ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

How to Promote a New Book on a Budget

Updated on January 7, 2014

You've gotten your book published... Now what?

Most new authors are stuck instantly with a quandry; how do they market their newly published book when they don't have the added cash that will ultimately come from its royalties? Writing a book is hard; getting it published is even harder. Some authors don't even think about what comes next! So now that your book is available to reach the general public, what are you going to do to promote it?

Chances are that nobody's going to promote your work for you. There are some things that you can do to help yourself, and other things which you should not do under any circumstances. Be aware of what is and is not going to help your case, and plan your strategy accordingly.

Beware of Over-Promotion on Amazon

A few things to avoid...

  • Don't create multiple Amazon accounts to promote/review your own book. This is something that I see occasionally and it's bad news. I'm sure that this is somehow tied to the recommendation that new forum owners create multiple accounts to create the illusion of activity. Just don't do it.
  • Don't have all of your friends run over to leave a short review and five stars on Amazon. As above, the reader will pick up on this. These types of reviews only hurt you in the long run and will cause people to avoid your book and anything that you create in the future.
  • Don't give up. I've known a lot of new authors who have become quickly frustrated when things don't go easily their way. You're going to have to be patient, and your book might not pay out at first.
  • Don't take "no" personally. I'm going to make some recommendations that could potentially lead to rejection of your book. Don't take it personally; it has nothing to do with you and everything to do with the person you're approaching. Bear that in mind.
  • Don't make book bloggers buy your book. Without naming names, my husband recently approached me to purchase a book written by a friend of his and review it. Given that it isn't in one of the genres that I review, I told him "no." Offer a copy of the book for review, please!

Make sure that you do the following

  • Do request book reviews from book bloggers. Check out the Ning Group (linked previously) or do a search for book blogs or book reviewers. If you ask, most of us will also post a review for you at Amazon, or in any other location you wish the review to appear. We're a friendly bunch; don't be afraid of us! We're one of your best resources.
  • Do have a plan in mind. You're going to make the most of your marketing if you have an idea of what you want to accomplish, and an idea of how you're going to get there. Your plan might be different than somebody else's; the plan has to work for you!
  • Do be willing to promote yourself. This is imperative. If you aren't willing to speak highly of your own work, then nobody else is going to want to either. You need to be on Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks and work at promoting yourself there. Not just your book, but you as well.
  • Do have confidence. If you're not confident in your work, why should I be confident enough to read it? To review it for you? You can't sell a product you don't believe in, so don't try!
  • Do take opportunities for blog tours or interviews. These are opportunities for you to really shine. If a blogger offers you a guest post on their blog, it's in your best interests to take it. If they request additional copies to run a giveaway, it's better for you to provide them. Don't pass up golden opportunities.

When Approaching a Book Blogger...

Please be polite and remember that they're human do. Make sure to read their book review policies. It would be unwise, for example, to send someone who only reviews paranormal romance your historical fiction novel.

If you'd like to get a review of your book, you could always check out my book review policies (I'm sorry for the strange formatting. I've done my best to fix it and this policy has to go on my blog instead of on another platform, but Blogger is being persistently annoying in not allowing me the format I want! Argh!).

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)