Writers today need to be marketing savvy in order to get the word out about their book. Book promotion efforts help sell books, especially for new writers. Whether an author has published traditionally or self published, he or she needs to be diligent in marketing. Even traditional publishers don't often have the time or money to put into book promotion. It's up to the author to make sure his or her work is getting attention.
Every bit of marketing builds on the next. So a task that may seem small will have great impact when combined with other efforts. Here are a few book promotion tips for authors that won't break the bank.
Free Book Reviews
Reviews, particularly if a book is sold online, will help sell the work. Authors can solicit book reviews from friends or members of their local writer's group free of charge. Many book bloggers will also do a review and place it on their website.
Book Tours
Authors can set up a virtual or online book tour by contacting bloggers and asking them to review the book, do an interview, comment, or hold a giveaway during a specified month. The impact of grouping the blog stops in one month can give books a marketing boost. Authors can discuss current events that have to do with their characters, the process of writing the blog, or any other area that may interest readers.
It's important to promote the benefits to the blogger when asking them to help promote a book. Authors should provide free review copies, giveaway items, or free guest posts as a way to reward bloggers for helping in the marketing effort. A search of the sites Technorati or Google Blog Search will help identify positive candidates for a book blog tour.
Free Author Resources
Many sites offer free marketing resources for authors. Joan Stewart, otherwise known as The Publicity Hound, offers free articles and tips on how to get the media's attention. Dan Poynter (unofficially called the "father of self-publishing") has a free marketing info kit available for authors. The Help a Reporter Out (HARO) site connects reporters looking for story resources and interviews.
Finally, authors need their own website and blog to keep readers informed about the latest publicity, radio interviews, TV appearances, and news involving their book. A blog will allow an author to connect on a deeper level with his or her readers, and create a stronger base of fans. Blogs and websites are inexpensive to create and maintain, making them the perfect complement to an author's other marketing efforts.
Cherie Burbach - Cherie Burbach writes about dating, relationships, health, sports, and lifestyle. She's the author of eleven books and ebooks.
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