Book marketing ideas are plentiful but the best ones are fun! If you want to change people’s lives with your book, you’re going to have to surrender to better book marketing. But you don’t have to (and really mustn’t) dread the process. There are tons of book marketing ideas to help you find readers. Take a peek at 1001 Ways to Market Your Books, and Market Like a Boss, two of my favorite book-marketing books. Some of the ideas on the list are from those gems, and some are my own concoctions.
Book Marketing is About Relationships
Be creative; book marketing is about making and nurturing relationships, just like any other marketing. Every person you meet is a potential book sale. But it’s more about creating a relationship with them before you shove your book in their hands.
I started learning about how to market my books in 2012, after I self-published my first memoir. I’ve learned a lot since then. Oh what I wish I’d known then. But I went to college to become a physical therapist, not a marketing professional, so I’ve had to learn how to market on my own, but also learn how to get over the fear of it. I started asking myself, what if this could be fun?
Having Fun with the Fear of Selling
Why are we so afraid of sharing our books (and other services)? Notice I replaced the word selling with sharing to help you out. In my case it’s because I learned from a very early age not to brag too much, or at all. I learned braggers were bad. And if you’re selling something that means you have to talk about yourself, which has to be bragging, right?
It’s not bragging if it’s true. And other people’s opinions are none of your business.
So really it’s the fear of rejection we’re talking about. Because every time we share our book we’re risking that the person won’t be interested, or worse, will think something bad about us.
Are you laughing about this yet? I hope so. It’s not about you or your boring fears anymore. It’s about getting the word out about your brilliant, important, world-healing message and whose life you’ll change or save with it. Right?
Right.
Reframing Book Marketing as a Duty to Help People
Try to start sharing your messages more unapologetically. Sink into the feeling of gratitude, generosity, love and joy as you do that. It’s more about the feeing inside you and what you’re making it mean than anything else. How about having a little more fun with your book marketing? How about feeling really excited and amazing about sharing your message?
What you feel, they feel. And that goes for in-person or online marketing. Because everything is energy. Just like dogs, when you’re afraid we’ll feel the energy of that. And that’s a very different feel than when you’re excited, inspired and feeling generous about sharing your message. Give us some of that mojo and we’re likely to buy a second book for our friend.
Resources for Book Marketing
Over the last seven years I’ve learned a lot of fun ways to share my books, attract more readers and build my platform. If you’re not a part of The Prosperous Writer Mastermind group on Facebook, go join! The group organizer, Honoree Corder is amazing. You’ll find an awesome podcast interview with her HERE.
If you want some more ideas about how to use blogging to build your platform then you must check out www.SmartBlogger.com Many of my best blogs have been written under founder Jon Morrow’s gracious tutelage. And for free masterclasses and guest expert interviews on book marketing, don’t for get to get your free access to the Brave Healer Resource Library HERE.
For online marketing, including your books or programs, Marie Forleo is the queen of B-School, a program that helps us be great entrepreneurs. And if you have a book, you’re the owner of that “business.” You’ll find many great tips on her website about putting yourself out there with words and technology that help you grow your business and share your messages with the world.
And, of course there are way too many books on book marketing to list here, so maybe you all have a few ideas and would post them in the comments here for us?! But you can start with this article that lists the eleven best book marketing books.
35 fun ways you can start sharing your books and finding readers:
There are many more than thirty five, but these are some of my favorite, fun ways to share my books with others. Remember to stay creative and add things to your list as you think of them. Book marketing is more about finding ways to share information with others you think might really enjoy your message. It’s more about helping people. When you get into a great mindset about that, the rest is easy!
1. Write a social media post with a tip or a quote from your book
2. Blog about your book, or the process of writing it
3. Give your audience a free chapter in your newsletter
4. Write a Top-10 list of tools related to your subject matter
5. Offer an advanced reader copy to a select number of people
6. Create an Amazon signature that includes “Author of (your book title)” and go review books!
7. Set up a book signing in a fun local cafe or book store
8. Collaborate with other authors on a book signing event
9. Be a guest on a podcast to talk about your book
10. Position yourself as an expert by using “Author of” everywhere
11. Do a Facebook ad to help promote your book
12. Tweet quotes from the book
13. Email a note out to your neighborhood listserve about the release of your book
14. Create a list of best books on your topic and include yours
15. Leave bookmarks at bookstores
16. Leave a copy of your book at the airport bookstore
17. Give away a copies and ask for reviews
18. Tell your Uber driver about your book
19. Share a related article and then add how your book fills in a gap the article missed
20. Do a giveaway on Instagram or other social media
21. Ask friends, family and neighbors for reviews
22. Get on the local news or radio about your book
23. Go talk to a local book club about your book
24. Donate a copy to your local library
25. Donate a copy to your doctor, dentist or other provider’s waiting room
26. Do some speaking at local networking events and bring a book as a door prize
27. Attend local open mics or other events and read from your book
28. Bring copies when you travel and give them to people who gave you awesome service
29. Swap copies and reviews with other authors
30. Join author groups on Facebook and engage with others’ posts
31. Submit a guest blog to a bigger online magazine
32. Leave bookmarks or flyers in local community centers
33. Put a book flyer on the local health food store bulletin board
34. Ask your exercise instructor if you can make an announcement at the beginning of your next class about your book
35. Do a free webinar on your book topic
There are tons of ways to share your books and find readers. Way more than the ones I listed here. Use the resources I mentioned up top, and practice sharing and talking about your book with the energy of generosity, gratitude and being of service.
And finally a quote from one of baddest badasses in sales I know:
“Sales is just a conversation with an outcome. Relax. Take a breath. Be yourself.” Donnie Boivin, founder of Donnie’s Success Champions
If you’re ready to have more fun with your fear of marketing, make sure to get private access to the Brave Healer Resource Library where you’ll enjoy masterclasses, guest expert interviews downloads, resources, tips and tricks for healing, your healing business and your writing and marketing HERE!
Laura Di Franco, MPT is the owner of Brave Healer Productions and a powerhouse who writes to Feng Shui her soul. She’s a 6-time published poet and author, inspirational speaker, holistic physical therapist and third-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do with over two decades of experience in healing. She was born to build a revolution of brave healers who are getting their badass, authentic voices published in order to heal the world with their words. Her new book, Brave Healing, a Guide for Your Journey, is now on Amazon! www.BraveHealer.com
