How do we market our self published writing without spending the farm?

1. 66

   thecollecktorposted 14 years ago

   I recently published a book using Lulu.com.   The next step is to market it so others might discover it with the hope of building sales. Lulu offers marketing along with editing and other services to help in this effort all at a cost.   Marketing a self published book is difficult if not impossible.  Some writers have been successful.  Their writing captured the attention of readers who read the books, then built a fan base for the book.    This is rare.  Most books will never capture more than a family following.   Yet finding a small readership is exciting encouraging more writing that helps us grow in our craft. 
   
   I love to write and am looking for the best ways to build readership.   My current method is to use twitter comments with a link to a location where the book may be previewed and purchased if desired.   what are others doing to build readership.   Input will help all of writers who enjoy the craft.

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      Merlin Fraserposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Take a look at my recent Hub on this subject perhaps we should join forces with others in the same boat and see what we can do to solve the problem.
      
      Using professional PR companies is definately not the answer, they are businesses and all they are interested in doing is making money from themselves.

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         Happy Familiesposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         We should find a place where self-publishers can promote their books and support each other.

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      Maddie Ruudposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Well, what is the subject of your book?  Your best bet is to find communities of people who share interest in the topic.  There are online forums and web groups for almost every genre and sub-genre you can think of.  Seek out those that match your book's style or subject and start participating.  Make sure you don't just sign up to link-drop.  Only join those groups you can actually see yourself participating in on a regular basis.
      
      Here on HubPages, I see you've only written 3 hubs in the "Books & Writing" category.  I'd recommend writing a few more.  Other aspiring writers are always looking for specific advice about the creative process, overcoming writer's block, self-publishing, etc.  If you can write good, original, helpful content on these subjects, it would raise your authority as an author, and perhaps garner some interest in your own work.
      
      Congratulations on completing a novel!  It's not an easy feat, I know.

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      Glenn Raymondposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Well, the best thing I have done is join every group, forum, blog, and create your own groups.  Jump into anything and everything that is free and short of breaking the rules, you just keep building your web presence.  It does work.

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   Rochelle Frankposted 14 years ago

   You might find some help in my hub about self-publishing a children's book. The marketing involves a lot of work, but if you have a particular subject you can target, you might find some success in  sending out some review copies and contacting certain businesses which might want to purchase on a wholesale basis.
   http://hubpages.com/hub/Self-Publish-A- … -We-did-it

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3. 60

   cruising.grannyposted 14 years ago

   I have discussed this issue with the local Angus & Robertson Book Store.
   The proprietor told me they have a policy of helping local writers.
   In fact I found this to be true.  My girlfriend self-published her book and the local A&R handled the sales.  I bought a copy, contacted her, and that's how we became friends.  She lives about 3 streets away in the same suburb of Cairns.
   She hasn't made any concentrated effort to market her work, but even her small effort has been rewarded.
   The local A&R store also has numerous other locally penned publications on the shelves.
   It's worth a try.
   All the best with your book and its marketing.
   We do what we can.

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4. 68

   AuthorFBradshawposted 14 years ago

   I am very nontraditonal. Its all about what you are comfortable with. I always take two weekends a month and head out to New York. The same thing applies to eveyone where ever you are; hot spots in your city or connecting cities. Local stores. Search the web for sites that will shelve your book for free. Open up an paypal and ecommerce from your your personal page. What genere do you write? I can help you further if i knew your target population. BLOG BLOG BLOG> Check out the popular blogging place similar to here.  creating a web presence can be exhausting but beneficial. I did all the ground work first. saw what it did for me and when I was weak in sales or presence I sought out help in Q&A discussions throughout the web...joined groups and the biggest marketing choice was emailing book clubs asking to be there book of the month. It worked some book clubs  had four chapter with over 100 members combined. Then there is internet radio shows....contact some radio personalities on the net like blog talk and similar sites. You can even start your own. Great exposure. Get back to me with the answer anbout the genre you write in...hope this helped.

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5. 88

   AdeleCosgroveBrayposted 14 years ago

   I've a Hubpage on self-publishing pitfalls which offers practical 'how to' advice.
   
   Also, why did you wait until after self-publishing to start building a web platform?  That should already have been in place via the use of blogs, emailing lists, social networking sites, official website etc.  However, better late than never - if you haven't got these things in place now, organise them ASAP.
   
   Self-publishing sites/companies sell the dream of earning money and developing a writing career.  It is on these hopes and dreams that they make their living.  POD costs relatively little to set up, and if the customer wants to add an ISBN number (so you can sell it away from the self-publisher's site), an eye-catching professional book cover, a proof copy, etc, this all goes on the customer's bill.
   
   Walk into ANY bookshop and count how many self-published books you can see.  Most don't stock any. 
   
   Now look at the millions upon millions of self-published books are already being offered online.  Look at the quality of production, of promotion (when there even is any, beyond a listing on the POD publisher's own site) and also look at the quality of the writing itself.  Now think of that little needle in a HUGE haystack - and that's a self-published book.
   
   If this sounds negative, it isn't.  It is why the self-publishing industry is dismissed by traditional publishers and book sellers.

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6. 48

   msdreyaposted 14 years ago

   I'm new at this and honestly don't have a clue in what to do? Can someone help me out here???

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      Maddie Ruudposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Welcome, msdreya!  I'll send to an email to see if we can't help get you started.

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   tfhodgeposted 14 years ago

   This was helpful. I, too, know the struggle of marketing a book. Luckily, I have found readership among those outside my family and friends'.  Though it is a mountain to climb, it is a beautiful journey.  Thanks for sharing.
   
   T.F. Hodge
   Writer/Author/Blogger

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8. 59

   Robert A. Harrisposted 14 years ago

   I am self-publishing all my books and getting the word out there is very hard.But u can't let that stop you, use every networking/blogs etc at your disposal.. Sites like issuu.com is really helpful and free.

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9. 0

   Go Writerposted 14 years ago

   (1) You may want to consider getting yourself a Facebook Fan Page that discusses your book. Then join groups in Facebook that target readers and other writer. Send them a link to your fan page.
   
   (2) You may also want to advertise your book on Scribd.com. You can show people the first 20 pages, but they'll have to buy it to download and read the rest. Scribd is very strict about plagiarism, and they pick up traffic pretty fast -- within a minute. Most of the traffic comes from Scribd community.
   
   (3) You may also want to consider having a press-release done about your book. I recommend OnlinePRNews.com. It's sister company is SEOcontentsolutions.com. They are both owned by Christine O'Kelley and Tara Geissinger. Their customer service is great.
   
   I wrote my own press release and submitted it through their network for $49 dollars. I needed the backlinks to a site and got thousand of backlinks within days. It was my first press release.
   
   In your case, I recommend spending the money and having them write one for your book. It's $129, but these folks are very good writers. The backlinks are permanent. So it's not like other press release sites where they keep your PR up for 6 months then take it down. It stays up there. You can send the links to your Lulu URL.
   
   If you write your own press release, you're going to have to do your own keyword research and provide the anchor text. If you let them write the press release, they should be able to do that for you.

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      angel Grahamposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Consider also marketing through Smashwords, Tweet about it on Twitter.
      
      1. Create a free blog on Blogger or Wordpress.com and blog about it. Create an email list that allows people to subscribe to your blog and create a free newsletter also for promoting your book AND your blog, your Facebook Page, and your Hubpages.
      
      2.  Ask independent reviewers to review it for you. I am one and I know that there are more out there. There is someone named BigAl that does reviews independently published authors (Self-pubbed if you prefer) Just follow his instructions on how to submit. I don't remember the exact addy but it was something akin to booksandpals and I think it was found on blogspot.com
      
      Most of us who do independent reviews, not only blog about it, but submit those reviews to Goodreads.com, LibraryThing.com, Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.  Become a member of Goodreads.com and become part of their Author program.  Same with LibraryThing. Join. Can't remember if they have an Author's program or not.
      
      3.  With the back-links...work hard at finding blogs similar to yours. The same with books. If you are selling on Amzon, USE THE TAGS! If it is available on Kindle, then make sure to use Kindle Edition, Kindle Author, Kindle Book tags.  Use what genre it is in for a tag. (ie. Romance, Science Fiction, Paranormal, etc) Ask others who know who have Amazon accounts to help with the tag building. All they have to do is sign in and agree with your tags or add new tags for you.
      
      
      
      4.  Guest-blog on others blogs. Particularly the ones that have heavy traffic. Pick blogs that relate closely to your book. (Example, if your book is about the Positive Aspects of Prayer, then find blogs that are similar to it and talk to them about guest blogging. Have something in mind. NOT just promoting your book. Maybe, using the same example, you could guest blog about how "These 5 steps improved my prayer life" or something similar.)
      
      5. If you don't like or want to blog, create a free website, or take the time to research paid websites that aren't overly expensive.  Pay for hosting/domain. (GoDaddy.com is the one most of the authors I know personally recommend) and pay a little to get it up and running. If you don't know how to do the designing of the website, find someone who can. Do some searching and you can find quality designers at reasonable prices.
      
      6. Make sure you have a professional looking cover. That it is not using copyrighted photos/pics.  That the font is readable and appropriate for the genre. (You don't want a "vampire" font on a book about cowboys.) You can find premade book-covers if you search carefully. For romance, I know that Dara England does some premade and there is a site for Romance
      
      These are just some ideas that have been given to me by both Traditionally "New York" published authors and by those who published independently.

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10. 81

    lovebuglenaposted 14 years ago

    AuthorsDen is a great site to use for self-published book promotion. You get your own author page there. You can add some of your writing and add your books there (cover, isbn, title, and other info) and you get book ads too. You can even become a featured author.
    
    Lena

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