Simple Book Promotion Techniques
It’s done. You’ve finished the process of writing your book, the initial batch of books has been delivered to your house, and your marketing plan has been put together by our marketing team.
Now what?
More importantly, what happens after the initial marketing plan concludes? How can you continue to promote your book?
If you’re a Visionary author, your time is precious. So these nine simple methods won’t pull you away from what you’re consistently trying to do, which is promoting your business.
So for those short on time but high on expectations, here are nine simple ways to promote your nonfiction book:
Book speaking gigs
The world is a bit different today than it once was. People want information and they want it quickly. They want to consume as much as possible and then be able to run off and create their own success with it.
Speaking gigs allow you to transfer this information in a quicker, more personal manner. They also give credibility to you and your experience, since not everyone can get booked for a speaking gig.
Want to write a book in 2022?
One of the simplest ways to promote your book and to enhance the credibility factor is to land speaking gigs and sell your book in the process. You can do one of two things:
- You can sell individual copies of your book at the conclusion of your speech.
- You can require that the committee hiring you to speak purchases one copy of the book for every attendee.
The method you choose depends on just how aggressive you want to be in your approach.
Gain publicity
Gaining publicity for your book should start months in advance, and if you are working with us, we will make sure you get off on the right foot.
But as the months and years go on and you want to continue publicizing your book, there are some simple steps to take. The simplest is to keep it fresh in the minds of those around you. This could mean reaching out to others in your network. Talking to friends and family. Telling everyone you know, regardless of whether or not you think it’ll be of interest to them.
By spreading the word, you’re spreading seeds. The more seeds you plant, the better chance of hitting a sweet spot and finding growth.
You can also find a book publicist if you find yourself too busy to do the leg work. A good publicist can cost several thousand dollars, but the ROI can make it all worth it.
Options for smaller budgets are available, too. PRWeb is a great option here.
Attend conferences
Public speaking engagements are one of the most ideal ways to promote your nonfiction book. But if you can’t land one, you have other options.
Conferences and industry events are ideal for mingling, meeting new people, and exploring new avenues for partnerships and/or friendships. Even today, with virtual conferences being the new norm, networking is easier than ever.
While networking, share the news of your book. Tell your peers how it will help them and where they can find it.
If you’re going to attend industry events anyway, why not try to make the best of your time?
Reach out to influencers
This can include reporters, bloggers, company leaders, or anyone with a large following. Reach out to them and ask for support. Of course, you’ll need to help them in return, but the price to pay for that could be extremely low when it comes to benefiting your book’s sales.
Help A Reporter Out (HARO) is one of the ways to promote your nonfiction book where you don’t need to worry about returning a favor. By using HARO, you are helping a reporter to find a good, unique story to write about. Pitch your idea and let a reporter interested in it work with you to write up your piece.
Matchmaker.fm is another great source for linking up with podcasters seeking guests. Podcast consumption is on a consistent—and rapid—rise. There are over 550,000 active podcasts, which gives you plenty of options for connecting.
You can also do guest blog posts, cameos, or a variety of other appearances with influencers who have amassed a large audience that can gain exposure to your work.
Utilize the power of social media
There’s typically a line drawn in the sand and people are either for social media or against it. If you’re one of the people against it, you’ll unfortunately need to straddle that line, possibly crossing it completely.
Social media is too simple—and free!—to overlook. And a large following isn’t even required. It certainly helps, but with a good hashtag strategy, you can still reach a large audience.
You can also join groups inside your industry, finding potential readers and connections. Find other nonfiction authors who are willing to do a cross-promotion. Or simply reach out to potential readers within the groups related to your book.
Ask for reviews
You can do this verbally, by asking those who buy your books in-person to leave a review. You can also do it digitally, using social media or any other online tools (a website, email list, etc.) to get the message across to your reader.
For the most part, people are willing to help. Writing a review takes only a minute or two and if you’re open with your readers and let them know how much reviews can help, they will be more likely to leave one.
Write your book and have it published to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and more…
Reviews boost rankings based on algorithms and push your book higher on bestseller charts. But they also show social proof—a phrase Robert Cialdini coined and explains in his book, Influence, that talks about the social phenomenon of individuals copying actions of their peers.
Create promo videos
Not everyone is comfortable in front of a camera, but promo videos can help. YouTube has over 2 billion users and even if you only reach a fraction of a percentage of those users, you’re hitting a massive audience.
If you’re not comfortable making a promo video, you can have someone record your speaking engagements and use that content.
Video can be embedded into your website, shared on social media, or simply stored in a YouTube channel that’s SEO-optimized for those searching for a similar topic of interest.
The best part? You can put links directly into the video that bring people back to where they can buy your book.
Run a contest or promo
Everyone loves a discount. According to this article from Inc.com, offering discounts and promotions affect the entire buyer’s journey.
Goodreads or KDP are great resources for offering giveaways and discounts. These can run for an extended period of time and will give buyers on the fence the boost they could need to cross the threshold.
Don’t forget to share news of the sale with your network during the promotional period!
Create an audiobook version
The Wall Street Journal states that audiobooks are the fastest growing format in the publishing world. And it’s no wonder—people are busy. As an industry leader, you’ve certainly found this to be true in your own life. It’s why you chose Visionary Literary to pen your story in the first place—because we save you time.
With an audiobook, your readers don’t need to find the time to read. They can listen while they drive, exercise, or complete any other number of day-to-day tasks.
The more versions of the book you have released, the better. But an audiobook could be the one with the greatest benefit. And the Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX) is a great resource for hiring someone to create an audiobook for you. Or, if you’re too busy, it’s something we can handle for you as well.
So what do you think? Seem like a lot? Don’t worry, you don’t need to do them all.
While the options listed above are ways to get your book out there, not all of them will work for everyone. Some authors actually forego marketing the thing altogether—they simply want the book to be a beefed-up business card to distribute when at events or industry gatherings. They don’t see the book as an income stream, but rather a gateway into other realms of business.
Whatever your plans for your book after its publication, you can be happy knowing you went through with authoring a book that will help others.
And remember, a Visionary client once is a Visionary client forever. Reach out to us at any point and we will happily share some advice.