Marketing your book is a daunting task. I’ve reached out to a few sources, new and old, for advice and some of it is exactly what you would expect and some is not what I expected. So I have only just self-published my first novel so it’s not like I have a ton of experience here, but I will share what I have learned so far.
Facebook: I think it is a must that you create an author page. So many people use FB that you can’t have a reason not to. I simply copy and paste my blog posts here into my FB and carry on. Simple enough to do.
Twitter: I have a twitter account and it is important as a social media tool. Create one using your author handle and start hashtagging.
Kobo, Smashwords and Amazon Kindle: All of these sites will create an author page for you. It’s important to make sure you maintain the same message and reach out to your readers. It only takes a few minutes and your readers are hopefully going to be your fans. So take the time to get this right.
Goodreads: You can link your book to your account. This will allow you to access some aspects of Goodreads that will promote your book so this is a must. Goodreads has a HUGE following and ties into peoples’ Amazon accounts. Remember that!
Facebook Ads: I have not heard anything good about this. I spent some money here and have yet to see any correlation with sales. I hate FB ads and so probably everyone else is either ignoring the ads or they are suppressing them (Adblock). Looks like money wasted to me. From comments from other authors this seems to be the case for them as well.
Writing Groups: I joined the Fantasy and Science Fiction Writers in America (FSFWA) and they seem like pretty decent folks. They have offered quick and meaningful advice and I think I truly like these people. I need to find more like this.
Kindle Ads: FSFWA warned me against using Kindle Ads…so I am staying away from it.
BooksGoSocial: This is a FB group and a website. They will push your book on all social sites repeatedly. This gets the word out and gets people flocking to your book sales site. Mine kicks off any day now and I have my fingers crossed.
thekindlebookreview.net: These folks will give you honest reviews on your Kindle publication. This is important because reviews = sales. I am still waiting on my reviews and it is nail biting.