Archives for December 2013

Book marketing is on the rise! With the advent of tablets, digital books are getting more and more popular. Self-publishing author community is growing fast as well. If you haven’t considered book marketing yet, it’s a great time to start!

Honestly, there is no one way to market an ebook. But there are tips you can use to create the perfect campaign to fit your needs. Here are five bits of advice to do just that.

1. Put It On Your Site

This is going to be the easiest way to let people know about your ebook. Make it immediately accessible on your website or blog, with a button right there on the front page that leads them to the download or sales page. You can do this whether you are offering it for a price or for free, as long as any visitors you have are aware of its existence. Obviously, this works best if you have a steady flow of daily traffic. The more people who visit your site, the more likely you’re going to be to sell your book. Try occasionally posting about the book, as well. Just to remind reader that it is there, and what it is about.

Tip: This Web site will normally be your primary book/ebook sales channel, out of the three channels in the Online Publishing Model.I REPEAT. You MUST have a dedicated sales-mini-site to sell your ebook effectively online. (Courtesy of writinghelp-central.com)

2. Sell It Through Amazon

Amazon it one of the best places to sell your ebook. The royalty percentage is decent, you get reviews from people who have already read it, and it is a more affordable option compared to many other retailers. Plus, it will come up in searches based on genre, keyword, ect. You can even offer it as part of their Amazon Prime lending library service. Which means you can still let some people read it for free if they are Prime members, but also sell it to those who aren’t (which will be most users).

Tip: Write a compelling promotional copy: It is meant tease your reader: build curiosity instead of satisfying it. (Courtesy of cartridgeink.co.uk)

3. Give It For Free

I recommend to all writers with their first ebook at least that they offer it for free for a certain amount of time. Just to get reviews and ratings, and maybe help spread the word a bit. To help propel your visibility while doing this, try offering it only on your site for free at first for a Like on Facebook or a Tweet on Twitter. That is a great way of getting more people introduced to the book without you having to do a thing.

Dedicate a certain number of books to the free period, and once you reach that number and have a steady foundation of readers, start charging for it. A lot of self-published writers will offer around ten to twenty free ones on Amazon, but more popular blogs or sites might go as much as fifty to one hundred. It depends on your preference.

Tip: Amazon’s “Give a Gift Feature” allows you to send someone a free copy of your Kindle book via e-mail. Offering e-books free for a limited time or a limited audience is an effective approach to e-book marketing. (Courtesy of Small Biz Trends)

4. Use Social Media

Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, Reddit, Google+…these are all fantastic platforms for you to promote your book. Hype it up in the weeks prior to its release. Engage with users more directly by holding conversations on your page and other pages.

Retweet or share content. Hold a giveaway for a copy of the book for free before it is launched. You can even create a “trailer” for it on YouTube, or something similar. Also try to get interviews, affiliations and reviews from other social media users/pages, or even blogs. It is time to start calling those contacts.

Tip: Some of the hashtags are guaranteed to give you increased exposure, retweets and interaction. Some of the best one for eBook marketing include: #MustRead, #FridayReads, etc (Courtesy of Social Media Sun)

5. Use MyBlogGuest eBooks Gallery

MyBlogGuest lets you upload your eBook cover and let hundreds of bloggers review your (e)Book for free! This is one of the most unintrusive ways to promote your eBook and get some additional exposure from bloggers.

Have a tip for promoting an ebook? Let us know in the comments.

Image Credits: 1, 2, 3, 4.