10 FREE Surefire Ways to Promote You and Your Book – Part 2: Strategies 6-10
Posted By Karen on November 29, 2009
We’re back with Part 2!
Last post (below) we went over the first five free strategies to help create visibility for you and your platform, now on to the next five:
6. If your book is published, contact your local newspapers and ask if they will do a feature on you. Local papers look for local news; having an author in the neighborhood is news. When my book, Day’s End Lullaby, became available, my local paper did a ¾ page spread on the book, me, and my co-author. It was great exposure.
7. Join groups and forums that focus in the area you write. Social networking is a wonderful way to increase visibility. There are also many marketing groups you can join to increase your promotional strategy knowledge.
8. Post reviews of books you’ve read on sites such as Amazon, Goodreads, LibraryThing, and Shelfari. This is another useful marketing tool that will increase your visibility and build up your platform.
9. Submit your book to reviewers. This is a great promotion tool; having good reviews to post on your site, and sites such as Amazon is an important aspect to selling books, and selling books is what book promotion is all about.
10. Create a signature for your emails. This signature is another means of allowing your platform to take root. Include your sites’ urls, the name of your book/s, maybe a quote you like to live by, and any other information that will show who and what you are.
Well, that’s it. This finishes the ten free surefire strategies to create and increase your visibility. There are many, many more strategies, but these should be the basics to get you started.
And, remember if you need help with content, creating a blog, or you’re working on a book and can use another set of eyes, DKV Writing 4 U is always ready and able to help.
About the author
The ten points read like a step by step guide to creating a reputation as a prequel to publication, a platform, by doing what we are compelled to do anyway, writing! Reviews, non-fic articles, and networking via writer’s groups. Great set of posts ~ for every writer’s toolbox, whether novel, articles, short stories, or poetry.
What of those of us writing short stories and poetry but without a novel ready to share? Would the same premise work, if we use multiple resources for poetry, dark stories, comedy, romance, for example; or do we need to select one identity to show the world to be noticed by publishers and agents?
Appreciate any comments ~ until then,
Keep Writing!
Kate
Hi, Kate,
I think I understand your question and the answer would be yes. Even before you have a novel ready to submit, you should start your promotional strategies. More and more publishers wand and need the author to do as much if not more of the promoting than they do.
As far as writing in multiple genres, it would depend. If you are creating your brand as a freelance writer than that’s what you promote.
If you are an author writing in multiple genres that will become a little more tricky, especially if you are just starting out. It might be a good idea to focus on one – maybe your favorite- and establish yourself in that genre and then move forward.
I hope some of this was helpful.
Thanks for stopping by.
karen