Marketing & Promotion

A little planning and reflection will help your website be a project you sustain, rather than discard like a half-baked draft.

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.

When self-publishing be sure to determine a distribution strategy, avoid gotchas when using POD, and get pricing and metadata right from the start.

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.

Marketing strategically for 30–60 minutes per day can ensure your time, money, and energy go toward activities that move the needle.

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.

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.

Marketing your book to bookstores—like marketing your book anywhere else—requires research and shoe leather.

Every effective brand—even an author’s—has three essential characteristics: uniqueness, consistency, and authenticity.

Planning a book launch can be daunting for introverts. But finding strategies that fit with your skills and personality can make it easier.

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

If we were to reposition blurbs as affirmations as opposed to marketing tools, would that also shift the way we traffic in them?

To build an audience, close the gap between your offline-self and online-self by showing up with consistent value on your core topics.

It’s possible to create connections with readers by utilizing some fun and interesting ways for them to interact with your book.

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.

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.

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

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.

You don’t need to start strategizing newsletter content or setting a delivery schedule in order to begin building your email list.

Learn best practices for online book events, regardless of the platform you’re using.

The key to winning BookTok content: authenticity.

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.

Even the most high-profile influencers may be reachable if you make the right connections and take the right steps.

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.

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.