9 Inexpensive Book Marketing Strategies For Authors From A Former Book Publicist!
Book Marketing Strategies For Authors
Here’s something important for you to know…
Unless you are a content marketer your blog is not your business. It is actually the platform for any business endeavors you want to pursue.
In other words, you use your blog to help market what it is you want to sell.
Now I understand that many Christian bloggers don’t want to sell anything. They use their blogs for personal reasons or for a ministry.
But if you are a Christian blogger who is business-minded then you need to be thinking about how you can use your blog as a launchpad for the products you want to create and or sell.
One such product is a book. Many bloggers have books on their hearts that they are dying to write.
Sometimes we are wary about writing the book and we keep procrastinating writing it.
Sometimes we have written a book but are either too nervous to market it or don’t know where to begin.
The thing is, if this is a book that God has put on your heart to write then we know He wants us to share it.
So basically we have to.
But where do you start? I am the book publicist for an author at my church and this has inspired me to research some of the different ways we can market our books so we can touch people’s lives with it.
So let’s talk about 9 different ways you can market your book! But let’s first define what book marketing is.
This post may contain affiliate links which means I get a commission if you purchase something after clicking on one of those links. But don’t worry. I’m not going to recommend something I don’t really believe it because that would just be wrong.
Want to read this post later? Then save it to one of your book Pinterest boards! 
What Is Book Marketing?
Answer: Book marketing is when you implement different strategies, techniques, and ideas to bring more exposure to your book. There is online marketing and also offline marketing. Online marketing is when you use different internet platforms to tell others about your book. Offline marketing is when you meet with people face to face and bring awareness to your book and its benefits.
Christian Book Marketing: What Are Some Ways To Market Your Book (Both Offline and Online)?
1. Market Your Book On Your Blog
So we basically talked about this but let’s explore this even more.
One of the best ways to market your book is on your blog which is a platform that you own unlike social media which has all kinds of rules that you have to follow.
Your blog is your own canvas that you can paint however you’d like. But of course, you need traffic.
One of the best ways to get more traffic to your site is by creating lots of new fresh content. If you want to see fast growth, publishing a new post every day does wonders for your traffic.
Need some help learning how to create content faster? This post on creating content super fast is for you!
However, that may not seem feasible. In fact, just the mere thought may make you want to pull your hair out. I get it.
I’ve posted every day for a month and it was kinda stressful but worth it.
If you’re having trouble with the idea of posting more than once a week you should consider using PLR or private label rights content.
This is content that is already done for you and you are free to edit it any way you see fit.
I know the idea of using already done-for-you content might make you squeamish but it’s really just a tool to create content faster and to help you come up with ideas consistently.
Trust me, once you edit the articles, it will be totally unique and no one will question whether or not you wrote it.
Find out more about PLR content: Christian PLR
2. Use Pinterest For Book Promotion
Pinterest is a good way to drive traffic to your blog and therefore drive traffic to blog posts about your book.
You can also create a landing page allowing users to read the first page of your book for free and have a pin directing people to that landing page.
A cool idea is to take some themes from your book and create Pinterest boards around those themes.
For instance, if your book deals with biblical themes like forgiveness or overcoming anger then create boards with those names and pin relevant content to them, especially your own.
These are some of the strategies that I used when I worked as a book publicist.
Want to read this post later? Then save it to one of your book Pinterest boards!
3. Think beyond Amazon.
I know Amazon is the first place we think of to sell our books but keep in mind that there tons of other stores like Barnes and Noble, iBook store, Smashwords, and Kobo or a service like IngramSpark.
4. Social Media (of course).
Use social media to get the word out. You should have a business Facebook page, a business Instagram, and a business Pinterest account (yes I know Pinterest is not a social media site but still wanted to include it just cuz).
You can post about your book launch, share your book cover, quotes from your book, share your book description, and more!
If you’re marketing your books to Christian readers then you need to market your book wherever those readers hang out.
For instance, I would look for Facebook groups centered around Christian fiction. Just think of different categories and search for those groups that potential fans of your book would join!
Need a social media planner to plan your book marketing posts? Check out this pretty pink social media planner!
5. Use a sample chapter as a freebie.
One thing that you can do is use the first chapter of your book as a freebie to build your email list.
This works really well. I’ve done that with my book True Transformation which you can read the first chapter of by clicking here!
And in the welcome email that you send those who sign up for your first chapter, you can leave a link to your book on Amazon or wherever you’re selling it.
6. Book Giveaway.
You can also do a book giveaway on sites like Goodreads, Library Thing, and Listy.
And of course, you can do one on your own site or blog as well. And then you would strongly encourage everyone who received the book to leave a review or a testimonial about it.
Want to read this post later? Then save it to one of your book Pinterest boards!
7. Podcast interviews
If you’re ready to put yourself all the way out there then look into booking podcast interviews.
They do a great job of exposing you to a new audience as well as building your confidence as an expert and leader in your field of writing.
Go into iTunes and look to see who interviews authors and then pitch them on the idea of being interviewed.
8. If your book is part of a series do this…
Is your book a part of a series?
Then you definitely want to put a chapter of the next book at the end of the book you’re promoting now.
This builds a loyal fan base who is excited to buy your next literary endeavor.
9. Meet your potential readers in bookstores & conferences!
Go to a local bookstore and see if they do book readings. If so, and they allow you to do one, create a press release letting everyone know when your event will be.
When I worked as a book publicist, I would literally just call or email different bookstores to see if my client could go do a book reading or signing. Be sure to ask for the manager or the owner.
Many times they said yes so why not give it a try!
Next steps: Which book marketing strategies should you start with first?
1. Start with building an email list and use the first chapter of your book as the freebie.
If your book is really good, people will want to read the rest of it to find out what happens or what else you tell them.
Not only that but having their email address means you can email them about any future book releases, book signings, podcast interviews, and anything else book-related that you have planned
If you don’t have an email list yet, I would recommend getting started with Convertkit (affiliate link) which is the email marketing service that I use.
It is my favorite out of the 4 that I’ve used (MailChimp, Mailerlite, and Aweber)
2. After you start building the email list, start booking the podcast interviews and doing the other steps. As long as you have your email list set up then feel free to do the other ideas in the order that works for you.
Okay, ya’ll that is all for now. If you need more information about Convertkit, then check out this post right here that compares Convertkit to Mailchimp.
