Each month we host a Twitter Chat with a different guest who is a self-publishing industry specialist with a font of indie author knowledge. This month we welcomed Amy Edelman from IndieReader who joined us as our July #AuthorALLiChat guest speaker.
Amy was on hand to discuss your book promotion questions, and below is a summary of the tips and resources featured in our chat.
Tips & Resources from our #TwitterChat
Do you have any Book Promotion Planning Tips?
- It's important to consider getting a promotion plan/strategy in place early and it should include (but not limited too) book covers, your author site, book tours and social media
- Start thinking about what you want to achieve at least 3 months prior to publication.
- Essential promotion elements are:
- A great book
- A good author platform
- A clear sense of your reader
- A good quality cover and editorial
What's the Biggest Book Promotion Challenge for New Indie Authors?
- Not understanding who their reader is. Or if they know who they are, they don't know how to reach them
- Developing their branding and reader base
- Time management
What are some Book Promotion Strategies?
@IndieReader: Relationships is the key word. It's very important when it comes to book promotion
(I've included links to some related articles on this website that would make a good first step if you're considering any of these book promotion strategies.)
- Joining Facebook groups for specific genres is a great way to connect and promote your books
- Facebook post boosts
- Book tours (including Blog Tours)
- Mobile ads work well, and AdWords for visibility
- Weekly podcast
- Document your indie journey
- Create a blog that's for other authors to blog on, then invite influencers to blog on your site
- Guest blogging for sure (Always include a call to action!)
@IndieReader: All book promotion is not created equal. It takes time (and patience) to find the right fit
Guest Blogging Resource
Here's a useful guest blogging resource site Indie Reader recommended:
You can submit your own blog to host articles, or find other blogs that will host your article. It's a good resource for hosting or participating in a Book Blog Tour.
Are there any Book Promotion Trends?
@IndieReader: not so much trends, but these things work if done right
- Social media
- Outreach to editors
- Guest blogging
- Paid placements
- Audience targeting
What Book Promotion approaches work for niche genres?
….try to connect with local bookstores, set up readings and ask if they can carry your book
Which is a great segway into our #Authors4Bookstores campaign, click the link to read all related content on our blog, and to find out how you can contribute to our Fiction Anthology about Bookstores.
Any Book Promotion Trends on the Horizon?
@IndieReader: It will be interesting to see how authors use Periscope for book promotion
What is Periscope?
It's sort of like a first-hand video account, and is becoming very popular. It launched on March 26th 2015, and here's their About Page summary:
Just over a year ago, we became fascinated by the idea of discovering the world through someone else’s eyes. What if you could see through the eyes of a protester in Ukraine? Or watch the sunrise from a hot air balloon in Cappadocia? It may sound crazy, but we wanted to build the closest thing to teleportation. While there are many ways to discover events and places, we realized there is no better way to experience a place right now than through live video. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but live video can take you someplace and show you around.
IndieReader suggestions about how Authors can use Periscope
- Could be a fun experiment with for book promotions
- Document your writing process or indie journey
Our Twitter Chats last for an hour, and the time flies by. It's fun trying to keep track of the multiple conversations, and it really does put the “social” back into Twitter. Why not join us next month?
And the final word goes to IndieReader
@IndieReader: Go forth and self-publish! Viva la Indie
Want to Read the #TwitterChat?
ALLi’s Twitter Chat Guest Speaker
Amy Edelman is a publicist and writer, and the Founder and President of IndieReader.
As both an author and a publicist with over 20 years experience, Amy understands how difficult it is for all authors to get exposure. She came up with the idea of IndieReader, “the essential consumer guide to self-published books and the people who write them” for two reasons. The first was to create a more level playing field for authors who choose to go it on their own. The second was to give book-lovers the opportunity to discover great works that they might not have otherwise have found.
Join our Next Twitter Chat
You can join in the conversation on by using hashtag: #AuthorALLiChat
- Twitter Chat facilitated via: @IndieAuthorALLI
Participate directly on Twitter OR join in via Twubs: http://twubs.com/
If you haven’t used Twubs before, it’s a lot more user friendly that trying to follow the conversation directly in Twitter, and it allows you to set the speed of the feed according to your preference and you can also hide any retweets.
Our next Twitter Chat will be with Ian Sutherland who will be answering your questions about Twitter for Authors on August 11th at 8pm.
Join #AuthorALLiChat each month to get your #HowtoforAuthors questions answered #TwitterChat Share on X
What are you biggest book promotion challenges or triumphs? Let us know in the comments below.
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