Book marketing tips from 3 local authors
More than 55 people attended last night’s Arizona Book Publishing Association presentation featuring 3 authors:
Lynda Exley – “The Student From Zombie Island” (promoting her son’s book)
Robin Reynolds – “Life to the Max: Maxims for a Great Life by a Dog Named Max”
Claire Perkins – “The Deep Water Leaf Society”
Here are the highlights of some of the tips they offered authors & publishers for promoting their works:
- To set up a book signing, contact the community relations director at the bookstore you want to speak at, and ask what they do to help promote books. Note – most likely you will end up doing most of the promotion yourself. Bookstores like Changing Hands have a good following. Be persistent, positive, and present something of value
- You should start the publicity for your book 6 months or so before it is even completed, so that you can send the manuscript to different reviewers. Most reviewers will only look over manuscripts, not the finished product.
- To manage your readers, a tool such as Constant Contact is helpful. You can create an automated sign-up box on your website, and they enforce the non-spamming rules.
- Twitter can be helpful if you post tips and links to articles, rather than pitch to your followers. Watch the trending topics on twitter, and tie into those.
- You can draw people to your website through search words (search optimization) and putting articles on your website.
- Make sure your cover design looks good as well as a thumbnail on Amazon, e.g. legible.
- Look at your entire brand when choosing a designer – someone who is good at designing the Web, ads, the cover, etc.
- One of the most successful tactics for marketing your book is through public speaking. It also helps to target a particular niche, and you can send books for review for free. Another helpful tactic is to lead a hands-on workshop that illustrates what’s in the book. This way you can create synergy between the book and your consulting practice.
- Think of other venues, such as church bazaars.
- Create a marketing plan before the book is in print.
- Don’t give up – you have to really stick with marketing over a period of time.
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Comments
June 30th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
Nice summary — offers valuable advice in minimal words. I hope that authors everywhere “get it” — thanks for the contribution.
June 30th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
Here are some other tips I learned based on experience. These have worked wonders for me!
Ask your pub’s publicity dept to send you a stack of press releases that you can distribute locally. Pick the best outlets and send them a mini-look book, a review copy to local media. Include at least 3 “story angles” for your feature that you can be interviewed about.
Take advantage of special offers on sites like VistaPrint.com to make color postcards. Always carry a stack in our purse to hand out in your daily travels. Take a stack to local (or other cities if you have connections) to put them out for you.
About one month before your book comes out, use Twitter (or you can personally contact) to reach out to bloggers to send review copies. Choose the blogs that you think will fit great with your book.
Even though your book may be on one topic, look to find subtopics and then pitch to those industries as well.
Have a contest on your blog so people can enter to win a free signed copie. They will likely tell their friends or post their winning on thier own blog.
Look to other sites similair to yours and offer to do a guest blog or interview.
Make a 1 minute book trailer for YouTube.
Connect with friends in other cities for sources to send to.
Make every vacation a book signing! Do advance research to find a place/bookstore to have a signing.
Write to other authors (or even celebrities!) in your genre for book blurbs/endorsement. Many will pass, but all you need is a few to make the magic happen!
Those are just a few ideas off the top of my head! Good luck to everyone, keep up the hustle!
Perace, love, and glitter!
Kathy
June 30th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
Pardon my typos from above, I’m writing this at hyperspeed while on deadline for another project! But I just had to share! The book meeting sounds like it was wonderful, so many great tips from inspiring authors. Bummed I was out of town and had to miss. Hope to attend the next one!