I self-publish my books through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing. One of the hardest things for me as a new author was discovering how to market my book once it was published. I had no idea where to even begin. So, I started doing on-line research. I read every article/blog post I could find related to self-publishing and marketing. I soon realized that one of the biggest keys was to develop a solid social media foundation. I did not have any experience with social media, so this was all new to me. I set up accounts on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. I also became a member of Goodreads and LibraryThing.
In addition, I set up a web page to display all of my books. Finally, I started a blog. Okay, so now I was “hooked into” the social media world, now what? I had no idea what to write. I knew that if all I did was write about my book over and over, I would soon lose the interest of my followers. So, I decided to offer my services as a book reviewer. This worked out to be a win-win as I discovered that many fellow authors are more than willing to exchange book reviews. In addition, it gave me fodder for my social media platforms.
All right, so now I have some followers, but how do I get that to translate into book sales? Well, I have discovered that the best marketing tool out there is to offer your book for free. If you sign up for Amazon’s Lending Library, then they will allow you to make your book free for five days every ninety days you are in the program. The down side is that you cannot offer your book through any other venues, such as Smashwords. However, I have found know that if it wasn’t for the free promotion campaigns that I run on my books, I would not be seeing book sales anywhere close to what I am getting.
The free book promotions are by far the best method I have found to market my books. I have tried many other avenues, such as, giveaways, advertisements, etc. Each of these has yielded increases in sales. However, they do not generate nearly as many sales as the free promotion.
So, my advice to new authors is to put a lot of effort into building your social media platforms. Then use those platforms to help spread the word about any promotions, offers, new book releases, etc. that you have. In addition, utilize Amazon’s free promotion offer. It really does work.
From the author of “Dogs Aren’t Men” comes “To Love a Cat”, a contemporary romance novel.
Catherine “Cat” James’ life is simple and orderly, and she likes it that way. She loves her job as an accountant. Working with numbers is safe and routine, no surprises. Her childhood had been very abusive and unstable. She vowed not to live that way as an adult. She also made a promise to herself to become a foster parent. She wished someone had been there for her as a teenager, to let her know she wasn’t alone.
Cat agrees to foster Ethan Summers, a troubled teenage boy whose childhood closely resembles her own. Suddenly, her nice and orderly life is filled with chaos and uncertainty. Things really start to spin out of control when circumstances bring police detective Mitch Holt into the picture. He’s handsome, charming, and definitely not what Cat needs right now, or so she thinks.
Buy Now @ Amazon
Genre – Contemporary Romance
Rating – PG
More details about the author
Website www.tinerbooks.blogspot.com
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