The Social Media Refusnik's Guide to Book Marketing

101 handy hints and tips to get you started when you don't use social media

(Image by wal_172619 from Pixabay)

101 Handy Hints to help you market and sell your book without resorting to big tech!

It would be fair to say that for most authors the act of writing books is the bit they enjoy most. By contrast, the bit most of us find frustrating is the amount of time and effort it takes to get our work in front of a paying audience.

This is the case for all writers whether published traditionally (which in the ideal world would consist of a publisher loving your book enough to give you an obscene advance and then paying a handsome royalty for every single copy sold so you can swan off and lie on a beach contemplating the next blockbuster), or whether you are like the vast majority these days, self-published.

In most cases and by that, I mean the 99.9999999% of cases, it is only by digging your hands deep into the compost of marketing that your work will ever see the light of day on more than a handful of bookcases around the globe.

The sad fact is that even in the world of traditional publishing there is little done in the way of marketing for new authors. You must be the next JK Rowling to score even a modicum of support, and even when you do it may be a single, lonely publicist looking after a list of possibly hundreds of books at a time.

To help you get started I’ve put together an updated version of a blog post I originally created back in 2012. Here is where you’ll find 101 ideas to get you started on a decent marketing plan. Not all will be relevant to every writer, so pick out those you think will help you get where you want to go. The difference between this post and the original is that back then I was still enthralled by social media, Google and Amazon. That thrall has worn off and my rose-tinted glasses have been replaced with decent contact lenses. It is not true that to be successful you have to use social media, Amazon or Google. It is true, you will need to use some technology. I am not averse to technology, simply the overreach of the big tech giants!

The List

Please note: Over time, this list may change because that’s the nature of the medium we work with and the technological milieu we live in.

1. Work out who is going to buy your book

2. Marketing vs advertising

3. Set an objective

4. Create a marketing plan for your book

5. Find out the difference between your readers and buyers

6. Set a budget for your marketing activities

7. Find some beta readers

8. Add an About the Author page to your book

9. Make sure you ask for reviews from within your books

10. Add a list of other books you have written or contributed to at the end of each book

11. Don’t just use one Print on Demand provider

12. Create a book excerpt

13. Create a set of teasers

14. Create a set of book club notes

15. Create, build and develop your author’s blog or website

16. Create a free download that introduces your style to a new set of readers

17. Make sure people can contact you

18. Create a monthly newsletter about your work and online activities

19. Create and deliver a regular activity for your audience

20. Use keyword analysis to create focused blog posts, articles and updates that you know people want to read

21. Create a book trailer

22. Create the perfect author or writer business card

23. Have a set of postcards about your book printed

24. Get a set of greeting cards printed with illustrations

25. Create an A5 book information flyer for booksellers

26. Organise a competition to gather support from those who already know you

27. Sell your book on your own website

28. Sell your book in multiple outlets

29. Add your book to Etsy

30. Create and sell your eBook in multiple online stores

31. Build word of mouth

32. Offer advance copies for review to fans of your previous work

33. Start a book tour

34. Offer bloggers free copies and/or interviews

35. Set up a series of speaking engagements at local events about your topic

36. Have your book reviewed by book bloggers

37. Put together a set of local contacts for the press

38. Send a press release, free copy, and photograph to your local paper/s

39. Send a press release, free copy, and photograph to your local radio station

40. Offer a review copy to your local book review journalists

41. Become a local book reviewer

42. Offer a review copy to relevant journalists

43. Donate copies to libraries

44. Link your book to a cause

45. Donate your book to relevant organisations or charities

46. Leave copies in bookshops, cafes and venues

47. Provide free copies to your local doctor’s surgery or dentist waiting room

48. Use Eventbrite to promote your events

49. Keep a calendar of events that you can use to promote your book

50. Take part in writing competitions

51. Use webinars to speak with a broader audience

52. Rent a stall at the next relevant fair in your local area

53. Ask your local coffee shop, bar, or pub if you can do a book reading

54. Offer to host a book reading in your local library

55. Offer a free writing event during the school holiday

56. Offer to guest lecture in colleges and universities

57. Contact local businesses to present to them if the work is relevant

58. Set up a flash mob

59. Set up a series of impromptu readings in unusual places

60. Attend and take part in poetry readings

61. Attend and take part in comedy club events

62. Offer yourself as a speaker to the local WI

63. Write a regular press release about events you are taking part in

64. Create videos and presentations about themes you cover in your book

65. Join BookCrossing.com

66. Create an account on LibraryThing

67. Search for active readers’ forums to take part in

68. Write flash fiction if you are a novelist

69. Ask your readers for feedback

70. Record a podcast of your opening chapters

71. Ensure your book is enrolled in any preview systems that booksellers use

72. Add your book to The Book Marketing Network

73. Send your news to Writing Magazine if you’re a subscriber

74. Investigate WattPad

75. Add your free books to Project Guttenberg

76. In the UK? Use We Buy Books

77. Investigate and use Scribd

78. Join Issuu

79. Add your video trailers to Vimeo

80. Connect with other Authors online (they are often readers too)

81. Offer free e-copies of your book for specified time periods

82. Have some merchandise made up that you can give away

83. Contact tourist information if your book has a local interest

84. Set up workshops and courses on the themes and topics of your book/writing

85. Offer to do book readings in local schools

86. Get yourself on a podcast interview or two

87. Volunteer in a writing competition as a judge or reader

88. Edit a local literary journal

89. Offer yourself as a writer in residence

90. Go networking

91. Start or join a writing group

92. Write a letter to The Times with fun or interesting facts and information

93. Contribute to online and regular magazines

94. Writers Forum magazine

95. At the checkout

96. Contact Gardners and Waterstones

97. Set up an auction of original drawings and get some prints made of any illustrations

98. Adapt chapters or small sections of your book for alternative audiences

99. Create an audio version of your book

100. Get your work translated into other languages, then rinse and repeat all the hints and tips

101. Say thank you regularly.

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