Adam Croft

Many writers find the thought of self-publishing scary and, well, yes, it is a bit. When you put your book out there – probably something that you’ve been labouring on and pouring love into for a good long time – you don’t know what people are going to think. It’s a risk.

But then again it would be a risk if you went down the traditional publishing route, too. If anything, that might be a bigger risk because there are so many other factors (and other people’s money) involved. So self-publishing can be a good thing, but if you are going to make a proper go of it, it pays to know a little bit about the ways you can market it. For those of you who are already self-published, thinking of self-publishing or have just stumbled onto this by mistake (hey, it happens), read on to find out 6 ways to market your self-published book.

1. Get it onto as many online platforms as possible
It’s probably not that much of a surprise to hear that if you are going to have any luck with your book, it needs to be ‘out there’. There are loads of different platforms you can use to publish your book, so do some research to see what’s what. Amazon is the obvious choice, but you can also use CreateSpace, Smashwords and more. Smashwords will distribute your book to a number of different outlets, including Apple iBooks, Sony and Barnes & Noble.

2. Get the ball rolling
Once you’ve got your book out there in the big, wide world, you need to start generating some sales. This is where your nose for marketing starts to come into its own. For example, could you run a promotion on your book to persuade people to read it? Could you offer the first couple of chapters – or even the whole thing – for free to entice people to take you up on your offer? In an age where book sales are struggling and it’s often hard to find readers, it could be the thing that makes all the difference. What matters to you? Making money, or having people read your work?

3. Use social media
Again, this is a fairly obvious one, but social media is massively useful when it comes to promoting a self-published book (or promoting pretty much anything, really). You can get Facebook and Twitter accounts for free and use them to market your work to your followers. It can be quite labour-intensive to build up a nice little network of people, but it’s definitely worth it if you can spare the time.

4. Word of mouth
This is another good marketing tool. If you can persuade some people to talk up your book and maybe pass their copies on to other people, it might just be enough to start generating interest – and more sales. You might be aware that recently there was an event called World Book Night that involved people giving out a million books for free and then, when people had read them, the idea was that they should pass them on to others. I’m not saying you should give out a million copies of your book for free but you could do something on a smaller scale and ask if you can leave a few at your local café for people to peruse and pass on.

5. Book signings
If you’re a self-published author, it might be hard to set up book signings in order for you to promote your book, but if you do get the opportunity you should definitely take it. One good option here is to visit your local independent bookshop (they need just as much support as self-published authors!) and ask if a book signing would be a possibility. They’re often really keen to support local authors and it could potentially be beneficial for both of you, so give it a go if you can.

6. Create your own media
Lastly, if you don’t have a publisher to blow your trumpet for you, you’ll just have to do it yourself. Get onto your local press and let them know that you’ve published a book. If you’re able to tell them you’re doing a book signing, too – even better. Invite them along and you might get yourself and your work in the paper. Local newspapers are always looking for stories of local people who are making waves, so you could be just the ticket.

This is by no means a comprehensive list of how to market your self-published book, but hopefully it’s spurred a few ideas and ignited some thoughts. True, it is hard to be a self-published author, but then it’s hard to be a regularly-published author too – and success is possible. So, if you’ve got the book and the will to make it succeed, go for it.