When you self-publish a book, you’re in control of every aspect, including the marketing. When self-publishing a book, it’s important to have a marketing strategy in place for teasing your book’s release and a plan for once your book has been officially released.

It may seem daunting getting started self-publishing a book, but there are some easy ways to market your book without a bloated budget. Here are six easy ways to market your self-published book.

Create Your Platform

It’s important to set up a website or blog site, even if you are planning to sell your books on an eCommerce site, such as Shopify or Etsy, or larger retailers like Amazon or Barnes & Noble. Having your own website will help establish credibility as an author and serve as a space for interested readers. Your website doesn’t just help market your book, but also markets yourself as an author.

Start teasing your book release on your website by including a book trailer, posting the release date with a countdown, and post blog article about the creative process. Your blog posts could include fun facts about the writing process, character backgrounds, or any information you can tease without giving too much away about your book.

Be a Guest on a Podcast

Reach out to podcasters that appeal to your potential readers or book lovers in general. If you know of podcasts that interview self-published authors specifically, email them and simply ask to be a guest to talk about your book. Podcasts are a personal medium and give you a lot of freedom to have an intimate conversation where listeners can really get to know you while you plug your book.

Utilize Social Media

When you think about where most people get their information, it’s largely through social media. Establishing a social media presence is crucial for marketing your book. If you don’t have an established following, start by following other self-published authors within your genre then follow the people that follow that author. Search groups and hashtags related to your book genre to find out what the online community responds to and develop content based on your research. For example, if you’re writing fiction, your followers might like funny memes, or if you’re writing a self-help book, you can post uplifting quotes or helpful tips related to your book topic.

Another marketing tool you can use through social media is promoting posts. You can “promote” posts on Instagram and “boost” posts on Facebook. Each post you promote will prompt you to fill out multiple settings. If you want more people to see your post, you should set “engagement” as your goal. If you want more people to click on a link in your post (to your website or link to purchase your book), you can select a goal of getting more clicks or website purchases. Have a marketing budget in mind for your strategy so you can prep these posts ahead of time with goals in mind.

Do Keyword Research

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) research is vital for targeting your audience, directing traffic to your website, and creating online ads. Conduct your own keyword searches in Google and see which words trigger results for topics related to your book and book genre. When creating content for your social media posts, blog posts, and website content, use these words to help your pages rank higher on Google. When people search these words, they will be more likely to see your content show up in their searches.

Offer Incentives

Who doesn’t like free or discounted stuff? Find creative ways to host a giveaway or discount through social media, or if you have an email list, a newsletter. For example:

“Get a free eBook when you sign up for my newsletter!”

“Leave a review of my book and receive a free, signed copy.”

Run a giveaway after you have released your book. You can run your giveaway on social media or sign up for the  Goodreads Giveaway Program to help your book get listed on more people’s “want to read” list.

Encourage Reviews

If you sell through KDP, reviews from friends and family will most likely be removed. Finding ways to encourage reviews of your book from verified users will boost your visibility on the platform. Research your genre and see where online communities exist. Comment in these groups or message boards with information about your book and see if people are interested in reading it. You can encourage potential readers in these groups to purchase and leave a review. You can also hire beta readers to do an initial read-through of your book. Beta readers can give you helpful notes to make your book even better and they may just write a review of your book once it’s released or encourage people to buy it on their own platforms.

Whether you’re just starting out or ready to print, 48 Hour Books can help you start your self-publishing journey. Contact us today to get started!