Marketing & Promotion

When Do You Need an Author Website?
A little planning and reflection will help your website be a project you sustain, rather than discard like a half-baked draft.

Why You Should Start Promoting Your Writing Before You’re “Ready”
When an author’s article went viral, she didn’t have the tools in place—a website, a social presence—to capture and leverage that audience.

Boost Your Book Launch by Perfecting Distribution and Metadata
When self-publishing be sure to determine a distribution strategy, avoid gotchas when using POD, and get pricing and metadata right from the start.

Describe Your Book in Two Sentences: Q&A with Ann Garvin
A book pitch requires an author to distill character, plot and stakes into one or two juicy sentences that entice a reader to ask for more.

4 Pillars of Book Marketing, or How to Sell More Books in Less Time
Marketing strategically for 30–60 minutes per day can ensure your time, money, and energy go toward activities that move the needle.

What Is Upmarket Fiction?
Upmarket fiction is a blend of commercial and literary fiction, but how it gets blended is where writers and industry members can’t always agree.

To Give It Away or Not to Give It Away
It’s hard to get someone to take a risk on an unknown author. A giveaway can make your book known to thousands of readers in one fell swoop.

How Authors Can Build Relationships with Independent Bookstores
Marketing your book to bookstores—like marketing your book anywhere else—requires research and shoe leather.

How Author Platform Connects to Author Brand
Every effective brand—even an author’s—has three essential characteristics: uniqueness, consistency, and authenticity.

Promoting Your Book as an Introvert in the Age of TikTok
Planning a book launch can be daunting for introverts. But finding strategies that fit with your skills and personality can make it easier.

The Author-Creator Marketing Playbook
The key to creating successful content as an author-creator lies in the same ingredients that make your stories so great.

Blurb Matters: A Quiet Manifesto
If we were to reposition blurbs as affirmations as opposed to marketing tools, would that also shift the way we traffic in them?

Unlock Better Reach: Bridge the Gap Between Online and Offline Activities
To build an audience, close the gap between your offline-self and online-self by showing up with consistent value on your core topics.

5 Ways to Use Community Marketing for Your Book
It’s possible to create connections with readers by utilizing some fun and interesting ways for them to interact with your book.

Amazon Ads: Step-by-Step Walk Through for Beginning Authors
Amazon ads are a valued (and sometimes expensive) tool for authors and publishers to drive book visibility and sales. Here's a guide to getting started.

Getting Book Endorsements (Blurbs): What to Remember, Do, Avoid, and Expect
Seeking blurbs—quotes and endorsements—is a task that most writers absolutely hate. Here are some tips that can get you closer to a yes.

Promote Your Book with Your Values
Thinking creatively about book events might allow you to align the things you care about with the time you spend on promotion.

Why So Many Blogs and Newsletters Aren’t Worth the Writer’s Effort
Many writers are told to blog or send an email newsletter without much idea of how to approach it. Here are the most common mistakes they make.

A Thousand New Email Sign Ups in a Week? It’s Possible.
You don’t need to start strategizing newsletter content or setting a delivery schedule in order to begin building your email list.

How to Plan and Host Worthwhile Online Book Events
Learn best practices for online book events, regardless of the platform you’re using.

Launching a Book: Baby, Art or Product?
Promotion strategy for your book depends greatly on why you’ve written it, what it means to you, and its place in the larger context of your life.

How to Secure Early Endorsements (Blurbs) for Your Book
Even the most high-profile influencers may be reachable if you make the right connections and take the right steps.

Does the Idea of Promoting Your Book Make You Feel Queasy?
As an author, marketing your work will always be your job, but it doesn't have to be a chore. To do it well, think beyond self-promotion.

Choosing a Publicist (Again): Assessing Your Changing Needs
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.

How to Turn Trolling Into a Fine Art
Edgar Allan Poe was a 19th century troll, virulently critical of other writers—but also engaged in literary citizenship for work he admired.

How to Market Your Book Without Social Media
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.

How to Harness Community to Build Book Sales and Platform
Traditional publishers often center marketing campaigns around community support—sometimes growing an author’s platform in the process

How to Develop a Marketing and Promotion Plan as an Indie Author
Self-publishing offers so many paths and options that it can seem intimidating. One debut novelist shares her journey, with valuable tips.

How Authors Can Leverage Facebook Ads to Sell More Books
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.

How to Be a Great Podcast Guest: A Guide for Authors
Learning these basic skills will help you relax, enjoy the conversation, and hopefully turn a podcast’s audience into yours as well.

I’m Selling Books on TikTok, No Dancing (or Crying) Required
TikTok has evolved into an entertainment and educational hub, with a remarkably engaged community of book buyers.

Writers: Ask for What You Want
Your community might be all too willing to help promote your book. The hard part is overcoming the fear of asking.

A Debut Novelist in a Pandemic: How to Navigate a Launch Through Social Media
When the pandemic thwarted a debut author’s launch plans, she had no choice but to jump into the deep end of social media.

What Every Writer Needs to Know About Email Newsletters (They’re Not Going Away)
Even a small email list is better than no list at all, because it likely represents your most devoted, true fans.

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

Get Reader Reviews Now to Drive Sales Later
Whether you use giveaways, blog tours or paid ads, generating reader reviews will drive sales and create opportunities for further marketing.

The Importance of Finding Your Marketing Sweet Spot
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.

Using Book Promotion Newsletters to Increase Sales
Book promotion newsletters are a dynamic component of the overall book industry, but their focus—and results—can vary dramatically.

Maximizing Book Sales with Facebook and BookBub Ads: Q&A with Melissa Storm
The bestselling author discusses best practices for ads, how to keep your spending in check, the top three mistakes authors make, and more.

What You Can Learn About Platform From a 12-Year-Old
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.

Online Book Events: A Necessary Pivot in 2020, But How Do You Compete?
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.

4 Lessons from 4 Years of Self-Publishing
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.

Building Your Career-Long Marketing Foundation
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.

How to Do Honest and Legal Giveaways as an Author
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.

Amazon Editorial Reviews: Are You Using This Incredible Section?
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.

6 Tips to Create a Memorable Virtual Book Launch
Online or in person, the basics of public speaking are still what matters most: be captivating, interactive, and take your audience on a journey.

Marathons, Sprints, and Pounces: 3-Tiered Approach to Book Launches
Promoting a book isn’t a one-off event. It’s a series of actions: long-lead strategies, mid-range tasks, and sudden opportunities.

How I Hosted a Socially Distanced Book Event
One author’s experience with the pros and cons of promoting a new book to his community in the era of limited social gatherings.

How to Throw a Virtual Book Launch Using Facebook Live
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.