By Jessy Troy
When it comes to self-publishing an ebook, authors are afforded all kinds of freedoms that they’d never be able to achieve when releasing a book through a traditional publishing house, allowing them to retain all of their profits even as they take pride in the fact that the good job done was all theirs.
Unfortunately, they also lose the typical advertising team that comes hand-in-hand with a publishing house, forcing them to play marketer all on their own.
Luckily for all of you self-publishing ebook writers out there, the internet has made it possible to do just that, and to do it well, with social media leading the way in that regard.
I highly recommend that you first read this article: 5 Myths About Writing an E-Book, by Ovetta Sampson.
Here are six creative steps to promote your self-published eBook:
1. Set up a Separate Website
It’s easier to brand your eBook if you have a separate mini website for it. It will rank easier for the eBook name and will accumulate links and exposure naturally. Plus you can use branding colors, calls-to-action and logos to make sure people remember the eBook and will be more likely to convert next time they hear about it.
SiteGeek can help you find the cheapest hosting for it. Plus it has all those user reviews so you can make sure you are making a good choice.
And here are some essential basics for you to easily build a website.
It’s amazing that we can actually handle website development ourselves these days!
2. Be Informed
First things first: when it comes to social media marketing, like any other task, a bit of planning is in order; while you’re very likely familiar with major social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, have you ever really considered how to utilize them for business purposes?
Reading this article is a great start, but making the most out of what social media has to offer to you and your ebook means taking the time to do some serious research on each platform that you plan to tackle.
For example, tweeting your latest goings on simply isn’t the same as capturing an audience for a book in 140 characters or less, just as maintaining a personal Facebook account isn’t the same as leveraging a Facebook page to promote a product.
3. Be Informative
In order to get your campaign off on the right foot, start things off by tackling the big players in the niche. You’ll need to create thorough, in-depth, and always engaging social profiles that give your visitors – a fickle bunch, to be sure – a reason to stick around and learn more about who you are and what you have to offer them.
To achieve this, be sure to create fleshed out profiles that give visitors a good idea about who you are and, more importantly, why they should take an interest in your ebook.
4. Push Your Content Far and Wide
No matter what kind of content you find yourself adding to your social media streams, it is invariably true that the further it reaches, the more effective it is. With that in mind, it’s very important that you utilize all aspects of the social web in order to help your content grow wings and fly.
One excellent example of a social tool that can help you to achieve just that is Viral Content Buzz, a platform that brings together content creators in order to help each other to like and share content on the social web at large.
5. Engage Your Fans and Followers
One of the biggest tricks that needs to be utilized by any social marketer, especially one pushing a product as intimate and personal as an ebook, is to present yourself as a living, breathing human being to your followers.
The social web is full of content that looks as if it came straight from a spam bot and falling into that game, even inadvertently, is an easy way to turn off fans – and potential buyers – for good.
In order to stay approachable and engaging, be sure to always present your content additions as something deeper than simply trying to sell another copy of your ebook, and always make a point to engage one-on-one with fans and followers who take the time to ask questions and leave comments.
6. Stay on Top of Your Social Game
Even when the fans, followers, and sales start to roll in, be sure to stay on top of your social game, continuing to indulge your social enthusiasts by engaging them on a daily basis. This should continue to include the posting of content relevant to your ebook, one-on-one and group discussion, and teasers about your upcoming work.
More useful ebook marketing ideas:
- Set up a Twitter party to announce your ebook. Here’s a great site for that!
- Here are more tips on promoting your eBook on Twitter
- Consider these free sites to promote your eBook
- Get interviewed to build your author brand: That’s actually doable even if you are not famous yet
Besides allowing you to continue to successfully push your existing work, these efforts will also help you to build a platform with which to generate interest in and sell future works!
