These days, it seems like everyone’s book marketing budgets are tighter than ever. Even the major publishers have cut back a lot. But if you want your book to sell, there is no question about it. You have to market it.

Here are 10 tips for getting the word out to a large audience without spending a small fortune.

 

1) If you don’t have one yet, sit down and develop a book marketing plan. If you want to get your book into Barnes & Noble, this is one of their requirements. A book marketing plan will help you focus on your target audience and increase awareness about the availability of your book.

 

2) Plan a contest or giveaway. It is human nature to want to get something for nothing and contests are a great way to promote your book. You can give away a book, a Target gift card or as one of my clients is doing, $1 million. (Check out Dennis Kelly’s website for more information about this if you’d like to enter: http://blizzardballnovel.com) Not only will having people fill out entry forms help you gather the contact information for those you can market to in the future, a number of the entrants are likely to be interested in the book, as well as the prize.

 

3) Set up an event at your neighborhood bookstore. Do an event and not a signing, book signings are boring!

 

4) Write a few articles on your topic of expertise and submit them to content providers like ezinearticles.com and articlecity.com for publication. Be sure to mention your book somewhere in the article.

 

5) Have business cards made if you don’t have them already and hand them out to as many people as you can. Vistaprint.com offers cards for free if you let them put their logo on the back. If you prefer to have a clean card, their fees are pretty nominal.

 

6) Send your book out to at least ten book reviewers this week. The only cost is time and postage. The return could be astronomical.

 

7) Do a quick Internet search for local writers’ conferences and book festivals you can attend, or do what author Marilyn Jax is doing to promote her book, “Road to Omalos.”  The mystery is set on the Greek Island of Crete, so it’s only natural for people at her local Greek Festival to be interested.

 

8) Create an email signature that includes a link to your book’s Webpage for every email you send; email signatures are a great way to promote your book and message.

 

9) Start a Facebook Fan page. Fan Pages are much better than groups because they're searchable in Google.

 

10) Pitch your story to the media in an effort to get a newspaper, radio or television editor interested in doing a story about you.

 

If you need help executing any of these marketing ideas, particularly the preparation of marketing materials and media outreach, contact  RMA Publicity. Book marketing is our specialty.