book marketing tips Archives - Page 7 of 8

Free Book Marketing Tip #4: Always Have Your Book with You

August 26, 2015 by Judy Baker

Free Book Marketing Tip #4: Always carry copies of your book with you

You never know who you are going to meet when you are waiting in line at the grocery store, in an airport lounge, at the gym, at a conference, your kid’s soccer game, at the movies…places where you find potential readers are who would enjoy your book, so don’t disappoint them. My client, Deborah Myers, carries copies of her new Daily Clean Your House Flow books with her. She met a hospital administrator at a social event and they are now in discussions with about how to bring her work into the hospital.

Think Like a Publisher

As an independent publisher, you are your chief marketeer, (a specialist in promoting or selling a product or service (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/marketeer). Think like a big publishing house. Be prepared at all times to share your book with your fans and potential fans.

Be Ready to Sell

There is no excuse for not being able to sell your books anywhere. You can get a free credit card reader from square.com, PayPal, Intuit, or use a service like Stripe, all of which work on a smart phone, tablet or computer.

Don’t forget the sales tax

If you are engaging in physical commerce, be sure to collect sales tax. If you aren’t sure about this step, talk to your tax preparer, or read up on the process here. Remember, you are now a business and it is important to follow the rules of taxation. For more tax tips for small businesses, especially creatives, check out taxpertise.com — this site is amazing in its depth as well as being well written with a touch of humor. Bonnie Lee is an Enrolled Agent and author, so she knows her stuff.

Don’t be shy

You spent a lot of time getting your book published. Now is not the time to allow shyness get in your way. If you are always prepared to sharing your book, you are always prepared to sell your book.

If you are shy, you can hire me to help spread the good word, because “marketing is a conversation.”

Check back soon for more free book marketing tips for independent publishers from Judy Baker and if you have a great book marketing tip, share it with me.

Free Book Marketing Tip #3

August 24, 2015 by Judy Baker

Free Book Marketing Tip #3 — Make a Table Top Display featuring your book cover.

It is a fact that most authors don’t make a lot of money from selling their books. Many make real money by getting hired to speak.

If you are just getting started in promoting your book or your expertise as a speaker, I recommend you invest in a table top display. Using an image of your book cove, will help you sell more books. A table top display is portable enough for you to take with you everywhere. Use it at events where you are a speaker, and at trade shows where you are planning to sell your book. A vertical display will gain the eyes of your buyers. Make it easy for people to see it, read it and take action.

Free Book Marketing Tip – Using Facebook Pages

August 22, 2015 by Judy Baker

Facebook Pages are Free

It doesn’t cost you anything but your time and creativity to add a Facebook Page to your marketing mix. Advertising fees are surprisingly low and you have complete control over how much, how often and what goes into your targeted ads.

Make a Facebook Page for Each of Your Books

I went to a workshop put on by Facebook. I learned some great ways to reach your desired audience by using Facebook Pages. Facebook Pages are different from a personal profile in several ways:

Pages give you the ability to select your audience using demographics (location, age, gender)
You can advertise from a page
It is all about your book
You can link a group of pages together if you have separate but related content

The Power of Visibility

The more places you feature your book, the more likely your book will be discovered. One of the best benefits of using a channel like Facebook is the sheer volume of people who are on it every day. You can share posts, photos, video, audio, links to your blog, links to other social channels too.

Try it and See

Get started now, whether you are already published or if you are in the pre-publication phase of your book. Facebook Pages can help you connect with your ideal audience and get them talking about your book. You can see an example of a Facebook Page for a book here. We have used photos, video and outbound links to help educate our audience.

Setting Up Your Facebook Page

There are articles and support for setting up your page and using it on Facebook. Take a look at this page to get started.

Need help?

Not sure what or how to do it yourself? Don’t miss out on this opportunity to reach your ideal audience. Call on me, Judy Baker, your book marketing expert. I can build an attractive Facebook Page for your book and show you how to use this platform to sell more books.

Everything Amazon

August 20, 2015 by Judy Baker

Join me, Judy Baker, at the September 12, 2015 Bay Area Independent Publishers Association meeting.

Learn and discuss the importance of Amazon to independent publishers.

I’ll be the MC and I am leading a discussion on how to make the most of book reviews:

how to ask for them
how to use them
how to give a great review

There will be a panel presentation in the morning, followed by a series of roundtable discussions in the afternoon. Learn from the group and meet the members of our publishing community.

Free Book Marketing Tip #2 for Independent Publishers

August 17, 2015 by Judy Baker

Today’s free book marketing tip – Don’t Build Your House on Rented Land.

Your website is your marketing hub. That means, you have a domain name (url) that you own. Yes, it is possible to create a website for free on social sites like blogger, Tumblr, and even WordPress.com. I advise you to invest in your own domain which will cost about $10 a year. Put up a hosted site using WordPress.org (this is free).

Once you have a website, put your content there first. Then, share it on social channels like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. You own your content. You might even turn your blog into a book (Nina Amir is the expert in how to do this and has created templates and guides for the process. Click here to view more details.)

Post often to your own website/blog and then share using links to your content on your site.

Gus Kearney

August 14, 2015 by Judy Baker

Gladstone Manor Publishing just published The Education of Joey G. is a new novel by Gus Kearney.

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I am working with Gus on his book marketing program. I’ve launched his website, biggkelt.com, sent out his first book announcement to family and friends via Constant Contact, and sent out press releases to local media.

Gus is from Lansdowne, Pennsylvania (the setting for the movie Silver Linings Playbook). His novel is a series of stories chronicling the experiences of the main character from age six to young adulthood. Joey has to overcome his own failings, as well as the dysfunctional behavior of the people in his life. Set in the 50s through the early 70s, it is woven with the sensibilities, racism and sexual standards of the times.

Gus will be giving a book reading at Reader’s Books in Sonoma on September 19.