Creative ways to promote your self-published book

At AWP, I ran into a lot of traditional publishing vs self-publishing. Self-publishing has some different perks and routes, especially when it comes to marketing.

A few discussed their creative ways to market their book. When I say creative, I mean creative. They gave out some ideas that I had never even thought of before. And for most of the ideas, you never have to leave your house!

Let’s begin!

Podcasts

Podcasts are becoming more popular every year. There are a lot of book related ones too. You can get interviewed on one and plug your book at the end.

One writer also mentioned finding your local NPR station and asking to get on their podcast. That one gets a lot of people’s attention.

Or find a local podcast, especially if you’re from a smaller area. People love talking about locals’ accomplishments.

Timing when your book comes out

If your book has a history month, awareness week, or anniversary that you can tie it to, use it. Publish it right before the day/week/month happens, and you can do more promotion for it. Your book will also be on more shelves since it’s relevant.

Blog Tour

What’s your favorite book blog? Know blogs that love to review books? Send them an ARC (advanced reader copy) of your book! Ask about getting interviewed on a blog post.

Go on a virtual tour between different blogs around the time your book comes out. That means contacting bloggers about 3–6 months in advance. You need to give them enough time to read and review your book. Plus, sometimes, they already have posts scheduled out, so you’ll have to get in their schedule.

Book bloggers connect with the reading community in so many ways. It never hurts to reach out.

Pair up with a fellow writer for an event

Any writers going on tour around the time you are? Even if they’re a more established author, pair up with them!

Having a second person there can help get more people to come. At the end of the night, more people will know about you. Also, you have someone to talk to in case you feel awkward about being in front of a crowd.

Put your book cover everywhere

Twitter. Facebook. Website. Postcards. Business cards. Everywhere. I even saw book covers on chocolate bars. (I heard it’s cheap to do that too.)

The more people see it, the more they’ll recognize it and get interested.

Overall

Professionals recommended to be visible online. Have an author website. Keep active social media accounts. Have a blog that could bring more people to your website.

You got to be findable.

At the end of the day, you never know until you try.

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I hope these tips helped! If you have any more ideas or have a story to share about marketing, comment below. I’d love to hear from you!