It may feel like Halloween was only yesterday, but this Thursday is Thanksgiving in the United States. Many people look forward to this day with its fluffy mashed potatoes, savory stuffing and sweet pumpkin pie, along with time spent with family and friends.

If you’ve written a cookbook, this popular meal also offers an opportune time to promote it.

Whether you’ve recently published a cookbook, or are thinking about publishing a cookbook, take a bite out of these tips that might help you enjoy a slice from the pie of success!

Thanksgiving is known for its mouth-watering foods. Each year, there are those daring people that want to try new recipes to add to their traditional food repertoire. What better way to promote your new cookbook than to give those daring people exactly what they wanted – a new recipe.

In previous blogs, we talked about using social media to promote your book. This avenue of communication is a great way to offer your followers a recipe teaser. Let’s say, for example, your cookbook contains a recipe for a spin on traditional mashed potatoes. Take that recipe and post it to your social media sites in those crucial pre-Thanksgiving planning days! Start out by posting the recipe on Facebook. Along with the recipe, add your book’s title and a URL where an interested consumer could purchase your cookbook online. You can also promote your recipe teaser on Twitter by encouraging your followers to visit your Facebook page for the full recipe!

This recipe teaser is a great way to promote your cookbook and will in turn give consumers a sneak peak at what your book has to offer as well as reinforce your position as an authoritative voice in the kitchen.

A book event is always a great idea to spread the word about your newly published work. In the case of promoting your cookbook, what better way to attract people than to offer them the food that is in your book? Hold either a food tasting of some of the recipes that are included in your cookbook, or a food demonstration at a local store or supermarket.

And don’t forget, once you’ve secured the timeslot for your event with the venue’s management; publicize it throughout your community by word of mouth and on social media!

Remember, just like the other events that we have talked about in previous blogs, always remember to bring “leave behinds” and copies of your book to the event.

Lastly, consider contacting your local TV markets. Public television can be a fantastic outlet to publicize your book to a larger audience that you might not have been able to reach through your own promotion. Check with your local TV news channels to learn more about their program schedule, to potentially solidify a time slot on your local TV stations. Often times than not, the morning programs will feature a cooking segment, which is the perfect time to put your book in the spotlight and demonstrate a recipe from your book on television.

All in all, promoting your cookbook is an integral step of the publishing recipe. As always, add a dash of imagination and a sprinkle of creativity when promoting your book. But, if you are stuck, you can always refer back to our previous posts for an extra boost in the right direction!

Good luck and we hope that you will one day cook up a batch of success!