Marketing is important for any creative entrepreneur and indie authors are no exception if they want to sell their books. While I’m certainly no bestseller or marketing guru, I’ve been trying and testing different marketing strategies for free. I thought it would be nice to share a little bit about how they’ve been going.
Posting My Books On Instagram
I mentioned last year that I’d like to post more on my author Instagram account and I ended up doing so in November and December. While I didn’t sell hundreds of copies as a result, I did see a nice boost in sales. I made a few paperback sales (3 of which were from someone who has read my books before – my post reminded him that he needed to catch up on my newer releases). You can attract new readers when you post your books on Instagram – and remind the fans you already have to buy your newer books! I’ll definitely be posting my paperback books there more often – and I hope to sell more physical copies of my books this year.
99 Cent Deals and Free Books
For Christmas, I thought I’d put all of my books on sale for only 99 cents to see if I’d get a little boost in sales – and to give people a chance to get them super cheap. I ended up making the most sales that month so it definitely helped. I noticed when I did this for Christmas 2021 the same thing happened – free books and sales do help move your books. I wouldn’t do it all the time, but if it’s a once per year thing a lot of people will jump at the chance to grab your books for cheap. Particularly if you have several books published, a free book deal will often encourage a reader to buy more of your books later. It’s something to keep in mind anyway.
Promoting On Twitter
I’ve been promoting my books a lot more on Twitter and this is key to letting people know about any sales or promos you’re having for your books. I recently released two books, so posting about them being new helps create some hype. Most of my book sales are from Twitter.
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So there you have it! These are 3 free marketing strategies you can try for yourself. Sometimes promoting books takes some trial and error – and being at the right place at the right time. Just know that the promoting does pay off if you stick with it and post smart.
I’ll be experimenting with a few paid ads this year and I’ll be sure to update you here with how it went!
Do you have any special book marketing strategies that work well for you?
Musings Of A Wildflower 
Thank you for the free advice. I’ve always thought Twitter would be a great place to promote books. I know I’ve bought most of my books written by Indy writers I saw advertised there.
Ooh lovely! 🙂 I’m so happy you’ve found it helpful. I hope the marketing helps you make more sales!
Unfortunately I’m banned from Twitter for calling on then U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence to be shot by firing squad in January of last year.
It was only a couple of months ago that they had suddenly noticed that I had also called for Arizona’s Secretary of State to be shot by firing squad in November of 2020 and sent me a notification.
They ‘ve yet to notice that I had also called for Michigan’s Secretary of State to be shot by firing squad in November of 2020.
Happy new year, Sara! 😊 I’ve yet to try Instagram, but I’ve had a few sales on Twitter thanks to your advice on using the platform (and where to hang out) 😉 The 99 cents and free books I’ll have to try when I have my own books out, I hope to pen and release at least one this year!
Yay I’m glad you’ll try those strategies! 🙂 I hope they work out well for you.
And happy new year to you, too!