How to promote books?

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iwannabepublished

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Over the years, I have completed 10 books and am currently working on two more. After an extended period of querying book agents, I began self publishing. I also began searching for reviewers for my work. I have had some limited success getting reviews published on Amazon, etc. I am not on any social media websites. I am generally repealed by what I hear about sites like Facebook. People seem to share information that, in my opinion, is far beyond what they should. For example, if someone announces they are going on a vacation they're advertising their home as being vacant and an easy target for theft.

Anyway, I have been attempting to figure out how to promote my work. It was suggested that I create a website. After giving the idea some thought, I went ahead and built a site. It's nice to see that some people have visited the site, but I had know way of knowing how they found it or what they thought. I first added a place where people could send me an email with anything they cared to share. After a few months I got no response. Next, I offered to send a free e-book to anyone requesting a copy. This offer has been in effect for almost one month - with zero requests.

I would love to hear what other people have done to promote their work and how successful it has been. Thanks in advance for your response.

P.S. My website is - kenteicherbooks.com
 
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lizmonster

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First of all, I don't think you're missing much promotionally by skipping Facebook. You could, if you chose, set up an author page with minimal information and a link to your web site - no personal info sharing required! - but IME it's not going to get you much.

On the other hand, there are numerous writer's groups on Facebook, including groups for self-published authors. Many of them allow cross-promotion. Your kids may choose to announce their vacations, but you don't have to - don't cut off your nose to spite your face. FB has the virtue of being free, and although it won't sell books for you it can find you some people facing similar challenges. Networking is a big part of all of this, and you can't know in advance who might put you in touch with someone really helpful.

Second: What are your favorite books? How did you hear about them?

The thing is, a web site/social media isn't really going to help you until people know you're there. Reading tends to be a pull activity: we see/hear about a book that looks interesting, and we read it. We may look up info about the author afterward, but for the most part, we're mostly interested in finding out if an author we like has written anything else.

People aren't going to randomly stumble over your web site. That's not how the internet works. They need to hear about you, and look up your web site because they're curious. It's the hearing-about-you bit that's key.

None of this is easy or everybody would be doing it. :) In the meantime, I assume you've been through this thread.

Re: your web site: one big thing I'd do is put your books front and center. Your bio stuff is fine, but IMHO unnecessary. Remember when I asked you what your favorite books were? How much do you know about the personal lives of those authors? How much of a difference does it make to you? Your work is what speaks for you in the writing world.

(There is, of course, the caveat that one should be careful not to be a jerk online, at least not under one's publishing name. :))
 

BonafideDreamer

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I haven't published any book yet, but I have received so many wonderful advice from successful self-published authors. Here are the ones that stand out.

1) Hidden Gems is a good service for getting reviews. Plenty of self-published authors have had success with it. It's what I plan on using once I'm ready to publish my book.

2)Once you have at least ten reviews, you can use promo sites to help get your book in front of an audience. The most recommended ones are: ENT (Ereader News Today), Robin Reads, FreeBooksy, fussy librarian, ChoosyBookworm, Bargain Booksy, AwesomeGang. And if you can land a BookBub, it will do amazing things for your book.

3) Make sure that you have a mailing list opt in at the end of your book, encouraging readers to join.


I'm still in the process of writing my book, but numerous authors have said this process works for them.
 

indianroads

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I haven't published any book yet, but I have received so many wonderful advice from successful self-published authors. Here are the ones that stand out.

1) Hidden Gems is a good service for getting reviews. Plenty of self-published authors have had success with it. It's what I plan on using once I'm ready to publish my book.

2)Once you have at least ten reviews, you can use promo sites to help get your book in front of an audience. The most recommended ones are: ENT (Ereader News Today), Robin Reads, FreeBooksy, fussy librarian, ChoosyBookworm, Bargain Booksy, AwesomeGang. And if you can land a BookBub, it will do amazing things for your book.

3) Make sure that you have a mailing list opt in at the end of your book, encouraging readers to join.


I'm still in the process of writing my book, but numerous authors have said this process works for them.

Is this the site you're talking about?
hiddengemsbooks.com
 
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fenyo

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money, money, money.

your's or some one who like your books, really like your books. or time- time is money.

if you are good at promoting and advertising you should to do the work your self. if you are not, you should pay some one else to do it.

"in life you do what ever you can- what ever you can't, you buy." (not sure who said that).
 

CathleenT

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Everyone only has so much time. Promotion is a rabbit hole down which you can fall and never find your way out. I've dealt with it by prioritizing.

One commonality I've found from many commercially successful self-published authors is the importance of building an email list. For me, the email list is top priority. After that comes my website/blog.

Lots of variables factor in. Are you KU or wide? What genre do you write? What is your style relating to readers? Are you comfortable on video? And what will you stick with? For me personally, I will never have a youtube channel. I dislike Instagram. Don't go with something if you can't stand it. Eventually, you'll quit.

So, essentially you have to find your strengths. If you have a huge blank in your mind when you consider that question, perhaps you can start by eliminating your weaknesses.
 
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She_wulf

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Promotion is the proverbial author's elephant. You have to eat it one bite at a time. Don't expect one thing to propel you to author stardom. I try to do at least three promotional "things" (aka tasks) a week. (I've been doing this for about a month).

So far this has included:
Posting blog content on author site
Scheduling "free content" days
Creating promotional materials
Scheduling ads on KDP
Posting author related activity on Facebook
Evaluating my Twitter presence and posts, curbing my persona there so when I begin to actually promote on that site, it isn't so embarrassing
Joining review groups
Scheduling appearances and supporting other regional authors in the same genre
posting photo content on Instagram related to my current work in progress, and/or my ads for current book
Getting active here again (which is triple bonus of writing skill improvement, giving back to others, and potential exposure)


This is all on top of actually writing and plotting and a full time job.
It is not a get rich quick job. It is a labor of love that my sanity basically relies upon. (those pesky characters in my head keep making up new stories)

Just remember, one bite at a time... You'll eat the entire elephant eventually.

Also remember, even traditionally published authors need to contribute to their marketing. Far fewer publishing houses these days do it all for you. If you don't have a brand, you get lost.
 

cool pop

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Don't disregard FB. Trust me. FB is a wonderful way to market your books and most importantly to build your brand. You just have to know how to use it. There are MANY ways to promote on FB. If you just want to put your books up and leave then yeah that's not going to help you, but there are many options to promoting a book on FB and many of them work. Some things do depend on genre but some can work for any writer.

One of the many advantages to FB is it opens you up to endless contacts and that's how you can learn of promotional opportunities. FB is more than an author page or posting in groups. Below are just a sample of many ways you can market on FB. It is a great place for building your brand if you are open to checking it out.

1. Cross promotion/networking with other authors: Cross promotion is one of the most effective and cheapest ways of promotion.

2. Mailing list swaps: (I don't do them but many authors participate in mailing list swaps and giveaways with authors in their genre to grow their mailing lists.) The general idea is that you promote each other's books to your lists and since you are in the same genre this can be quite successful.

3. Events: You hold events right on Facebook. You can host an event about your book or its release and chat with readers. You can also do events with other authors and events often consist of giveaways that get readers interested.

4. Book Fairs: Yep, that's right. There are many book fairs hosted on FB. It's done similar to the way events are and usually hosted by an author, blogger or promotional company. Authors are usually invited to participate and it's just like a real life book fair where you meet readers and introduce them to your books without leaving your home.

5. Facebook Live: If you are comfortable on screen you can do FB live videos. The key to these is not just pushing your book but talking to readers and giving them a more intimate experience. Many authors on FB are also marketing gurus or those who teach about writing so they use FB live as a way to reach not only their fans but other authors. Some authors also have seminars and inteviews on FB live.

6. Facebook ads: If you got the money and the time you can learn about running FB ads. Many authors swear by them. I didn't find them that helpful but as I said, others have sworn by them so you never know until you try. You can also run ads for your mailing list or web site to build your brand. I haven't run those types of ads but might in the future. I believe FB ads are often better for building your brand than sales anyway.

7. Page hijacking: Once again this comes down to networking. Some people (authors, PR people, bloggers, industry professionals) hold promotional opportunities on their business pages and often they let authors hijack their page. This means someone allows you (either by their invitation or you asking) to promote your books and brand on their page for a day or however long you want to do it. This is a good way to reach your audience because the key is to promote with those who write (or who focus on) the same types of books you do.

8. Multiauthor giveaways: You can do your own giveaway to promote your book or you can get with a group of authors and run one huge giveaway and this allows all the authors to reach new readers.

9. Do you blog about your book? You can share your blog posts on Facebook as well as find others you can do guest blogs for and visa versa.

10. Author groups/Street teams: Many authors have their own FB groups where they gather readers and fans and talk about their books and the things they are working on. You can gain loyal followers as well as having existing readers (who like your work) join your group. You can run it yourself or hire a personal assistant to run it.

11. Group takeovers: Many of the book groups allow authors to do takeovers meaning you can hijack the group for a few hours or even the entire day and promote your book, talk about your brand, and interact with readers.

12. Get a PA or VA: There are tons of personal assistants and virtual assistants on FB. If you would rather someone do the heavy lifting for you, then you can pay someone who will not only promote but who will also take care of other tasks you have pertaining to your book.

13. Start a book promotional group for other authors: This would be a group pertaining to your genre where other authors can promote and you can host discussions, etc. A good alternative to those who want a group but not necessarily one devoted just to themselves. This way you can promote your own work while helping out other authors. You'll gain more readers because the authors who participate will automatically bring in traffic with their own readers and by spreading the word.

14. Post excerpts and samples of your book: Once your book is on pre-order or close to being released you can start posting excerpts and teasers to get readers interested. You can do this from your personal profile, FB page, or in groups. You can also run things like contests and scavenger hunts to get readers excited about your book.

15. Offer promotional opportunities to your fellow authors: Get to know authors in your genre and let them know you will give their books a shout out on their release days if they do the same for you on your release day. This can lead to a lot of opportunities because authors might invite you to be on their blog, page, or do a newsletter swap.

16. Physical Events: FB is a great way to learn about all the exciting industry events around the world. You'll learn about conferences, book signings, festivals, awards ceremonies, and if this is something you want to get into you will be able to start promoting through these types of events.

17. Radio Shows/TV shows: I get invited to do radio shows (online and off). I've done a few online ones but it's not my thing. I also did a local TV show a few years back where they talked about my book. Got that from guess what...Facebook! I'm not comfortable with this type of stuff because I have anxiety disorder but if you are one who don't mind getting out there then you can definitely find those outlets on FB.

18. Magazines: I used to write for a few magazines. Guess how I got those gigs? :tongue Yep, Facebook! ;) Yeah, I wrote for an entertainment magazine that featured musicians, actors and artists. I was an interviewer and then I worked with a few literary/artist magazines. Got every one of those jobs from FB. Every single one. Years ago I ran a web site where I interviewed up and coming R&B and hip hop artists. We came in contact with each other through FB.

19. Can Reach the Film World: Almost had one of my books optioned for a small indie movie and a play. Unfortunately after years of the back and forth, neither worked out in the end but those are opportunities I wouldn't have gotten without FB. This is another door you can open if you connect with the right people and they like your work.

I can go on and on but FB is an important tool for authors. Some think it's just a site to post your book but it's not. You can learn a lot and it's the easiest way to network. I've learned of thousands of authors from FB. Authors I probably would've never known had not been for FB. I have garnered my fans and readers mainly from FB because my readers rely on FB to find out about books and to stay in the know with authors. I've met loads of industry professionals like journalists (a popular journalist just interviewed me for her column a few weeks ago about asking my opinion on selling ebooks on Nook). She is just one of many I've worked with. I was contacted years back by a New York Times reporter who was going to interview me and other authors but the article never got approval. I was disappointed but she is still a contact I will always have and never know what might come up. If it wasn't for social networking, she wouldn't have ever reached out to me I'm sure. Or it would've been more difficult for her to. I have also been featured on the USA Today blog several times (interviewed and they reviewed my books). I never would've gotten that opportunity if not for FB where I learned of that contact. There are MANY big time journalists and reporters on FB that are always looking to interview authors and you just never know who's attention you'll catch.

There are SO many opportunities you can get from FB and that you will be missing out on a lot of networking opportunities if you don't at least give it a try.

What do you have to lose? Also, once you join, people will help you so it doesn't take you long to get used to it. Just don't shut the door on FB or think it's just "some social networking site". It's much, much more if you know how to use it.

Good luck!
 
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Marissa D

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That was a terrific summary with a ton of useful info, cool pop! :Hail: The only thing I would add is that FB now has a policy (as of this past May, IIRC) that using FB ads means you give them permission to view your credit reports. Considering their past record with their users' personal information, I think I'll pass on that. But everything else is spot on.
 
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