No book sells itself, so whether you’re self-published or traditionally published, effective book marketing strategies are vital to attracting the attention your work deserves. But what do you do when you’re fresh out of new ideas? Where can you go to find innovative strategies to boost your self-published book sales? And how can you continue your promotional efforts without repeating yourself? The marketing experts at Self-Publishing Relief have a list of book marketing strategies you can easily implement—especially when you’ve run out of ideas!

The Best Book Marketing Strategies, Ideas, And Tips To Boost Sales

Refresh Your Social Media Banners. Graphic design software such as Book Brush offers size-specific templates as well as video effects for eye-catching book banners.

Check Out Canva.com. Boost your ad, banner, and social media post design by checking out the free version of this graphics platform that allows you to make more powerful, effective visuals.

Join Facebook Groups Dedicated To Your Genre. Checking for your book genre in the Facebook search field will yield a long list of private and public groups. Join them, interact, learn the rules, and share your book news when appropriate. Don’t jump in and immediately start beating the “buy my book!” drum—hard sales pitches can be a turnoff, and might even get you kicked out of the group. Pay attention to how group members interact and then gauge how best to mention your self-published book.

Join Facebook Groups That Boost Book Sales. Are you promoting a price drop for your book? Search for groups of booklovers interested in “discount,” “99-cent,” or “free” books, then join and share when appropriate.

Use Hashtags On Instagram. Expand your following on Instagram by using booklover hashtags appropriate to your genre with every visual.

Offer A Free Sample Chapter Through BookFunnel. Entice potential new readers by using social media to offer a tease of the first chapter of your book, easily created and distributed by BookFunnel.com.

Use Your Kindle App To Turn Book Quotes Into Instantly Shareable Images. Share the most intriguing quotes in your book directly from your iPhone Kindle app.

Do A Promotion On Kobo. Self-published authors who’ve chosen wide distribution should take advantage of the Promotions Tab on their Kobo Dashboard.

Check Out Newsletter Ninja. Newsletters are your most powerful book marketing tool. Check out how to optimize your book promotions through e-mail.

Offer Books2Read Free Universal Links. Books2Read offers free universal hot links that direct interested readers to a landing page with ALL the places where your book can be bought. No more losing sales from iPhone booklovers!

Set Up Your Author Profile On BookBub. Even if BookBub’s featured ads are beyond your budget, setting up a profile and gathering followers opens up opportunities for future perks, such as pre-order alerts for an upcoming book.

Design And Share A Reading List Page For Your Books. This Books2Read.com option allows you to list and share a landing page with your series, book collections, and/or themed carousels—all conveniently hot-linked for your readers.

Join A BookSweeps Genre-Specific Promotion To Build Your Newsletter Subscriber List. Offering a free book to a large, targeted list in your own genre will attract more subscribers and fans.

Create And Share A Pinterest Board For Your Book. If you develop it as a secret board, you can reveal it on social media with the same excitement as a cover reveal!

Do A Seasonal Or Holiday Tie-In. Share a graphic about your book with a tie-in to a holiday, event, or nationally celebrated day.

Consider Investing In Inexpensive Paid Book Promotion. Check out this list of vetted book promotion websites.

Use Coupon Codes For Exclusive Nook Book Promotions. Self-published authors who go “wide” have the option of creating custom coupon codes to share with their Nook e-book readers.

Set Up A Group Book Promotion With Other Authors. BookFunnel.com makes it easy for self-published authors to do a newsletter-building or sales promotion with authors in a similar genre by using the promotion tab on their dashboard. You can also join other authors for book-signing events, book readings, and panel discussions. Having more authors together lets you all cross-promote to new audiences.

Pin A Giveaway Or Join-My-Newsletter Post To The Top Of Your Facebook And Twitter Feeds. Make sure both fans and web surfers visiting your social media see the most important information first.

Do A Facebook “Unboxing” Video. Short videos of authors opening up the shipping boxes containing paperback copies of their latest books have become a sensation on Facebook.

Make A Book Trailer. Similar to a movie preview, a book trailer lets you promote your book in a unique, engaging medium. Use an easy-interface video-creation service like Animoto.com to create a simple slideshow book trailer that you can share on your website and social media.

Sign Up For A Chance To Get A Review In Publishers Weekly Select. PW has a companion publication for Indie Authors called PW Select. Not every book will make the cut for a review, but applying is free.

Seek Out Book Bloggers And Reviewers In Your Genre. Check out this list by Reedsy.com of the Best Book Review Blogs of 2020.

Post An Event On Goodreads. If you’re on Goodreads—and if you’re a self-published author, you should be—don’t forget your fans and followers on that booklovers’ platform. For your next event, whether in the real world or online, put up a post on Goodreads to keep all your friends and followers up to date.

Post Reviews On Your BookBub Profile. BookBub selectively shares your posted book reviews to your followers. BookBub also rewards steady reviewers by highlighting author reviews on their website and reader blog.

When it comes to book marketing and promotion, coming up with a list of ideas can be daunting, but connecting with other self-published writers can be a big help. Sharing tips, strategies, and fresh ideas will keep your efforts evergreen and ensure that your book will be noticed.

Question: What has been your most effective book marketing idea to date?