Marketing & Promotion

As an author’s career progresses, the publicity needs change—and what worked for the first book might no longer be appropriate for the third.

Edgar Allan Poe was a 19th century troll, virulently critical of other writers—but also engaged in literary citizenship for work he admired.

One self-publishing author who opted-out offers a dozen other avenues on and off the Internet to help spread the word and drive book sales.

Traditional publishers often center marketing campaigns around community support—sometimes growing an author’s platform in the process

Self-publishing offers so many paths and options that it can seem intimidating. One debut novelist shares her journey, with valuable tips.

Facebook’s most valuable asset is data. As an advertiser, you can tap into this data and pinpoint the exact readers you want to reach.

Learning these basic skills will help you relax, enjoy the conversation, and hopefully turn a podcast’s audience into yours as well.

TikTok has evolved into an entertainment and educational hub, with a remarkably engaged community of book buyers.

Your community might be all too willing to help promote your book. The hard part is overcoming the fear of asking.

When the pandemic thwarted a debut author’s launch plans, she had no choice but to jump into the deep end of social media.

Even a small email list is better than no list at all, because it likely represents your most devoted, true fans.

Guest blogging allows you to leverage someone else’s existing audience as a way to reach new readers and grow your own audience.

Whether you use giveaways, blog tours or paid ads, generating reader reviews will drive sales and create opportunities for further marketing.

There are hundreds of ways to market. The secret isn’t to do them all—it’s to find the few that work for your product and focus on just those.

Book promotion newsletters are a dynamic component of the overall book industry, but their focus—and results—can vary dramatically.

The bestselling author discusses best practices for ads, how to keep your spending in check, the top three mistakes authors make, and more.

Building a platform is akin to making friends at a new school: invite, engage, be helpful, share and, most of all, be your best self.

It's now possible to fill every lunch hour and evening with book clubs and book festivals and live readings and more. Thus, even if you offer a creative and enticing online event, it’s hard to sell when so much content right now is available for free. Before you decide to run an online event, consider the following.

It’s hard work and there’s no magic formula to boost sales, but you’ll also find a passionate audience and a strong sense of accomplishment.

However you decide to publish, it’s unwise to rely on someone else to build your career, or to be responsible for growing your readership.

Whether using a third-party service to conduct a giveaway or managing it on your own, it’s important to protect the rights of your entrants.

Editorial reviews are one of the most underrated tools in a self-publishing author’s arsenal. Learn what they are and how to manage them.

Online or in person, the basics of public speaking are still what matters most: be captivating, interactive, and take your audience on a journey.

Promoting a book isn’t a one-off event. It’s a series of actions: long-lead strategies, mid-range tasks, and sudden opportunities.

One author’s experience with the pros and cons of promoting a new book to his community in the era of limited social gatherings.

Your friends and fans want to celebrate with you. When public gatherings aren’t an option, you can take the party online at virtually no cost.

Everything you need to know to start sending an effective email newsletter.

You’ve got something that corporate brands don’t—yourself. Nurture a relationship with your readers, and they’ll do the marketing for you.

A big mistake authors make is assuming that the influencer needs to read a copy of the book—or have a copy—in order to support it. Not true.

When you're a one-person marketing team, try these foundational tips for approaching libraries about having your book added to their collections.

A debut novelist surveyed readers on Facebook. The result? In publishing, as in life, first impressions matter—and we do judge books by their covers.

Skip the book signing; there's greater reward in identifying and connecting with the audience that already shares a passion for your topic.

To read your work aloud well, you must train like a pro. From public speaking coach Gigi Rosenberg, here’s a guide to what you need to do to show up with confidence.

You don’t need an influencer’s clout to make your book and brand successful, but it can help expose your work to a larger audience. Before you reach out, here are some important do's & don'ts to keep in mind.

Most people don’t read websites; they scan. The same is true for your book description. In this guest post, Penny Sansevieri offers tips to make your promotional copy appealing enough for readers to linger.

Knowing your audience is key to book marketing and sales success.

Obtaining readers for your book is hard enough. Once you have their attention, how do you make the most of it? Dave Chesson suggests "reader magnets"—incentives that turn strangers into subscribers.

In this guest post, author and nonfiction writing coach Boni Wagner-Stafford explains why defining your objectives up front leads to a more focused and effective book marketing strategy.

It's been proven by research: reviews help drive book sales. And reviews on Amazon can help your book turn up more often in customer searches. So you want reviews—great reviews—but they need to be authentic. Here's how to get them.

Sharing your in-progress book cover on social media to solicit meaningful direction is like throwing a bomb into the creative process.

Authors who want to sell their work must often do the marketing themselves, and some methods are easier than others. In this guest post, essayist, memoirist and short story writer Beth Alvarado discusses the ways and reasons why you should take an active role in marketing your own book.

There are a lot of publicists out there. How can you pick the right one? This is a crucial decision, so it needs to be approached with care.

Just like print editions, audiobooks have established outlets for marketing and promotion. Attorney and audiobook editor, director, and distributor Jessica Kaye tells writers and publishers how to make their audiobooks as highly visible and widely available as possible--without the use of advertising.

Amazon has updated its advertising tools for authors, with mixed results. Kindlepreneur's Dave Chesson breaks down the pros and cons of the new advertising modes, improved dashboard, and better ad targeting in Amazon Ads.

Here is a step-by-step guide to building an email list of thousands within one year—primarily through giveaways and Facebook ads.

One of the hardest things to do—for any individual, organization, or business—is to define a vision and strategy. It involves diving deep into one's strengths and weaknesses, and understanding the market opportunities and threats. Talking strategy usually means dealing with uncomfortable realities, as well as risking disagreement with others.

Building a supportive network takes time and courage. It’s worth starting to cultivate community early on, even if your instinct or preference is to work alone.

Many authors use Facebook and Amazon to advertise their books. If you’ve tried these platforms without success or hesitate to spend the money, consider experimenting with BookBub ads.

Meaningful swag offers the reader something connected to the book and something that’s memorable—but you need something that doesn't break the budget.

I regularly read and report on marketing trends that affect traditionally published and self-published writers. Today I'm sharing the most useful articles I've found and shared thus far in 2018.