As a writing consultant and editor, I help writers refine their books. Ultimately, books are meant to be published and read. To gain readers, you need good marketing. If you are a freelance or self-published author or have a small publisher, your marketing budget may be limited. Here are some of the best tips for advertising free or low-cost books.
Before you publish your book, make sure it’s in the best possible shape. You are more likely to have higher reviews, more sales, and repeat customers if your book has been edited to a high standard.
1. Create a Facebook author page and Twitter account to engage your audience (don’t spam!) The life of writing is a fascinating life for many. Readers love hearing about him.
2. Make an author website. If you need it to be free, use Weebly, Wix, or blog your website on a platform like Blogger or WordPress. Images, gifs, and interesting content help create a more engaging experience for your readers.
3. Make a free 30 second book trailer video on Animato to post on social media. Book trailers, just like movie trailers, are an instant snapshot of your story and can draw others in and spark interest.
4. Bookmarks are great promotional materials that people are happy to keep and use. Vistaprint makes good quality products at fair prices.
5. Blogging tours are like book tours for authors, but without the travel. Your book can travel across the country or around the world without you having to. You can have a company take care of this for you, or you can organize your own blog tour. Maybe you want to have a daily blog that features you for 10 days around your launch. Many writers are happy to promote other writers’ books on their websites in exchange. This is especially true for freelance and self-published writers.
6. Ask readers to review for you on Amazon, Goodreads, etc. More reviews translate to a higher ranking for your book and more visibility for you.
7. Participate in author interviews on blogs. This will help your readers learn more about you and broaden your audience.
8. Create a newsletter (free services are offered through companies like MailChimp) to keep a list of your interested readers so you can inform them of sales and your upcoming release.
Happy writing and best of luck with your sales!
My best wishes to all of you,
Megan