How to Market Your Self-Published Book

Self-publishing is one of the best methods to have your story or message heard and build a passive income. One of the issues with self-publishing, however, is that you are responsible for marketing your book. Without marketing, your book could sit on a virtual shelf, never to be seen by anyone. Marketing can be a daunting task, but there are lots of methods for marketing self-published books and building success for your self-publishing efforts. In this post, we’ll list lots of methods of how to market your self-published book to help you get the most sales possible.

About the Methods on How to Market Your Self-Published Book

There are lots of methods for marketing your self-published book. Your options for marketing will vary depending on the type of book you publish and how you publish your book.

Marketing a book is similar to eCommerce marketing. All of the concepts of marketing with eCommerce apply to marketing your book. However, many marketing options are specific to self-publishing. We’ll include all of the best marketing methods in this post.

Now, on to the tips on how to market your self-published book. The methods are in no particular order.

Pay Attention to Book Design

Everything about a book can help sell the book. Focus on writing the perfect title, creating the perfect image, using the right fonts, and colors, the placement and size of your name, etc. Don’t forget your book’s interior design. Consider using book design templates as a starting point for both the exterior and interior of your book. If possible, find book design templates that are specific to your genre.

Study the designs of the most popular books in your genre. This can help you to know what works and what doesn’t in your genre. Make notes on their titles, covers, colors, fonts, descriptions, formats, authors, etc. Create a list of the elements that stand out to you and use them as examples.

Use a Professional Cover Design Service

An even better option for your cover design is to consider using a professional cover design service. Your book must look good if anyone will notice it or give it a second look. This would keep you from making mistakes in your cover design and guarantee a professional look and feel for your book.

Write a Powerful Book Description

Create a powerful description to place on your sales pages and on the back of your book. The description of your book will either capture your readers or turn them away. The description is usually between 100-150 words and should pique the reader’s interest with an interesting opening. It should include a few hints at characters and plot points for fiction and insights and results for non-fiction. The book description should also include any editorial or influencer reviews.

Create a Sales Page on Your Website

Example from Divi https://www.elegantthemes.com/layouts/art-design/author-landing-page/live-demo

Create a page on your website specifically for your book to use as a lead magnet. It would include a sales funnel with a call to action. The page should provide all of the information anyone needs to make their purchase.

For more information about creating sales pages, see the article How to Create a Landing Page?

Place Links on Your Website

You could also include a CTA that would lead to the book’s sales page. This would include links in your menus, popups, banners, etc., to raise awareness of your book. All of these elements can be used throughout your website, including CTAs at the end of your posts, within your navigation, at the top of your page, and more.

For more information about ad placement, see the article Uncovering the Psychology Behind Why We Click on Ads

Provide an Excerpt

Include a short excerpt of your book’s interior on your website. This shows the table of contents and provides a short snippet for them to read. It also shows the interior design of the book. Both of these can help draw readers to keep reading, enticing them to purchase your book.

Create Buzz and Pre-Sale Your Book

Start posting about your book before it’s ready to be published. This creates buzz around your book and builds excitement with your audience. With pre-sales and buzz, you’ll have an audience for your book when it launches. This could also build your email list, strengthen your SEO, and gain traffic around your book before it launches. All of this improves both your and your website’s authority around your book’s topic.

Publish Posts on Your Platform

Most authors have an internet presence where they build their audience. This includes a website with a blog, social media, YouTube, an email list, etc. It’s obvious that an author should post about their book on their platforms, but you shouldn’t stop there. Create multiple posts that include excerpts, tips, and other types of information that would lead the reader to purchase your book. You could even post a list of books on your topic and include your book on the list. All of these posts would build SEO around your book and topic.

For more information about marketing with social media, see the article How To Create an eCommerce Social Media Strategy. For more information about marketing with email, see the article 8 ECommerce Email Marketing Examples That Convert That Convert. For more information about marketing and SEO, see the article 5 SEO Tips for Ecommerce Brands to Grow Your Business.

Sponsor Ads on Other Platforms

When someone searches on a platform, you can pay to have your book appear in that search. This includes Google searches, Amazon searches, YouTube, and more. This is a sponsored ad and doesn’t have to include all of the keywords. This means your book would be somewhat related to the search but doesn’t have to be an exact match.

Create a Group on Social Media Platforms

Create a group on your favorite social media platform about your topic and promote your book in the group. This can help build an audience for your book. Since it’s your group, it also helps build your credibility and authority on the topic.

Publish Your Book on Multiple Platforms

There are lots of platforms where you can publish your book. To get the most out of your marketing efforts, it’s best if your book is available on as many platforms as possible. Popular platforms include:

• Kindle

• CreateSpace

• Lulu

• Kobo

• iBooks

• Barnes and Noble Nook

Use Amazon’s Promotional Tools

Amazon owns the Kindle publishing platform for eBooks books, and CreateSpace for physical books. Both of these platforms give you lots of tools to help you promote your book.

Enroll your book in Kindle Unlimited. Those who subscribe to Kindle Unlimited will get to read your book for free, but Amazon will pay you based on the number of pages read. Also, use the free option to gain attention for your book.

When someone reaches the end of their Kindle book, the Kindle app shows them a list of related that others have purchased books. If you publish your book on the Kindle platform (which I highly recommend), the Kindle app could show your book at the end of a related book.

Create an Amazon Author Central page. This will show your books, biography, image, etc., and allow others to follow you on the Amazon platform.

Watch Other Authors

There is a good chance that your genre of choice has more than one author who self-publishes their book. They’re in the same position as everyone else in that they need to promote their self-published book. Make note of their promotion methods. Follow them to see where you find ads, links, mentions, etc.

Add the Book to Your Profiles

Most social media platforms allow you a great deal of freedom in creating your profile description. Add a link to your book, or the title of your book to inform others that might see your profile.

Add the Book to Your Email Signature

Add your book title and a link to your email signature. Anyone who receives an email from you will see that you have a book available.

Ask for Reviews from Influencers

Just about every genre has influencers who talk about products in that genre. Research the influencers you’d like to connect with and send an email asking them to review your book. This includes bloggers, YouTubers, the top reviewers on Amazon, etc. Be sure to connect with those in your genre.

Send the book in the same format that readers can purchase. In other words, don’t send a Word document if the book is only available as a paperback. They might want to show the product. If it’s available in multiple formats, ask the influencer about their preference. The influencers would provide an honest review to their audiences. You could then link to those reviews in your promotional efforts such as blog posts, social media posts, your email list, etc.

Ask for Interviews

Many influencers interview authors for their platforms. You could provide the influencer with a copy of your book and offer suggested topics or questions for discussion during the interview. You could also offer a special discount for the influencer’s audience.

Ask for Reviews from Buyers

Ask those who purchase your book to write a review on the sales platform. For example, if you sell your book through Amazon, ask them to post a review on Amazon. One issue to be aware of is you can’t offer them an incentive. There are sellers on Amazon that offer a discount if the buyer posts a review. This is illegal in certain parts of the world.

Host a Training Webinar

A webinar that provides useful information, rather than a commercial, is a great way to promote your book. You could provide free information on the topic of your book, and then offer your book as a call to action.

Host a Giveaway

Hosting a giveaway is one of the best ways to raise awareness of your book. There are several ways to run the giveaway (just be sure to follow the laws in your area). One possibility is to have those entering the giveaway share about your giveaway on their social media, blogs, etc. This would raise awareness of your book to their followers.

For more information on hosting a giveaway, see the article How to Run a Giveaway Without Getting in Trouble.

Give the Book Away During a Promotional Period

Certain platforms, such as Amazon, will allow you to give your book away. This depends on the options you’ve selected for selling your book on the platform. The advantage of giving your book away is that it can gain attention. This could get readers to review it, recommend it, etc.

Hold a Book Signing

Lots of bookstores allow authors to hold a book signing to promote their books. Set up a table with a few stacks of books, place a sign in the window and on the table, and sign books for buyers as they come to see you in person. Be sure to promote the book signing in the local area.

Present Your Book at Trade Shows

Almost every genre has a trade show that you can attend and present your products. These trade shows can attract potential buyers from all over the world. This opens lots of opportunities to meet new people and show your book.

Join Goodreads

Goodreads is a large platform with over 140 million members. Create a Goodreads profile and include information about your book. You can add it to your list, ask for reviews, host discussions about your book, host giveaways, and add your book to Listopia.

Ending Thoughts on How to Market Your Self-Published Book

That’s our look at how to market your self-published book. As you can see from this list, there are lots of marketing opportunities for your self-published book. I recommend using as many of these marketing strategies as possible. Marketing a self-published book takes effort, but that effort can pay you back for many years in building a passive income, promoting your work, and building your credibility.

We want to hear from you. Have you used any of these marketing methods to market your self-published book? Let us know in the comments.

Frequently Asked Questions