When you have a copy of your book in your hands, you might think that the journey is completed and your goal is achieved.  But in reality, it’s just beginning!

As an author, you have to wear many hats. You’re a writer, editor, collaborator and so much more. But you can’t forget that you’re also a marketer as well.

Once your book is published, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and get to promoting so that you can get your book into readers’ hands! If you’re new to marketing, we have some helpful book promotion tips to get you pointed in the right direction.

Social media.

Perhaps the most integral piece to the book promotion puzzle is social media. In fact, we’ve dedicated several posts on this blog to providing helpful tips on how to promote your book on social media. Not so long ago, we talked about using the most popular social platforms as a means to connect with your target audience. Social media is just that – it’s social. So using it as a resource to create awareness about your book is a great way to get your message in front of the eyes of people who care. Social sites like Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Twitter are all viable platforms that you can use to market your work and yourself as an author.  Remember that social media is essentially the axis on which communication in today’s society turns, so creating a presence is important for promotional purposes.

Head start.

There are two sides of the coin for this tip. The first applies to the writer who has yet to publish their book. If this is you, then you have the chance to be ahead of the game. How so? Because you can promote your journey to becoming a published author before you actually receive a hard copy of your book. In this day and age, people love a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to make a dream a reality. So if you are as-yet unpublished, make sure that you document your journey. Take pictures, record quick videos and write short blog posts detailing what you’ve been going through. All of these pieces will lead up to the day that your book is available for purchase. At this point, you will have built a following, piqued interest, and most importantly, gotten people excited to read the finished product.

Now, if you’re reading this blog and the hard copy of your book is sitting next to you, don’t panic. You’re still in good shape. Now that you have the finalized words of your book at your disposal, you can take snippets of your book and tease them out to your followers on social media. Make sure that the content you’re sharing is interesting and thought provoking, and leaves them wanting to read more. If you have a blog, that’s even better! There you can expound on the contents of your book and provide some candid feedback on how you felt while writing a certain chapter, or what the reader can expect if they purchase your book. Just remember, you want to provide them with valuable content, but not so much that they won’t want to read your book because you gave them the CliffsNotes version. In short, tease your story, don’t tell your story.

Engage.

Promoting your book is much like a marriage. There’s a lot of commitment and communication that has to take place in order for it to work. Talking and listening are equally important because if one is missing from the equation, something’s going to be amiss. When promoting your book, think of your target audience as your significant other. You want to show that you care, that you’re listening and that you’re working to be the best you that you can be. So, while you’re promoting your work and giving them an inside look at your journey and the road ahead, you also want to listen to their feedback. If they have taken the time to write a comment on your blog posts or your social media updates, show them that you value their input by giving them a genuine response. Many people get in the habit of using canned responses; however, as a new author, you’ll want to take the time to write custom, thoughtful answers. This is one way of engaging with your community and creating an authentic relationship with your followers.

These are just three examples of how you can get your book in front of potential readers. Take some time to read over these book promotion tips again and see how you can infuse them into your marketing strategy.

Copyright Dorrance Publishing, 2017