• Start Early - Don’t wait until after your book is finished to get your marketing plan together, and put your strategy into action as soon as possible. By starting in advance, you are likely to have a group of interested people looking forward to purchasing your book, at the time your book is released.
• Formulate Your Book Marketing Plan - A book marketing strategy is similar to a business plan. Consider who would be interested in your book and why. What does your book have to offer that other books of a similar type do not? This is particularly relevant for non-fiction books. Check out successful books of a similar genre and consider how they are presented and marketed. How do you plan to sell your book and where, and how will you make this happen? How would you prefer your book to be published, by a publishing company or self-publish? What are the pros and cons of both options? Since it is often extremely difficult (but not impossible) to attain a publishing contract, it is advisable to create a strategy for self-publishing as a "plan b", even if you would prefer to be offered a publishing contract. Do you want your book to be a paperback, e-book, or both? Consider your budget and ways to produce your book without taking a huge financial risk. Decide on your online line and off-line marketing approach.
* For those keen for a publishing contract, check out – “The Authors Toolkit: A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing and Publishing Your Book” by Mary Embree
and “The Writer’s Marketplace” - new edition released annually.
• If you plan to release your book as a paperback, your cover design and back cover write-up needs to be a crucial part of your marketing plan, especially if you intend to sell your book in stores. Your book cover needs to be enticing to your potential buyers. The write-up on the back cover needs to be carefully worded, but not verbose. It must "grab" your potential buyer. Your book cover can mean the difference between readers discovering what a wonderful book you have written, or choosing the book next to yours instead. Your book cover design will make the initial difference. How Self-Published Authors Get their Covers Right (http://publishingperspectives.com/2011/09/self-published-authors-get-covers-right)
If you need a free image editing tool to help you design that "winning" cover, check out https://www.gimp.org. It is recommended that you purchase an ISBN and the corresponding barcode to include on the back cover of your book. Most book stores will not stock books that do not possess a barcode.
ISBN's can be purchased from a number of sites including in the US, here - www.isbn.org (http://www.isbn.org/standards/home/index.asp)
and in Australia, here - www.myidentifiers.com.au
Article on the importance of ISBN’s can be found here (http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2010/11/isbn-101-for-self-publishers)
ISBN agency Australia (http://www.nla.gov.au/the-australian-isbn-agency)
ISBN International Users Manual (http://www.thorpe.com.au/assets/downloads/products/bowker_isbnusersmanual_en_au.pdf)
• Social Media pages - Marketing your book, and yourself as an author, using social media pages is your free ticket to getting noticed! Set up an author or dedicated book page on Facebook, Twitter, Twellow, Youtube, Goodreads, Klout, and LinkedIn.
• Publish your own blog and update regularly. Blogging not only helps you hone your writing skills, but attracts the attention of potential book buyers. Even the publishing industry will take your blogging into account, especially if you have a large number of followers or page views. Do not wait until your book is finished to start blogging - start immediately. Blogging will enhance your public profile, search engine ranking, and increase your audience.
Wordpress blogs and Blogger blogs are the most popular - both free, and with the capacity to install paypal buttons or shopping carts. Wordpress is a versatile, open source software, but you will need to pay for a domain, or hosting, to publish your blog to the web. Blogger is a Google product, easy to set up and manage, and costs nothing to publish to the web, unless you opt to buy a domain. If updated regularly, your blogger blog or blogspot, is likely to rank well on the Google Search Engine. Blogspot blogs allow a maximum of ten pages and can be altered to look like a website rather than a blog.
• Purchase a domain featuring “your book name”. If that domain name is not available, try a domain featuring - “your name – author” or “your book by your name”, or a variant that will help people find your new book on the web. Set up a website featuring your new domain and publish your new site to the web several months before the release of your book, linking your blog and website together. For free websites, check out - weebly - www.weebly.com (maximum of two free websites plus a free weebly domain name, or purchase your own domain through weebly for a reasonable annual fee), wix - www.wix.com, moonfruit - www.moonfruit.com , or yola - www.yola.com . Include a sample chapter of your new book on your website, giving people a taste of the subject matter, your writing skills, and a desire to read to more.
* Set up a free one page, mini-site, at Hubpages Paypal Buttons, so buyers can purchase directly from your author page
• Book Reviews – People are often swayed to purchase a book if they have read a favourable book review by an unbiased or expert reviewer. If the review is a star rating such as on Amazon, three to five star ratings are necessary to entice a potential buyer. Reviews and testimonials included in the book itself is an invaluable advertising and marketing tool, especially if the person who has reviewed your book is well-known or holds expertise in the subject are on which your book is written. Useful book review websites and resources - www.readerviews.com (http://readerviews.com), readersfavorite.com (http://readersfavorite.com) , www.bookpleasures.com (http://www.bookpleasures.com/websitepublisher/categories/Book-Review-Submission-Guidelines) (Please note: Many book reviewers take one to four months to complete a review. Some will not accept self-published books or volumes that have not been professionally-edited.)
• Book launch – The traditional book launch can be an effective way to introduce the media and the public to your new book. However, e-book releases may not require a regular book launch. A well-planned book launch can generate valuable hype for your book, but can be expensive, depending on where and when you hold your launch. Many bookstores provide their space, after hours, as a venue for book launches (charges vary), but may demand you use their catering services for an additional substantial fee.
Reception venues may look elegant but sometimes the cost may outweigh the gains if you are on a tight budget. Galleries, garden with marquee, meeting halls, churches, community centres, and libraries can be viable alternatives. Some authors choose to hold their launch at their own house, or even in an upmarket bar, restaurant, or cafe. Choose whichever venue works best for your finances but ensure that the event looks professional and is well-managed, no matter where it is set.
Enlist a few friends, family members, or pay someone, to help out on the night, to keep the event running smoothly. Choose an MC ("master of ceremonies"), someone who is comfortable with public speaking, preferably well-known or well-respected in the field on which you have written. The MC will introduce you, and your book, to everyone attending your launch, and point visitors in the direction of where they can purchase your book and have their book personally signed by you. Ensure you have a table and chair set up with plenty of room for everyone to line up to have their book signed. Organize someone you trust to take care of the sales and payments. Organize a photographer, if not a professional, a gifted amateur. Advise your photographer, especially if they are not a professional, what types of shots you require such as you signing books, talking on stage, and people holding your book with a happy look on their face. Video your launch, if possible, and if you are happy with the results, send the clip up to youtube to promote your book. If your venue is suitable, invite the media with a well-structured and targeted press release.
For those with e-books, or anyone wishing to keep their launch costs to a minimum, you have the option of hosting an ONLINE BOOK LAUNCH instead.
Host your own free online book launch live at sites like - http://new.livestream.com
More information on planning a successful book launch can be found here -
https://www.thebookdesigner.com/top-8-tactics-to-power-your-online-book-launch/ * Forums - Using forums to share ideas with other self-publishers can be extremely helpful. Here is a small selection of self-publishing forums available:
- www.mobileread.com (http://www.mobileread.com/forums)
- www.librarything.com (http://www.librarything.com)
- www.goodreads.com (http://www.goodreads.com)
• Press Release - If you want the media to take an interest in you and your book, you will need a press release. There are many paid services that will write your press release and send it to the many media outlets, or you can do it yourself. Writing a press release is not simply telling the media that you have written a book. The aim of a good press release is to make your book newsworthy.
Tips for writing a great press release can be found here - http://www.writing-world.com/promotion/hanes.shtml
• E-Book Creation - Turning your text file into an e-book does not have to be costly. Here are several free services available:
- Free Online PDF converter which turns your text document into an e-pub file here - http://ebook.online-convert.com/convert-to-epub
- Another Free Online File Converter here - http://www.cometdocs.com
- Turn your blog or website into an e-book for free here - Zinepal (http://www.zinepal.com)
- File converter - Calibre http://calibre-ebook.com/download
- Two file converters which can be downloaded to your computer here - PrimoPDF (http://www.primopdf.com) and DoPDF (http://www.dopdf.com)
- Helpful article on "How to Make an E-book" here - http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2011/09/29/how-to-make-an-ebook
- Create a 3-d ebook cover using GIMP (free image editing software) video here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNFChVMCggQ&feature=related
• Book Promotion Video - Create your book promotion video using Youtube, Tik Tok or using a free open source sound editing software Audacity - http://audacity.sourceforge.net
* Other websites and blogs with useful tips on promoting your books for free:
– The Savvy Book Marketer (http://bookmarketingmaven.typepad.com/book_marketing_maven/learn-how-to-market-your-book-and-yourself.html)
- http://publishing.about.com/od/BookMarketingAndPublicity/a/Book-Publicity-And-Marketing-Tap-Into-Your-Social-Networks-PartII.htm
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* Great Mystery Publishing - a not-for-profit venture, receives no financial reimbursement for promotional space provided for products, creatives, or businesses, featured here, or on any of our several sites.
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