Free Book Marketing Ideas

Always good to review some free ways to market your book. Sandra Beckwith has listed 10. I’d like to add a few more.

11 – When you are selling your book at an event, put a typed note on colored paper inside any book you sell that you sign by hand. You can put anything you like on the note but I like to ask for reviews. I also tell the reader if they order another one of my books, I’ll give it to them for the “sale” price (the slightly discounted price I usually sell my books at when selling in person.) Or if it’s not a big book, maybe free shipping. USPS has book-rate shipping, which helps decrease the shipping cost.

12 – When selling in person, I have a sign on my table that says “I talk at book clubs.” And if a person says they are interested, I tell them if a group wants to buy the books, I can give it to them at a discounted rate.

13 – I know some authors who, again, when selling in person, have an email sign up. If you have a semi-regular blog or email “newsletter” this is a way to add readers/subscribers.

14 – Get on and participate in Goodreads. I think many authors miss this one.

What are your favorite FREE marketing ideas?

Here are Sandra’s: https://buildbookbuzz.com/10-free-book-promotion-ideas/

Indie Quality Publishing Tips

Apr9

steps to elevate your self-published book

Sandra Beckwith has a good list of issues to review as you’re working toward indie publishing your “baby.”

It’s really important to take the time to do publish in the best way you can. Readers can be hard on authors sometimes. They don’t realize how complex the process of indie publishing is. And because they can cut us down anonymously, it’s a lot easier. The best way to get around this is take the time to find out what quality looks like and takes.

Sometimes it takes a bit of money, so save up and don’t publish until you have the money to spend where you need to.

It definitely takes time. I know how exciting it can be to think about sending your book out to the world, but holding off is worth the wait. Many readers won’t give you a second look if they find problems with your book. And if they give you a bad review, that’s not helpful either (though keep in mind, not ever reader will like your book). But not liking your book because it’s not their thing is one thing. Not liking because of quality issues is another.

Take a look here: https://buildbookbuzz.com/why-quality-counts/

CKBooks Publishing
Where Publishing Dreams Become Reality

Unlocking the magic: 10 tips for crafting irresistible children’s book freebies

Sep12

Chelsea Torette, a teacher turned children’s author, has some good ideas to try and create some buzz around your children’s book.

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Looking to build your email list or offer buyers a bonus? Use these pro tips for creating irresistible children’s book freebies.

Source: Unlocking the magic: 10 tips for crafting irresistible children’s book freebies – Build Book Buzz

CKBooks Publishing
Where Publishing Dreams Become Reality

How do readers discover books? What every author needs to know – Build Book Buzz

Aug1

Sandra give us a comprehensive list of ways to get you and your book noticed. If you make to the end of this post, she leaves us with the most important point under the heading: How will readers discover books by you?

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How do readers discover books like yours? Here are eight opportunities for readers to discover, read, love, and recommend yours.

Link: How do readers discover books? What every author needs to know – Build Book Buzz

CKBooks Publishing
Where Publishing Dreams Become Reality

Free Amazon Ads Course

Jul17

Have you ever wanted to run an Amazon ad but weren’t sure how?

Or maybe you ran an ad but you weren’t sure if you did it in such a way that would get you the best result.

I’m happy to share Dave Chesson’s Free Amazon Ad program (Dave Chesson of Kindlepreneur.com – a trusted site for all things marketing, especially related to Amazon). He has developed it with Janet Margot – who worked for nearly 10 years at Amazon, building the Amazon ad program for them.

I am sharing this because Dave gives writers like you and me many free things to help us market our books better – trainings, description templates, youtube instructional videos… So sharing this is a small way to thank Dave.

Will he try and sell you something after you complete this free program?

Probably.

Do you have to buy anything?

No.

So if you want to try doing an Amazon ad, I’d recommend checking out this free Amazon ad program.

Happy Marketing!

CKBooks Publishing
Where publishing dreams become reality

Want to Improve Your Amazon Ranking? Improve or Update All of Your Book Descriptions | Jane Friedman

Feb29

I’ve seen 2 articles about updating book descriptions, so maybe the universe is telling me – okay, do it already. 😉

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If your older book is no longer performing well on Amazon, updating the description, metadata, or cover can show them that you mean business.

Source: Want to Improve Your Amazon Ranking? Improve or Update All of Your Book Descriptions | Jane Friedman

Why you should stop quoting yourself in social media images and five things that work better

Feb14

Some words of book-marketing wisdom from Sandra Beckwith:

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Quoting yourself in social media images may seem like a great way to showcase expertise, but it can backfire. Here’s why.

Source: Why you should stop quoting yourself in social media images and five things that work better – Build Book Buzz

Publisher Rocket Black Friday Deal

Nov26

I wanted to let you know that Publisher Rocket (a very handy program for authors) is running a special Black Friday deal [Deal link here]. November 23 – 29, anyone who purchases Rocket gets Dave Chesson’s Mastering Keywords and Categories Course for free. This six lesson course (normally $49) shows you how to quickly improve your book’s keywords and categories, resulting in better traction and higher sales on Amazon.

In the course, you’ll learn how to:

Improve your book’s discoverability on Amazon
Find profitable keywords and use them in the most effective manner
Understand how Amazon uses keywords to show your book to new readers
Use the proven process to select bestselling categories
Find niche, low competition categories with hungry readers
Avoid Ghost Categories that hide your book from readers on the Amazon store
Increase your chances of being added to extra (4+) Amazon categories

If you haven’t heard of Publisher Rocket before, it’s a tool to improve your book’s traction on Amazon. Rocket shows you what keywords actual readers are typing into Amazon, which categories will help you sell the most books, and how much other books/authors are earning. Using strategies from the course with Rocket, you can immediately improve your listing so that more target readers take notice while shopping, preventing your book from being buried under all the others on Amazon.

Not only that, but Rocket shows detailed stats such as historical category trends, average book prices, keywords for specific categories, and ghost categories – helping you best target your ideal customer base.

The best part about Rocket is that once you own it, all future updates are free- and their team adds new, exciting features to Rocket often. These new capabilities will likely increase Rocket’s price soon for people who have not yet purchased it.

This deal is only available until November 29th, and you can take advantage of it at this link here: [HERE]

If you don’t want to figure out this program yourself, CKBooks Publishing offers this service and can do it for you.

Happy Shopping!

Christine Keleny

Earn Six Figures as a Writer With This One Weird Trick

Nov5

Allison Williams on Jane Friedman’s website shares some interesting information, and she does this a lot. Definitely something to think about, and maybe not just with writing 🙂

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Literary citizenship—freely sharing your knowledge with those in need—can reap substantial rewards for authors and editors.

Source: Earn Six Figures as a Writer With This One Weird Trick | Jane Friedman

3 Amazon reader review myths: What you need to know

Jun14

It’s always good to check to see if things have changed with amazon books. (So many things are changing lately! – categories, print prices). Sandra Beckwith goes over the current amazon review policy.

I hope you all review books you read. Hard to ask for reviews for your own book if you don’t review others 🙂

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What Amazon reader review myth do you hear most often? We de-bunk three of the most common. You might be surprised by what you learn.

Source: 3 Amazon reader review myths: What you need to know – Build Book Buzz