Book Marketing for Dummies

1. Write.

No...seriously. I get asked a lot about marketing, particularly in interviews and I try to give some sage, serious advice, but the best thing you can do is write. The more books you have, the higher your chances are of getting found!

Short stories are a fantastic way of reaching new readers, particularly if you can offer them for free, or even just $0.99/77p on Amazon. This is a nice affordable way for people to find you. But do put some effort into it. Do get it properly proof read. This is your once chance to make a good impression, so do it properly.

Social marketing doesn't really exist. For me, it's a way of keeping in touch with current fans. I gain very few new fans through Facebook and Twitter. I do gain the odd one or two but its definitely not the best way to gain new readers. I enjoy Facebook and enjoy staying in touch with readers. Do it for the love of it and that will come across.  It's a good way to create a brand surrounding yourself but it rarely adds up to sales. Think about the pages you follow...do you actually like their product or is just the content you like? It's most likely that you just enjoy their posts and couldn't care less about their product. 

There are loads of little things you can do in an attempt to push your book, all of which may add up to a sale or two if you're lucky, but at the end of the day, its like door to door salesmen - no-one likes having a product pushed on them. You have to concentrate on having the best possible product ready for when they come to you.

Do have a Facebook page, do interact with people, do have a webpage or blog with a way to subscribe to your newsletter. Don't spam groups or forums with your book links no matter how sure you are that people will absolutely want to buy your book. I probably link to my books about once a month on all my social pages combined. And finally, don't sacrifice time spent writing to market. It simply does not pay off.