5 Book Promotion Ideas You Can Start Today

Promotion and publicity mean all the difference between a book that gains a following and one that sinks into obscurity. With a million or more books self-published every year, it can be hard to make yours stand out. Even those authors who go with traditional publishers have less support than they did in the past. To get the attention you need, you have to take on many promotion tasks yourself. While this can seem a daunting project, small steps taken now can have a big payoff over time. These five ideas are all ones you can start today to begin building the audience you are looking for:

1. Apply for a Goodreads Author page.

Claiming your author page is as simple as finding your books on the site and filling out the application to claim your page. Once you have your author page complete, you can add blog posts, show readers what you are reading and interact using the “Ask the Author” function.

2. Rewrite your book blurb.

Your book blurb is a 100 to 150 – word pitch that shows why a reader should pick your book out of thousands of choices. Look at some book blurbs from successful authors to see what about them captures your interest. Rewrite yours to engage readers from the first sentence.

3. Send an introduction email to another author.

Networking with other authors allows you to each extend the other’s reach. Is there someone working in your genre whose work you really love? Send an email to tell them so. Once you have established a rapport, you can begin suggesting cross promotions of one another’s work. 

4. Schedule a month’s worth of social media posts.

It can be hard to keep up with social media day after day. Pre-scheduled posts can help fill in the gaps on the days you don’t feel much like posting. Beautiful images, funny or inspiring quotes and links to informative evergreen articles can keep your feed interesting and useful for the people who follow you. There are apps that help you do this, including hootsuite and buffer.

5. Set up a book giveaway on Instagram.

Giveaways are a great way to grow your follower list and introduce new people to your book. To set up an effective Instagram giveaway, choose the actions entrants need to take.  Pick a good hashtag to bring in new followers. A common strategy is to have people follow, like or comment on posts. The increased engagement can draw attention from new readers and help you make some connections.

Small actions like these can build a lot of momentum for your books. Each of these tasks are low-cost or free and take little technical know-how. By taking a few simple actions each day and each week, you can build your audience and increase excitement about your books.