Tips and Tricks for Book Promotion, Part 1

If writing and publishing our books is one of the most exciting things we do; then getting them sold is frequently the most challenging. We’ve spent months toiling over words, plot, and character; fixing pacing problems and plot conundrums.  Then we, have a great cover designed and a gorgeous interior layout. We get out books into Amazon et al. and then the real work begins.  Selling!

The trick is to remember that “selling” begins the first day you put pen to paper. Maybe even before!

In this article, I’ll provide a few book promotion tips and tricks that should help the “post-publication blues.”

Let’s talk about your “author platform.”

That term has been bandied about for years but is best summarized as your virtual presence online. I say “virtual presence,” as your author platform means more than your website but your entire presence on the internet … website, Facebook, Instagram, and even your author central page on Amazon!

However, it’s not just where you are but who you are and who you reach (your audience). In corporate parlance … your BRAND.

TIP: It’s best to pick one or two MAIN avenues of exposure and conquer those; THEN expand into other avenues.

Being a “web guy” I often focus on the website portion of an author platform first.

Your website is your headquarters for all of your book promotion work.  Your website helps you connect to your audience at a deeper level (because you are not limited in space nor scope), increases interaction, increases your profitability, and provides the greatest flexibility to explain, promote, and grow. Your website also helps you build your all-important mailing list,

TIP: Choose a domain name that contains the best possible searchable words: your name, book name, book series name.

MORE is often better!

Don’t be afraid to invest in multiple domain names and multiple websites.

For example, you may have AuthorName.com, BookName.com, and SeriesName.com. BookName.com can be used for marketing and points to the page on your AuthorName.com site.  Same for SeriesName.com. You can, and eventually should, build individual sites for each.

For example, there’s MargaretDuarte.com. Margaret has a series, Enter the Between. So, let’s create EntertheBetween.com.

TIP: Google loves content.  Google loves links. Combine the two and you have a winning approach.

Get Searchable

Think about the phrases – two to four words – that you think people would use to find you and your book(s).  Think also about the phrases you WANT to be found for on Google.  “Visionary Fiction” is not a common phrase; by using it liberally on your site and in your posts, you’ll have a high likelihood of being found on the first couple pages of Google!

Example: “I am a writer of visionary fiction and ….” “My newest book is firmly rooted in the visionary fiction genre with ….”

TIP: Try to use the 3×3 rule when writing content.  3 key term phrases three times on a page or post.

Be Consistent

Write a new post every week or every other week; even once per month is fine as long as you always post and/or send to your list the same date and time. Your fans will begin to expect your posts and that’s where you want to be.

When you’ve written an article/post splash that puppy all over! Post it on your website, send to your email list, post to your Facebook pages (You do have more than one right?), and anywhere else that is relevant.

TIP: ALWAYS include a key term phrase that is linked to your website.