I was recently on a forum when I ran across the following question a writer had on marketing a new book:

What do you do when you feel like you’ve done everything you can to let the literary world know of your existence?

For over a month I’ve been doing what I can to let people know who I am so that they’ll give my kindle book a try. Getting people to want to read my story is a challenge but to have them give a new author a try makes it almost impossible.

Immediately I understood how he felt. Marketing a new book as an author is definitely a challenge, but not an impossible one. This article will provide four tips for marketing a new book to readers. These tips will help new authors get their book in front of their audience and keep them coming back long after they’ve read the last page.

My Experience Marketing A New Book

 

When I started researching the book industry, I was surprised to learn that new authors typically do the majority of promotion for their book. And if you’re a self published author it is solely your responsibility to market your book. This means no matter how your book gets published, it’s your responsibility to consistently market and find readers.

To be clear, this isn’t to say that a publishing company won’t market you, because they will. But it won’t be the same type of promotion you’d see for an established author. You’ll have to roll up your sleeves and assist them, proving to them you’re marketable so that they will devote more marketing dollars to your book.

Handling all or some of your book marketing is actually great for new writers because it puts you right where your readers are.

3 Tips For Marketing A New Book

 

Tip #1 Marketing a new book to book clubs

When my debut novel was released, I made sure book clubs had press releases about my upcoming book. I made a list of all the Internet book clubs within my genre. I sent emails asking if they’d be interested in reviewing my book and I received a very good response and subsequent buzz. I also visited websites like GoodReads and Shelfari dedicated to avid readers. By getting in front of your readers you’re able to brand yourself and get immediate feedback.

Tip #2 Seek out book publicity

Because my book is centered around the world of celebrity gossip, I contacted media outlets where celebrity gossip was their focus. This included magazines, blogs, websites, radio stations and more. Book publicity is the best form of promotion available, because it’s free and it’s a great way to get people speaking positive about your book. It’s one thing for you to say your book is awesome, but a whole new ball game when someone else says it!

Tip #3 Go to book events and market your book

Vending at various events throughout the city is a great way to get the word out about your new book. By purchasing a vending table at events that are already happening in your area, you can target the events your readers are already attending. Or consider throwing a really nice book release party and have your friends and family invite people as well.

Tip # 4 Use social media to market your book

The Internet allows you so many opportunities to meet prospective readers. Aside from sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, there are sites like Ustream or Google+ Livestream where you can chat with people all over the world by live video streaming. Your supporters will love getting an opportunity to chat with their favorite author about their newest book.

I hope these four tips will help you get started. Book marketing is literally getting out there and letting people know about you and your book one person at a time. Marketing a new book gives the author a chance to see first hand who their fan base is. It also gives the author an opportunity to establish relationships with their readers. One of the best times I’ve had as an author was talking to a book club and getting to know the people who are interested in the type of books I write. I see all of these as advantages that new authors must embrace in order to grow your fan base. Remember…every writer was new at some point!

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Are you marketing a new book? What are your challenges? Please share in the comment section below.

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