Advertising is a necessary evil in the publishing world, but with a self-published book, it is imperative. If the public has no idea of what you’ve written or who you are, the likelihood that they will pick up your book and decide to buy it is slim to none.
Even if you manage to get your self-published book in a traditional bookstore, there are many more interesting; well advertised books by authors they know will deliver a great story.
Finding Free Advertising
Once your book is printed and available, contact your local papers and radio. E-mail and phone them, telling them everything wonderful about your book and why people would be interested. Don’t just send them a review copy; prepare an article about how unique you are as a writer. A feature about a local writer is often interesting news and gets people interested in your book.
Also contact the national papers and writing journals with a pre-prepared press release and a feature article that you’ve written. If they don’t get back to you, send them the feature article without the press release and ask them for guidance if need be. They’re looking for a good story and with a little tweaking, it might be you.
Writing journals are wonderful places to advertise as they are specifically interested in how writers are doing. Writers News, Writing Magazine, and Publisher’s Weekly are excellent outlets for a press release. Although Publisher’s Weekly is difficult to break into, once a book is covered, it can generate book orders in the 1000’s.
Of course there is also the World Wide Web to consider. Most people have already set up accounts with facebook, myspace, twitter, etc. Publish blogs about your book and create a weblink to your book’s website if you have one.
Is Paid Advertising Worth It?
One of the best ways of advertising is to set up a webpage for your book. This can be done easily and often free, but there are some companies that can give you that professional edge. If you’ve found a host that can link your webpage into a book search engine, all the better.
Promotion.com is a great company for this and they prepare a very professional looking press release for the author to send to newspapers and magazines. The cost is under £500 and gives you a website, press release, international search engines, and connects you to a book search page where Amazon, Blackwells, and many other bookstores can price compare your book.
Paying for advertising slots in newspapers and magazines is very costly, and if your budget allows, why not try it. However, if you can think of something to really get people’s attention, do it. Too often, advertisements are ignores and flipped across. It may work for larger industries that have large amounts of cash to play with, but chances are, the average self-published author does not.
Do book signings, charity events, travel and do talks about your book. If it is a children’s book, go to schools and talk about it. The more interest you generate, the more chance of sales and attention from bigger publishers might come your way.
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