any suggestions forpromoting my self published travel book?

wildgoosechase

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https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_...aps&field-keywords=moonlight+in+the+himalayas
Moonlight in the Himalayas by Lawrence Morgan

I'm posting this but I can see as I poke around that this site is full of great advice about promoting my book. If anyone has anything to add, please do, but on looking around I can see plenty of ideas that will keep me busy both reading it and putting my promotion campaign together. This site looks like a lot of fun!
I wrote this book about the Himalayas in Nepal a few years ago. I sent it to fifty agents, and didnt get much response or encouragement. I put it on Amazon/createspace, and have sold a few copies. I havent done much with my writing in a while but I am thinking to give it a go again.
I published about ten magazine articles while I was enthusiastic about writing. They were in small travel and nature/outdoors magazines. Then I thought Ide move up in the world by writing a book. I think it was maybe too much for my skills and experience at the time. I bit off more than I could chew.
I thought about it, and probably the book does not have enough mass appeal for a publisher to bother, there might just not be enough potential buyers out there.
It is a narrative nonfiction. In the story I am hiking through the Himalayas, and describe as many aspects of the culture, natural history, and geography as I could cover, both through personal experience and observation and library research. I think it might appeal to a trekker considering hiking in the Everest region of Nepal, but would have little interest for anyone else.
So, without putting too much more effort into it, Im thinking of trying to market a little by a wordpress blog. In my mind there might be a thousand or so people out there a year that might be interested in it, and who knows how many of them would actually click the paypal button and buy it. Anyway, that is one reason I am on this site is to look over ideas for self promotion.
Like I said, I published in actual paper magazines about ten articles on travel in Asia, so the writing is probably good enough for publication. After I published them I walked into the store and bought a copy off the rack. Im in Nepal right now hiking around, so not in a position to do much other than put together ideas for when I get home in a couple months.
Anyway, lots of good ideas on this site and Im glad I stumbled on it.
 
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James W

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Hi WildGooseChase,

Sounds like an interesting book!

Have you thought about trying to reach your identified target readership directly? Look for some trekking forums, trekking groups on Social Media, maybe even a specialist trekking publication you could potentially advertise in?

Also, have you considered running Amazon ads for your book? Anecdotally, I've heard that the Amazon ad system is improving and people are seeing better than results than in the past from using it. If you got your target keywords right, it could help get your book in front of interested readers who have purchased similar titles?

The only other idea that springs to mind is maybe finding some newsworthy aspect related to your book and trying either a free or a paid press release? If you could find some aspect of your book that fit in with a current trend/news event in Nepal, and get a few niche/specialist news organisations to pick up your work, it could create some permanent online signposts towards your book, and maybe attract some news consumers who would not otherwise come across it? There's a guide to writing a press release for a book that makes it newsworthy here - https://kindlepreneur.com/book-press-release.

I'd also consider revamping your cover a little bit? I think with a book focusing on nature and its beauty (to an extent) it's important to have a cover which would appeal to aesthetically discerning people.

Best of luck :)
 

Catherine

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Hi! I briefly checked out your book on Amazon. Please take all of my advice with a grain of salt as I haven't sold many books. Think of me as a person who has tried a few things with writing, but mostly someone who likes to read. Reading books about travel is something I enjoy. Your book looks interesting and I think people would want to read about your journey.

Definitely read the thread Old Hack linked to.

Your idea for a Word Press site is good. If you can, read up on SEO to increase chances of people finding you. There are some simple things you can do to rank higher in the search engines, but not look spammy.

It would be more work, but having your book up on Amazon as well as your WordPress site would increase the chances of people finding your book. If you have access to your files, you could convert it to an e-book, even if you are still overseas. I have an e-book on Amazon for which I have done no promotion at all. It sells relatively well because it's a topic people search for.

Having a good cover is an important part of your advertising. Your cover doesn't reflect the topic as well as it could. If you made it on CreateSpace, the choices are limited for the build your own cover options. If you go with KDP for an e-book, there are more choices available. One thing you might do is take a look at the format of books on your topic and copy the elements found on the covers.

You might want to revise the blurb on the back cover. There is a rogue comma in the first line. Also, I think you could cut quite a bit and be more effective catching the reader's attention.

Good luck to you!
 

Daffyjkl

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Try KDP advertising via Kindle Unlimited. Sponsored and Product adevrtising. Include as many similar authors and titles and try your luck. Including KENP I'm making a small profit on sales. It's hard work, but potentially worth it.