The number of self-publishing authors has increased significantly over the past few years. Authors are acting more and more like entrepreneurs and they are finding creative ways to market their own books. However, regardless of whether an author is just getting into the book marketing business or if he is a seasoned self-publisher there are several things that he is supposed to avoid. These include:

Never undermine marketing: This seems like an obvious point. However, an author should make a marketing plan and follow it religiously. Quite a number of authors don’t appreciate the value of marketing to achieve commercial success. A book cannot really succeed if you don’t actively try to sell it. This applies particularly to self-published authors because traditional publishers do a lot of marketing for authors.

Excessive assertiveness: Authors who market their own books sometimes forget that there is a line between convincing people to buy books and being pushy. If a book is good, it should sell itself and if an author finds that he is working too hard to sell it, then s/he is doing something wrong. People get annoyed when someone tries to force something on them without a very good reason.

Not being persistent enough: This point might appear to contradict the previous one but it really doesn’t. Authors marketing their books must be careful not to sell themselves (and their books) short. They should make people understand the reasons why buying the book is good for them. This can be done by creating a buzz around the book.

Too high expectations: Authors should know that they cannot become bestsellers overnight. A good marketing strategy will increase their sales gradually over a reasonable period. It is therefore important to have realistic expectations based on your efforts to market a book. Becoming disappointed when you fail to reach an expected sales target will discourage you from persevering until you finally succeed.

Don’t overlook small details: When marketing a book, an author should do absolutely everything possible to become successful. Sometimes small things that are overlooked could significantly improve an author’s sales. For instance, a book might fail to sell well because it has bad cover art. If an author thinks that this is the reason, he should correct it immediately. An author could also fail to take time to listen to a person because he thinks the person is unimportant in his marketing strategy. However, such a person might turn out to be very important.

Avoid starting too big: Marketing specialists agree that people should start by marketing their books locally before spreading to other parts of the country. It is important to use a local market because the lessons you learn will help you to succeed when you start to branch out.

Don’t choose the wrong media outlets: Every book has an ideal way in which it can be marketed. An author should find out the best way to market his book before he begins. The target audience should dictate how the author is going to market his book. The best way to market any book is usually to reach the audience wherever they are.