. You can reach out directly to bloggers or podcasters who discuss books in your genre and pitch a collaboration for your launch; the more blogs and podcasts that feature your book, the better. You may even be able to line up interviews with podcasters where you can discuss your book or content related to it. You can also pitch articles to established publications whose genre and style align with your book, which can result in a feature that will reach a larger audience.

Check out our targeted blog lists for book promotion to learn more about the importance of having influencers talking about your work.

Soliciting reviews from influencers, top book reviewers, and even regular readers is another great way to get more people interested in your title. Book influencers populate various social media platforms, so find some in your genre, reach out, and offer a copy of your book for a review. Don’t pay for fake reviews—that’s never a good look—but the reviews on book-selling platforms and your website can convince a new buyer to take a chance on your book.

YouTube might seem like an unlikely place to promote a book, but visual book trailers are popular, and a good one will definitely get your work noticed. If your video editing skills aren’t up to snuff, you can always hire a professional to create a great book trailer for you. The same goes for more visually based platforms like Instagram and Pinterest, which can be leveraged to get people to your website. You can also consider hosting webinars or online classes that offer a space to share your knowledge and promote your book. 

Paid ads on social media and search engines are another effective way to reach a larger audience, but you do need some expertise to get the results you’re paying for. If you’re not well-versed in the intricacies of paid advertising, it may be worth hiring a professional to help you get the most out of this strategy. You don’t want to invest a bunch of money into poorly planned advertisements that don’t deliver the desired return.

Offline promotional strategies 

Online marketing should be your primary strategy, but there are other ways to promote your book IRL. 

Bookstore appearances and readings at coffee shops and stores offer a great opportunity to connect with your local community. It’s not always easy to land these gigs as an independent author, but it’s definitely possible, and they will usually reach a different crowd from the one you find on social media. The same goes for conferences, festivals, workshops, and trade functions. Just check your local listings for literary events, which take place all over the world and feature authors for panels, talks, and readings. Since you can meet fans face to face and get to know them on a more personal level, this can prove a wonderful marketing strategy.

Appearances on local and national media—TV, radio, and print press—will also widen your reach although it might not be as easy to land there as on some of their online counterparts, especially for independent authors. Still, if you can use your personal network to get yourself out there on traditional media, don’t hesitate! In case you know any established authors, ask them to write a blurb for your book which you can then proudly display on your website and social media profiles. 

In many ways, marketing is an exercise in creative thinking—how can you get your name and your book out there? Use whatever resources you have at your disposal.

Tapping into your personal network is one of the keys to promoting your book, so don’t be afraid to reach out and ask for help. That said, your best bet is working with experts who can help pave the way to success for your new book. Marketing professionals can devise an effective marketing strategy for you, and all you have to do is execute it. To learn more, check out our book marketing packages.