Book Marketing: 2 Free Strategies To Target Keen Readers

Book marketing is always a popular topic with members of our writing group, because advertising is expensive.

At our last meeting, one member said she hadn’t checked her Amazon ads for a week after creating some new ads. To her horror, she realized she’d made an error and went way over budget.

Book marketing: follow your natural inclinations

With dozens of book marketing strategies available, which should you choose? I find that nothing makes me more exhausted than promotions which I hate. If you cordially hate being interviewed or giving talks, don’t do them.

Always follow your natural inclinations. For example, if you enjoy interviews, pitch as many podcasts and video bloggers as you can.

In our meeting, we discussed two free strategies which might work for you:

• Joining online book groups; and
• Speaking at offline book clubs.

Online book groups: join a group, or set up your own group

Both Goodreads and Facebook offer many groups for readers of various genres and categories. You also have the option of setting up your own group.

Many authors enjoy creating and posting to their own online group: if this sounds fun, give it a try.

Offline book clubs: they’re everywhere

Book clubs are everywhere these days, offline and online. I’m sure you’ve received invitations to join a club. You may even be a member of one.

To get started, create some end-matter questions and other materials for readers who may want to use your book in their club, and add the material to the end of your book. This works well for nonfiction as well as for historical novels.

If your book has already been published, add the material and republish.

With luck, your questions and other material will engage readers. They’ll talk about your book with their friends; word of mouth is hugely valuable.

Be sure to add your book club materials to your blog, too.

Your local librarian can be a big help in helping you to find local book clubs. Ask your friends whether they know of any clubs too.

As with online groups, you’ve also got the option of starting your own club.

Consistency counts with book marketing

One of our members offered this advice: “One talk at a local book club is useful, but you’re unlikely to sell many copies. Aim to do one talk a month in your local area if you can.”

As with all forms of marketing, consistency counts.

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