Alright, you’ve read part one of this series about how to promote your book and ordered galley copies. Now you’re wondering what you should do in the meantime. We’re assuming you’ve got a way for people to buy the book online (Amazon, iTunes or another platform). If you somehow forgot that step, start with that! Many of the tactics we discuss in this post will funnel your potential buyers to these sites.

Now that you’ve done that, you are ready for our tips, tricks and hints about social media.

1. Make a website and blog

First and foremost, you must have a website. You need a place for people to learn more about your product. The first place they’re going to turn is Google. If you don’t have a webpage, they won’t be able to find you!

As part of that site, create a blog, where you can add content related to your book and the industry it’s in. Add the “share” buttons on your posts. The easier it is for your buyers to share content, the more likely they are to do it.

An example of another effective website feature is free download of part of the book. This could be the first chapter, the intro or some other captivating section. Give your potential readers a little preview to get them hooked so they’ll want to read the whole thing.

2. Engage other Bloggers

There are people who review books in your niche! Getting these influencers on your side will help spread your book and improve your credibility (see more about this in Part 1 of this series).

Understand that these people NEED stuff to write about, so don’t think you have to beg them to write something. You may consider marketing your book with bloggers by creating a sweepstakes specifically for them. For example, offer to give away prize packs to the first bloggers to sign up to read the book. Offer the book as a prize: one to read themselves, and one to give away on their blog.

3. Set up social channels

You’ll want a way to get your blog posts out to fans, to answer questions and to get involved in the conversation. Decide which networks your audience is on (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or otherwise) and set up pages there. Then start a following: invite your family and friends to follow you and then ask them to ask their friends to do the same. Be sure to have any bloggers link to your site and your social pages.

One key element is adding a Facebook comment plugin to your blog posts. This essentially means that when people comment on your blog post, their comment will appear on their Facebook feed as well as your page. It’s an easy and quick way to spread your posts to a larger audience.

4. Ask friends and family to share your content

Your friends and family are excited about, and want to promote your book! Let them help by sharing it with their friends. Their friends will want to help too because they feel personally connected to you.

Give these people things they can relate to: blog posts, photos of you with the book, videos of you seeing your book in public places and so on. Make it fun, make it interesting and make it something your followers wouldn’t see anywhere else. Don’t be afraid of your posts not getting a ton of likes. Put content out there and learn what your audience likes by trial and error! Here are some ideas:

• Tweet “nuggets” from the book: things that are informative and relatable to a wide audience and are shareable.
• Create a photo contest. Challenge your followers to post a picture of themselves in a cool place with your book in their hands, or doing something your character in your book does. Offer a prize for the best photo. It doesn’t have to be pricey; think about something you can do to provide them value, like a consulting session, a signed copy or something similar.
• Post links to your free download of the first chapter on your website

5. Set up an Amazon Author Page

Amazon pages provide another platform where you can promote your book, by talking about who you are, what your book is about and showing pictures or other media. Having a page will build your credibility and be another place that people can find you and your book. Learn how to make one here.

6. Do a pre-order, low-price offer on social media

Your followers want to support you, but they also want deals. Launch a campaign for them to get one of the first printed copies available at a lower price than anywhere else. For example, do a 3-day pre-order campaign, with the book being 50% off on the first day, 25% off on the second and 10% off on the final day.

Consider doing an ad of your promotion on your social channels that target all of your followers, as well as all of their friends and other people in your niche. Most social platforms (including Twitter and Facebook) allow you to customize your ads to a very specific audience. Use them to your advantage.

We at Alexander’s can help you with social media. Our marketing team is trained in content creation and social publishing. Contact us to set up a time when we can meet and evaluate how to best publicize your book.