Marketing is one of those things that self-published authors need to do, but many find daunting. Given that, I want to share a few ways I’ve marketed my books. The first few methods I’ll mention are inexpensive or free in some cases. One of the first strategies I tried was using social media. Facebook and YouTube are my preferred platforms. There are several others worth looking into. Most experts suggest picking one or two. By the way, it’s often recommended that you add value to followers with your posts, rather than merely sharing your book links. I have received a few sales this way. Pinterest is more of a search engine than a social media platform, but it’s worth exploring. I revamped my account and have likely reaped a couple of sales.

Early in my journey, a family lawyer asked me to put one of their articles on my website. In exchange, I asked if they would place a copy of my divorce recovery books in their waiting room. They agreed to do so or give them to a client in need. The expense was minimal. It’s worth exploring what relevant waiting rooms you’d like your books placed in and how to make it happen. This is a good way for your book(s) to gain exposure, which is part of marketing. Another option is blogging. You could open a Medium.com account, for example. Medium has a small monthly fee for those who want to be in their partner program. With blogs, you can write about your book topics and become known as something of an expert on those topics. I mostly write about self-publishing on Medium and have definitely received sales there. One of my favorite marketing ideas is to find those little free libraries that people have in their yards. When you do, you can place your book(s) there. I have done this with one of my books. The cost was minimal. This strategy is another way for books to gain exposure.

Now, I’m going to share a few more expensive methods. If you have a website, that’s a form of marketing. It’s probably one of the more costly strategies, depending on the host you choose. I had a website for a couple of years and received a few newsletter sign-ups and potentially sales. However, last year, I started a Blogger account instead of a website, and it’s completely free. Whether it’s earned me sales is hard to say, but it has the potential. Picking the right keywords and categories for your books on Amazon is an often-overlooked marketing strategy. It works because good keywords yield sales, so I have found. There are several tools to help you find appropriate keywords and categories. There is a cost for these tools, but the one I purchased was a worthwhile investment, especially since I’ve self-published many books. There are also promotion sites you can try. I’ve done this, and the attempts yielded me a few sales. Individual results will vary, of course. An Internet search will give you lists of these sites. With all of these strategies mentioned, I trust that you now have a few marketing methods you’re looking forward to trying.