Prosperity Starts with Promotion
Honorée Corder
As much as I love producing a book, it’s the promotion of a new book that really gets my juices flowing. And because I know the other columns in this month’s magazine are going to dive into the particulars of the different promo sites, I want to share from a different angle.
As I’m sure you already know, there are so many book promotion sites, and most of them are excellent, which means you could spend all day, every day, engaging in new promotions for your book. And if you have the time to do that, that is incredible.
But most likely, you are like most authors in that you’re not only juggling your writing responsibilities—the “book business beeswax”—but you also have other personal commitments. Maybe you even have a separate full-time job.
This means you have to determine this aspect of your book marketing much like any other marketing you do: with intention.
My philosophy on book marketing has evolved over the years. I, too, want to do everything because doing everything is fun. But my calendar says, “Nope.” I’ve had to look at promotion sites through the four filters I use for every book marketing initiative.
- Does it fit my personality? With promo sites, it doesn’t really matter whether you’re an introvert, extrovert, or ambivert. What does factor in is whether it makes sense to promote on a few sites, several sites, or many sites.
- What is your book’s job or role? People sometimes publish nonfiction books to do the heavy lifting of generating new business. They write fiction books to entertain, to take people away from their cares and concerns and transport them to another world. Promo sites are designed differently for different types of books, so you will want to make sure the site you use and your book are in alignment.
- What’s your time availability? You might have limited time, which means you may need to go all in on just a few sites. But if you have a few hours a day to dedicate to promotions, experimenting with many sites might be fun.
- How much money do you have to spend? Although there are plenty of free promotion sites, you’ll want to keep in mind that just because something is free doesn’t mean it will be effective. If it won’t move the needle, it doesn’t make sense to do it “just in case.” Be sure to define your available funds and only engage in the sites that make sense for your budget.
The more intentional you are in analyzing potential promotional sites for your book against the four filters above, the more likely you will be to identify the ones that will make the most sense and, as a result, make the most impact on your book sales and reader engagement.
Remember to ask your fellow authors for their best recommendations. It’s always fun to talk books with my author buddies, and many times, they share some great tips. You’ll probably identify some of the best promo sites ever while you’re building relationships with your author friends. Happy promoting!