Indie authors often find themselves stuck between a rock and a hard place in matters pertaining to book discovery. However, more and more ways for readers to discover books are coming up. This means that the opportunities to get a book in front of readers are increasing.

Among the ways in which new books are being discovered include: discovery on mobile devices, social media, and word of mouth recommendations. Self-published authors are not as lucky as traditionally published ones because the entire burden of book discovery rests on them. It is difficult to market individually – a task that usually requires multiple people. However, indie authors are now using more creative ways to get their books out there and make more money. The following are three methods through which indie authors are using social media to boost their businesses.

Crowdfunding books

Crowdfunding has two-fold benefits for authors. It raises funds for their books and also allows their followers to participate in the process. More artists and entrepreneurs are starting to discover that they can raise money for their projects without having to woo big investors. Instead, they are going directly to buyers to raise funds. Crowdfunding is a big thing in business as an industry report showed in 2012. During that year, one million crowdfunding campaigns raised a whopping $2.7 billion. Physical products including books were the top category in these campaigns.

There are many popular crowdfunding websites like Kickstarter and IndieGoGo where artists raise funds for their projects. There are also sites like Unbound which raise funds specifically for books. Indie authors who have done their homework on crowdfunding are now skipping the process of finding investors and raising the funds themselves. There are several tips that indie authors use to maximize their crowdfunding initiatives. They study successful campaigns in the same field, offer rewards to participants in the campaign, and include videos that explain what it is they intend to do with the funds collected.

Advertising on top book blogs

Advertising for authors is often a less-than-ideal option because it can be costly and might fail to reach the target audience. Indie authors are aware of the limitations of advertising and have resorted to creative ways to get their books out. For example, indie authors are approaching top book bloggers in their niche to advertise for them. This is more effective than advertising on Facebook or Google because it is guaranteed to reach the target audience.

Listing books on NetGalley

One of the things that professional readers can’t get enough of is getting exclusive books before they are published. No website is better at connecting librarians, journalists, bloggers, and booksellers with pre-publication digital copies than NetGalley. Many books are listed on this website before they are officially published. NetGalley not only works with traditionally published authors but also indie authors. It is a great source of reviews for authors about their books before they officially publish them. The recognition that these early reviews accord the books of indie authors helps them to sell more books when they publish them. Analysts claim that almost half of the people who bought books on Amazon already knew what they were buying.