8 Down & Dirty Promotion Truths

These marketing tips are common sense, but that doesn't mean everyone incorporates them in a marketing plan or even takes them to heart.

8 Down & Dirty Promotion Truths

1. Putting a book out with no promotion sets the book up to fail.

Gone are the indie-publishing days when you could publish an ebook with no fanfare and have it shoot onto the bestseller lists. In today's competitive ebook publishing world, you must promote.

2. It takes more than one promotional medium to make an impact.

Unless you have a huge following hungry for your next book, you can't just use Thunderclap, or an ad, or a blog announcement, or a FB party on release day and see your ebook fly off the digital shelf. You have to begin promotion in advance, and you have to follow through on release day and beyond. It takes planning, organization, and participation by others like those who follow you on social media, friends, and anyone else you can recruit.

3. Relying on social media for selling a particular book isn't reliable.

Yes, social media helps build a community and increases name recognition, but it's not necessarily going to result in increased book sales. Build your social media community as one part of your promotion process.

4. Be selective with your social media community.

There are dozens of social media networks now. It's impossible to be on all of them and be effective on all of them. Choose 1 or 2 and grow your community there. Choose the social media that is most comfortable for you based on your available time and resources.

5. Enjoy your social media and other promotion activities.

Too often, promoting on social media can feel like you're pushing a 3 ton boulder uphill. Every day. If that's the case, then analyze how you're doing it and make changes.

6. Don't depend on social media to be your only promotion vehicle.

What are the other ways you can promote your book, your name, and your brand? Guest blogging, joining group blogs, attending Facebook parties, posting to the web pages that allow book promotion. There are many free venues available so make a list.

7. Purchase ads when you have the money to spend.

Be sure you buy ad space that gets results. You at least want sales that will pay for the ad. When you buy an ad, you want a venue with tens of thousands of subscribers so see if the advertiser provides circulation statistics. However, large numbers of subscribers isn't a guarantee of good results so ask other authors about their experience with the advertiser you're considering.

8. Make a written plan, incorporating all the various means of promotion.

Write it down: what you'll do and when you'll do it. Then analyze and record the results.

Takeaway Truth

The very best promotion tip is to find what works for you and change it as needed.