You may be taking a well-earned break, but the marketing campaign for your self-published book should still be hard at work helping to build sales. Luckily, maintaining your promotional momentum through new and existing campaigns while you’re on vacation is now easier than ever—you can literally take your campaign on the road!

How To Run Your Book Marketing Campaign From Anywhere

Monitor your social media profiles.

Before you hit the sand or take that walking tour, schedule your social media. Facebook makes it easy to plan all of your posts ahead of time using the “schedule” option in the post drop-down menu. You can also use a scheduling tool like Hootsuite to preload your tweets on Twitter and your posts on Google+.

And just as you would guard your wallet and passport while on vacation—stay safe on social media. You can mention you’re making a public appearance at a book signing event that you want to promote, but don’t make a point of talking about how long you’ll be away from home. No one needs to know when your house may be unoccupied.

Take lots of photos and make lots of memories—you can use these to liven up your social media feeds when you get back home. Striking scenery and interesting local cuisine can also inspire some unique writing prompts you can later use for yourself or post for your followers to enjoy.

Explore new networking opportunities.

When you’re planning your trip, consider the networking possibilities a new city, state, or country can offer you. Is there a writing conference going on at the same time you plan to visit the area? Sign up! And a quick Internet search will let you know if there’s a local writing group or organization that might be interested in having you speak about your experiences with self-publishing a book.

You never know who you’ll meet when you’re on vacation—from new readers to fellow authors to publishing industry insiders! Make sure you’ve practiced your “elevator pitch” (a short, enticing summary about you and your book)! And bring a supply of business cards (featuring your social media and author website links), a few promotional copies of your book, and giveaways like bookmarks and postcards.

Combine your vacation with a mini book tour.

You’ll need to do lots of advance planning for your itinerary, but the benefits of reaching new audiences will be worth the effort. Look into bookstores, town halls, farmers markets, and other places that lend themselves to author events. Don’t forget, it’s your vacation and you want to see the local sights!  So be sure to contact museums, landmarks, wineries, hotels, and restaurants that might be open to hosting a Q&A about you and your book topic. If your book somehow ties in with local history or events—even better!

And Remember…

Marketing your self-published book shouldn’t take up your entire vacation. But spending just minutes each day to checking your social media or having a few book readings and signings intermingled with your sightseeing will help support the marketing and sales momentum you’ve worked so hard to build. Above all, be sure to have a great vacation full of reading, writing, and time with your loved ones!

QUESTION: What’s the most useful strategy you’ve found for marketing your self-published book while you’re away on vacation?