Book & Ebook Marketing

Even before you hit “publish” on your book, it's time to start the book promotion process. To increase your discoverability, consider hiring a book marketer for outreach. Most authors pay a base rate of $50 to begin a book marketing campaign; depending on the complexity and the reach, the price will go up from there.

Not to be confused with a publicist, a book marketer's sole job is to get your book in front of the right buyers or retailers to increase your book sales. In comparison, a publicist works to promote you as an author. A book marketer focuses strictly on sales, and a talented marketer can help identify your target audience and assist with marketing strategies to get you on the Amazon or the New York Times best-sellers list. Marketers identify your book’s niche, whether it's self-help or business books, and promote accordingly. That might involve identifying influencers to approach with advance copies or working on your book cover design.

Absolutely! Many authors can benefit from book promotion, including first-time self-published authors and writers working with established publishing houses. There are many book marketing services available to increase your exposure in the book world. Hiring a good book promoter can help you develop and execute a robust marketing plan that might include the following techniques:

• Press releases
• Book reviews
• Podcasts
• Social media campaigns
• Email outreach

More pricey than a book marketer, a publicist's job is to promote you as an author, which naturally includes some promotion of your books, too. A publicist focuses on developing and maintaining your reputation as an author, and that can support all of the books you’ve written and all of your professional ventures. Experienced book publicists charge upward of $3,000 a month and typically need at least three to five months before and after your book publish date to help with publicity services. These services focus on earned media opportunities, like securing interviews with the press, while book marketers focus more on paid advertising and promotion strategies.

Apart from hiring a publicist or a book marketer who will promote for you, there are ways you can promote your own ebook. Marketing can be challenging when you are self-publishing, but it is not impossible. Below are some book marketing strategies that can help you promote your own work:

• Add your book to BookBub and Goodreads
• Blog about your book
• Create landing pages
• Start social media campaigns
• Advertise with Kindle
• Create an email list and build subscribers