If you plan on self-publishing your book, you’ll also most likely need to market it yourself as well. It’s not easy, but it’s certainly not impossible.

Here are some suggestions on how and where to self promote. Consider doing as many of them as you can. The more places you spread the word, the more potential sales you’ll make.

Marketing Ideas:

1. Find your audience- What genre’ is your book? For example, if it’s fantasy, look for Facebook groups or forums in that genre;. You can promote each other’s work. It’s a great, free way to get the word out and to make connections.
2. Create a marketing plan/schedule- It’s difficult to keep track in your head the different areas you’re marketing your work. If you’re pinning information on Pinterest, writing information on your website, creating Facebook posts, etc., it’s a great idea to get yourself an online scheduler or a scheduler from an office store, even the dollar store. If you write down what you’ve done already and when and what needs to come next and when, you’ll be consistent. Your readers and followers will come to know what to expect and it builds trust.
3. Look locally- Book stores, restaurants, grocery stores, usually have a community board. You can post notices or flyers about your books and where to buy.
4. Website- This one may not be completely free, but you can get domain hosting for a website rather inexpensively. It’s a good idea. This would be a great place to write about yourself, what your inspiration is, have links to purchase your work, have give-aways and contests, and have links to other social media sites you have.
5. Social media- post and repost your own work and maybe promote other aspiring artists/writers work on free social media sites such as Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. It costs you nothing but your time.
6. Create a hook- On your social media sites, pose questions that begin with, “what if?” What if a man learned he could time travel? What if he went back in time and got trapped? Questions such as that will make your reader want to find out the answers and they’ll buy your book.
7. Sneak peek- Consider giving your followers a taste of your work to get them to buy. You could post a description of the book, you can post your first chapter. You could offer a free short story to give them a taste of your writing style.
8. Build an email list- By collecting emails, you can send your readers all of your upcoming work and whatever else you want them to know.
9. Make it easy- With all these ideas, make it easy for people to buy from you. On everything you do, website, flyers, Pinterest, whatever, include a link to where they can buy. If they have to search for it themselves, you may lose them.
10. Press release- Create your own press release describing your work, when it will be released, how excited you are about it, and where and when they can buy.
11. Guest post- Consider asking to guest post on other’s social media pages, but make sure you return the favor.
12. Tempt readers- Tempt your readers on social media by giving them more information than just a sneak peek. Give them information about your main character. Talk about your protagonist’s likes, dislikes, frustrations, loves… If they love your character, they’ll buy your book.
13. YouTube- Consider creating a YouTube video that talks a little about you and your work, give them a sneak peek, maybe a chapter. Consider teaching them something, such as how to create a character.
14. Be consistent- If you’re consistent with your promoting you’ll get a better following. If you’re not consistent, neither will be your readers.
15. Pin, pin, and repin- If you have a Pinterest account, consider also having a Pinterest business account. It’s free. You can make it dedicated to your work and constantly repin to stay at the top of the list.

No matter what you choose to do, consistency is key. Set up a schedule of what you plan to do repeatedly and stick to it. If you don’t have the interest to stay on top of your work, neither will your reader.

Be engaging. Start a Facebook page separate from your personal one, if you have one. In between posting information about your work, ask for engagement from followers. What are they working on? Where do they market their work? About what do they want you to post?

Maybe have a contest and for each person entered in a drawing for a free book. It’s all about generating interest.

Enjoy the process. If you’re excited about your work and that comes across all of your marketing, your readers will be excited too.

Now, get to work and have fun.

Happy Writing!

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