When it comes to writing fiction, you may love the writing process but not know where to begin when it comes to promoting the book once it’s published.  Hopefully you already have a website and have established your presence on a few social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram).  If you have all of those things going for you already, it’s time to get an outside perspective on the appearance.  Ask a friend to review your sites and give you feedback on how they look.

• Do they look professional?
• Is the branding consistent?
• Is it clear to visitors that you are an author?
• Is it easy to find a link to the book?

Kimberley Grabas, founder of YourWriterPlatform.com, offers an awesome tutorial on building your author brand, including a “Brand Identity Checklist” for more things to consider as you polish your online presence.

Once your presence is perfected, here are five creative ways to promote your book:

1. Run a Goodreads giveaway — Kate Tilton, founder of Kate Tilton’s Author Services, LLC, provides an excellent guide on how to set up a Goodreads giveaway, including paperback, hardback or ebook copies.
2. Create a Book Video Trailer — You can create your own video or have one created for you.  Once you have a book video, BookBaby offers 15 tips for promoting your book with a book trailer.
3. Try Facebook Advertising — Surely you’ve noticed ads on Facebook.  Facebook makes it very easy to set up ads, boost posts, promote likes, etc., and all while targeting your specific/unique audience.  Joanna Penn, indie-author, speaker and entrepreneur, shared a helpful post on 5 ways authors can use Facebook Advertising.
4. Get interviewed on a podcast — According to Katie Wyatt, podcaster and speaker, “a podcast is a supreme opportunity to maximise the launch of your book.” Start by reading Katie’s tips for promoting your book with a podcast, researching podcasts that might be a good fit for your book, and writing a pitch letter to send out to podcast hosts.
5. Leverage your book reviews — Post your reviews in the Editorial Review section of your book’s Amazon page, on your website and social media.  This post on WritersWin.com provides more advice on leveraging your review to promote your book.

These are just a few things to get you started.  Networking with other writers and published authors is always a good idea no matter what phase of the process you are in. Get involved in a community of writers, whether it be a local writing group, a national organization or an online forum so you can network, get tips and advice and swap ideas.

Not sure where to start?  WritePubChat is an online Slack community just for writers who want to discuss writing, publishing, book marketing with other writers.

Featured image courtesy of Lou Levit