Marketing my self-published book

amother

Wed, Feb 08 2023, 3:38 pm

This is kind of a vent/kvetch.

My book is almost done. I did the writing, got people to do editing, graphics, layout.

But now I need to market it.

And marketing is really, really not my forte.

I paid someone a lot of money to set up a website and now I dont' even have time to keep up with it. I used to post little updates and blog posts and now I don't anymore.

I don't have much of a social media following. I do write articles for a few major frum publications so people might recognize my name, but I didn't really leverage it into a social media presence.

I have a full time job in an entirely separate field in addition to my freelance writing so I didn't develop the business aspect as much as I could have.

So that's my dilemma right now.

I don't have time, energy, money or headspace to devote to marketing or social media. But if I don't do it how will I get the word out about my book?

This is my second book BTW. My first sold well BH, not that I made that much profit but at least I covered my costs.

If you self-published and marketed your own book, can you share some tips/ideas?

amother

Wed, Feb 08 2023, 4:37 pm

I don't really want to post the link here and out myself.
I am looking for ideas how to motivate myself to go out there and market my book.
I feel like, I did all the work, the book is ready to go to print, but I'm drained now. I have no strength or energy left over for marketing it.

DustyDiamonds

Wed, Feb 08 2023, 5:26 pm

Mazel Tov on the book!

Give away copies to influencers and ask them to promote it.

Reach out to podcast folks and ask if they’d want to interview you, they’re always looking for content.

What’s the subject matter of the book?

How did you market your first book?

If it makes sense, find an organization that has the same target audience as your book and offer x amount of copies that they can use as a door prize or similar.

Or, you can take the super expensive route and hire a marketing company to take over for you. Everything worthwhile takes time and energy or money!

amother

Wed, Feb 08 2023, 5:30 pm

theoneandonly wrote:

I totally hear you. I used to write a blog but I stopped because I couldn't stand the marketing and social media aspects of it. No ideas but lots of sympathy.

Thank you! It helps to know I'm not alone.

amother

Wed, Feb 08 2023, 5:31 pm

DustyDiamonds wrote:

These are all fantastic ideas! Some that I thought of already, some that I didn't.

Thank you for taking the time to write it all out!

mushkamothers

Wed, Feb 08 2023, 5:37 pm

Amy porterfield, who teaches online marketing, is promoting her recent book now. She's doing free workshops, going on podcasts, and offering bonuses and courses for people who pre-order. See if you can listen to a podcast episode where she talks about her strategy and get some ideas