In my recent book marketing plan series I shared a book marketing plan outline. One element of that outline involved marketing and PR tactics to support your larger promotional strategy. These are the specific things you'll do to promote your book and your visibility as an author.
While I'm working on a short e-book covering basic book marketing and PR tactics, I wanted to give you a starter list -- a menu of tools and tactics that you can choose from to create the perfect book marketing recipe for your next book launch.
Here are 71 book marketing and PR tactics that can help you spread the word about your book and get it into the hands of more readers. You can download a one-page .pdf version for free at the end of this post.
- Advertisements
- Affiliate Programs
- Ancillary Products
- Article Marketing
- Assemble Your Own Networking Group
- Author Blog
- Author Bio
- Author Videos
- Awards
- Back Cover Copy
- Become an Expert / Authority Source
- Blog Comments
- Blog Tours
- Book Blog / Series Blog
- Book Blurbs From Notable Sources
- Book Festivals
- Book Signings
- Book Trailers
- Bookmarks
- Bundles
- Business Cards
- Character Blogs
- Contests
- Courses
- Cover Design
- Create a Special Day / Week / Month
- Discount / Promo Codes
- Donate Books
- Email Lists
- Email Signatures
- Excerpts
- Freebies
- Games / Interactive Features
- Guest Posts
- Handouts
- Host Guest Bloggers
- Host Special Events
- Infographics
- Interviews
- Join Professional Organizations
- Join Relevant Forums
- Join Social Media Groups
- Launch Party
- Link to Similar Authors
- Live Readings
- Look for Unexpected Markets
- Media Kit
- "Merch" Related to Your Book
- Mobile Apps
- Partner With Charities
- Partner With Other Authors
- Partner With Other Types of Artists
- Podcasts
- Postcards
- Posters / Display Signs
- Presentations / Slideshare
- Press Releases
- Publish Research / Reports
- Q&A Sites -- Answer related questions.
- Radio Tours
- Seek Reviews
- SEO
- Series Branding
- Short Fiction as a Lead-in to a Novel
- Social Bookmarking Sites
- Social Media Profiles
- Social Media Updates
- Speaking Engagements
- Sponsor a Cause or Event
- Thank You Notes
- Webinars
(Note: Book and author blogs were combined in the .pdf version which is why only 70 tactics are shown there.)
This list is just a starting place. There are many other options, so you should always be able to find book marketing tactics you're comfortable with. I'll expand upon this list, and give more details about each of these promotional options, in an upcoming e-book as a part of my Busy Author's Guide series on book marketing.
In the meantime, leave a comment here to tell me about your favorite book marketing tactics.
Man, you don’t play any games when it comes to resources! This is very helpful. I am hoping to release a novel mid next year and I am using your site for tactics! haha
Thanks Logan. Best of luck with your own book launch! 🙂
I’m with Logan. Soon as I get a book to market, I can test these out. 😉 Thanks for your efforts, Jenn. It is appreciated.
You’re very welcome Cathy. 🙂
Jennifer, thanks for sharing your book marketing insights. I think most of the marketing and PR tactics you listed will prove to be very useful as my book publishing plans evolve and as I filter and define what is salient and what is not. Currently, I plan to market my book using Amazon’s protocols and features. Not sure if I will stick to that idea.
While there’s nothing wrong with focusing on Amazon if it’s a good place to reach your specific group of target readers, my one caution would be not to limit yourself. Relying on one strategy — especially if that means relying entirely on a third party — is almost never a good idea. So my suggestion would be to expand your marketing plan a little bit. If nothing else you’ll have the opportunity to test your options and see what works the best for you based on the time or money invested. I hope some of these ideas help. 🙂
Thanks for the list, i have my book up on amazon, now i just need to start selling more of them.
I live in japan and I’m looking to grow my tennis consultant business now.
Great work, any quick tips?
The biggest tip I can give you is to start working on your marketing plan asap. It really should have been in place before writing the book. So you’ll have some ground to make up. But you can do it! 🙂