25 for 25: Book promotion
Whether you work with a traditional publisher, a self-publisher, or an outside publicity firm to promote your book, the key element in book promotion is you.
This essay is part of my 25 for 25 book writing series. The lessons in this series are meant to simplify the book writing and production journey. You can find a guide with links to the entire series here.
The promotional side of the book world is fascinating.
Things appear random—which books break through, which get coverage, which get the end-cap display at your nearby bookstore—but a lot of those elements are the result of promotional efforts.
If you work with a publisher, they may have a publicity team to help guide your publicity efforts.
Outside PR firms also perform similar duties. They pitch your project to their network of contacts in hopes that somebody will bite. They line up interviews, do their best to get your book to a wider audience, wham-bam-done.
Amazon
You want to meet people where they are buying books.
People typically aren’t buying lots of books from authors’ appearances on off-the-grid podcasts or morning drivetime radio stations in Kenosha, Wisconsin (speaking from personal experience).
Instead, people are buying books on Amazon—lots of them. The sales behemoth is the biggest name in book publishing, the place where people go when they want to buy a book for their father or mother or children or themselves.
It’s not enough just to sell your book on Amazon. It can be helpful to push your thumb down on the scale and grease the skids—advertising for specific keywords or within specific items that you believe people are likely to buy in addition to your book.
A long runway
As your book approaches publication day, it's so powerful to be able to promote it and get attention and visibility toward this awesome book.
A pre-launch or pre-publication sales phase allows you to build a runway to promote your book and drive forward on momentum.
Ahead of release day, and in the month after, the book is listed among new releases. And on publication day, the pre-orders ship, and all of the sales drive the book’s launch forward.
Promoting your book
Whether you work with a traditional publisher, a self-publisher, or an outside publicity firm to promote your book, the key element in book promotion is you.
The author.
Marketing companies and professionals can help connect you with their network and connections, pitching you to their go-to media outlets. So there could be strength in choosing the right people to publicize your book.
But their efforts will only take your book so far.
There’s a reason why the author’s platform is such an important part of a book proposal—publishers want to know that authors are apt to promote their book. When you publish your book, lean on your network.
Your connections.
Your social media presence.
Your newsletter.
Your interviews.
Your public speaking opportunities.
As the author, consider how your book and your message apply to tangential topics. Your book isn’t always the topic at hand, but you can generate and capitalize by recognizing how your book relates to other issues—how your book makes you an expert on other topics.
The power of promotion
Once you get your flywheel going and build momentum with your book’s release, it’s going to be so much easier to keep driving forward.
Watch this!
I cover book promotion in this video.