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10 Free (or Mostly Free) Book Launch Strategies

by BookBaby on June 18, 2013 in eBook Promotion, Self Publishing

[This post was written by guest contributor, Beth Barany, author of The Writer's Adventure Guide: 12 Stages to Writing Your Book.]

Many new independently published authors think that they need to launch a book with lots of fanfare right after they hit the publish button. Actually, you don’t need to do that. You can “launch” your book in the first few months after its official release date.

Here’s a list of marketing activities that I or authors I know have used to increase sales and visibility.

A quick note: There are as many ways to market your book as there are authors. I’ve seen some really creative campaigns. It’s up to you to mix and match and experiment — because you may not know what will work for you or your audience until you try.

1. Use Other People’s Lists

If you’re just starting out and don’t have a lot of people in your social media circles or on your newsletter…

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Will America Adopt the Avant-Garde Art of Book Stacking?

by Chris Robley on June 12, 2013 in Industry News

Some bookstore employees where I live seem annoyed enough when you ask them to point you in the direction of the poetry section — so probably NO: they won’t be stacking books in this fashion any time soon.

But who knows! As more and more readers make the switch to eBooks, maybe American bookstores will start upping their interior-design game to catch the eyes of buyers.

This takes attention-grabbing end caps to a whole new level

Apparently in Japan, the craze is in full swing, with several competing styles of creative book-stacking: the Tower, the Spiral, and the Tornado!

Check out this site to see more images of impressive book-stacking techniques.

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A Checklist of Basic Promotion Materials for Indie Authors

by Chris Robley on May 10, 2013 in eBook Promotion, Self Publishing

So you finished your book. Congratulations! That’s a major accomplishment.

Now it’s time to put together all the stuff you’ll need to help you sell your book once it’s published, including…

1. A short book description

There are a handful of reasons you’ll need a short, compelling book description (one or two sentences at most): as a soundbite in interviews, as a teaser on your website, as the hook in your press materials and communications with folks in the publishing industry, and maybe even as the tagline in your email signature!

2. A longer book description

Once you’ve hooked ‘em with the soundbite, they’ll want to read more.

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Basic Book Marketing Tips for Self-Published Authors

by BookBaby on March 20, 2013 in eBook Promotion, Self Publishing

[This article is written by guest contributor Melissa Foster, award-winning author and founder of World Literary Café.]

How to put together a pro book marketing plan

For many authors, book marketing is a lot like walking on water—you’ve heard that it can work, but you’re not quite sure how to find that precarious stance that’s needed to succeed. Don’t fret, I have plenty of ideas for you.

Start with the basics: We all know that you need to start with a well-written book that has been professionally edited and has a professional cover.

Request reviews early: Part of any strong marketing plan is obtaining advanced reviews. You can do this in (willing) Goodreads groups, from friends and previous readers, request advanced reviews on Facebook, or even using your mailing list or newsletter contacts.

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Book Marketing 101: Making Money With Your eBook

by BookBaby on February 8, 2013 in Self Publishing

Get your book noticed: book marketing for beginners

So the good news is you don’t need a publisher to get your book into the hands of readers anymore. After all, BookBaby gets your book straight into the world’s biggest retail stores. The trick is: How do you get readers to notice your book? Traditional publishers have marketing and PR departments. You have you.

That’s where this handy guide comes in. Written by BookBaby’s very own Chief Marketing Officer, Steven Spatz, this book will teach you to think like a marketer.

In Spatz’s own words: “That’s what makes this guide different from the hundreds out there. This is a guide for marketers. Not authors. Beginning today — right now — you need to think like a marketer. Which means you need to think of your book as a product — nothing more and nothing less.”

This free guide to book marketing helps you do just that.

What you’ll learn:

How to identify your market
Crafting your Unique Selling Proposition
How to be everywhere
Using Metadata
And much more!

Ready to get marketing? Download your free guide.

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How to Enlist “Interns” for Free: Getting Friends and Family to Help You Promote Your Book

by Chris Robley on January 8, 2013 in Self Publishing

A recent article on The Creative Penn called “Divide and Conquer: Building an Author Platform by Proxy” got me thinking about the idea of enlisting an intern, or several interns, to help with some of the promotion and online marketing work that most authors are expected to handle themselves these days.

Well, maybe not an intern in the traditional sense — (I’m assuming you don’t offer college credits or the chance of permanent employment) — but… free help.

In “Divide and Conquer,” Kristin Morin talks about assisting her husband, a fantasy novelist, with some of his social media engagement, and how they strategically segmented the labor involved. While this is certainly a great approach, not everyone has someone in their life who’s willing to take on such an ongoing endeavor.

So what’s a good, effective alternative to having a kind of permanent assistant?

Let’s take a page out of the DIY rock band play-book.

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The Secret to Publishing Success in 4,341 Easy Steps

by Chris Robley on July 12, 2012 in eBook Promotion, Self Publishing

How to Succeed in Publishing: Be Great, Work Hard, Love It, Adapt, Keep At It Longer Than Everyone Else, Get Lucky

Oh, is that all I have to do?

I met an author the other day who’s been working on a book for 7 years. He’s almost finished with it and he’s starting to investigate all the non-writing pieces of the publishing puzzle. As we talked about BookBaby, he asked if we offered an easy marketing solution.

I told him that no one ever has an easy marketing solution (not even the big publishers); that every book and every author requires a different approach for connecting with readers; that success takes talent, tons of elbow grease, thick skin, dedication, and a willingness to change your goals mid-stream without getting overly discouraged.

That seemed to resonate with his suspicions about the industry, so I suggested he check out this blog and others like it to gather tips and advice and begin to create his own book marketing solutions. He then asked, “Do the tips you give actually work?”

“It depends,” I said.

“On what?”

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How To Become A Book Marketing Ninja

by BookBaby on May 10, 2012 in eBook Promotion

To be effective in today’s noisy world, you can’t be lazy when it comes to marketing and selling your books. You have to stretch your thinking and your methods. You must break old paradigms and shatter trusted formulas.

You must become a book marketing ninja!

Here are three ways to do that:

1) Reconsider all of your marketing tactics. One of the biggest promotional mistakes you can make is doing something just because that’s the way it’s always been done before. Just because everyone else pursues book reviews, bookstore distribution, library sales, and media exposure in a certain way (or even Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn), that doesn’t mean you have to.

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A Report from the Writer’s Digest Conference

by BookBaby on January 24, 2012 in BookBaby News, eBook Promotion, Self Publishing, Writing Tips

BookBaby VP Steven Spatz recently attended the Writer’s Digest Conference in New York City and sends in this report: At the risk of sounding like a certain country comedian, the underlying theme of last weekend’s Writer’s Digest Conference in New York was simple and blunt advice for aspiring authors laboring on their books. It was [...]

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Nieman Reports’ “Writing the Book”: A Treasure Trove of Advice for Authors

by Chris Robley on January 16, 2012 in eBook Promotion, Self Publishing, Writing Tips

A number of free articles are available at the Nieman Reports website on the topic of book writing and book promotion, split conveniently into two main sections: 1) “Concept to Content”, and 2) “Platform to Audience.” Much of this advice is targeted at journalists who are venturing into the world of non-fiction, fiction, or memoir, [...]

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