Book Marketing: 3 Tips For Free Publicity To Sell More Books

Looking for easy book marketing ideas? Most authors never realize that there’s a powerful and free option: publicity.

Publicity sells books. Last year, one of our writers’ group members got these results from one press release published on her website:

• Six book reviews in various print publications;
• A dozen online reviews; and
• An article in her local paper.

The local paper published her press release more or less as-is as an article, with images.

Book marketing can be free

When authors think of “free” book marketing, they’re looking for low-cost and no-cost websites which will run advertising.

If they think about publicity at all, they think in terms of a publicity agent. Agencies charge thousands of dollars a month for representation.

Why not act as your own publicity agent?

These tips will help.

1. Create a “media center” on your website

Your “media center” is just a section of your website where you publish your press releases and other press material, such as a press kit for each of your books. You can also direct website visitors to interviews you’ve given in print and online.

As your career develops, you’ll also publish audio and video to your media center: interviews you’ve given on radio, in podcasts, and on video.

Not only is your media center useful for journalists and book bloggers who want to learn more about you, it’s also a direct line to your readers.

It has other benefits too:

• The additional content helps with search engine optimization (SEO);
• Press releases offer information to readers on about older books, leading to more fans and more sales.

One of our group members said that her Kindle sales had increased ten-fold in one day. She finally traced the sales uptick back to a press release on her site for a book she’d released in 2016.

2. Create a press kit with high-resolution images

Today, nothing in book marketing is as vital as your images. Consider Instagram. Book bloggers, journalists and readers build their own networks on social media platforms and they’re hungry for images.

A tip from our group member who always publishes press releases on her website and on a press release site whenever she releases a new book:

“High resolution images are essential. Create a downloadable press kit for your book with high-resolution images. If you can’t afford a photographer, DIY with cell phone images.”

3. Create two mailing lists: one for readers and one for media

Your book marketing and publicity will lead to increased traffic your site. Much of that traffic will be wasted unless you have a way of capturing names and email addresses. So create a mailing list and encourage your site’s visitors to sign up to it, to receive regular bulletins from you.

A tip from another author:

“In addition to your standard mailing list, you need two more lists. One for your readers and one for media people like book bloggers, journalists and other writers.”

Free publicity is magic for book marketing. It sells more books. Give it a try.