Nowadays, with the increasing plethora of self-published books gracing Amazon, Smashwords, Kobo, and any other sales platform you could think of, you need to be able to stand out from the crowd. And with some of the more popular genres such as horror, fantasy, and romance, you have to find a way that helps you and your book, at the very least, appear unique and different. One way you can do this is by using book promotional sites.

Book promotional sites are websites dedicated to promoting both you and your book. For instance, many of these sites require that you put down your book title, description, and your email. However, despite the relative ease of using these sites, more often than not, they’ll advertise options where you can get your book out to more people for free. So here’s the burning question: are paid book promotion sites worth it?

Pros
Fortunately, many book promotional sites will give you exposure for your book, provided that you have the money for it. Sites such as Wanton Reads, Pretty-Hot, and Awesome Gang have options that you can utilize so that you won’t have to waste money on other sites. There are also forums on Absolute Writer and Kindle Amazon where authors will list just which sites work for them. You have a community supporting you and helping you in determining which sites are best for you and your book. There are also different lists you can use to direct you to both free and paid sites. I'd always recommend the 127+ book sites on Kindle Entrepeneur.
 
Cons
At the same time, there are risks whenever you decide to use these sites. For example, there are different sites for different book niches, so you have to be careful where you spend your money. It’s not going to do you any good if you promote your horror book to, say, the Red Feather Romance newsletter. What’s more, there are plenty of other book promotional sites where false advertising is prevalent. There are sites where it will be a waste of your money, and sites where, even if you pay, won’t guarantee to feature your book. Because of this, it’s important to look at the testimonials of other authors in knowing which sites are best for you.

Of course, there are a ton of other marketing tools. You can use social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, or you can even host your own blog to promote your books. You can get together with different authors to do a review exchange, or you can try to network with different publishers and book reviewers to see which ones would promote your book. Remember that using paid book promotional sites isn’t the only way to promote your book. Having said that, they can also be a powerful tool. Just remember that you have to make sure you can promote your book, and that you know which reputable sites you can trust.