Essential Book Promotional Tools

I am now less than six months out from publishing my first book and things are coming along nicely.  Here at Lucid Books, we always tell the authors that they are the greatest marketers for their books, so I wanted to share a few things I’m doing to build a buzz prior to the release.  These are essential book promotional tools and will greatly help you get the word out.

1. Create A Facebook Page – I created a Facebook Page just for my book project.  This is a great way to get people connected with what you are doing, and also helps you to have a channel of communication for those who are interested in your project.  You are also able to create ‘Landing Pages’ that help if you decide to create Facebook Ads in order to raise awareness for your project.
2. Utilize Twitter & Facebook – We recently released a report on how to best use Twitter and Facebook to promote your book.  If you would like to receive a free copy, please click here, scroll down, and subscribe to our email newsletter.  Once you confirm your subscription, you will receive an email with a link to the report.  If you are already on our newsletter and would like a free report, send us an email and we’ll get it to you!  I also use HootSuite to schedule my tweets and Facebook updates, and it is a very helpful tool.
3. Create a Street Team – Since I am trying to reach students, people who work with students, and parents of students, I am trying to get people from different backgrounds to commit to helping me get the word out about the book.  I’ve formed a Street Team, and I’d love for you to join, even if it is just to watch how I use mine to promote my book.
4. MailChimp – There are several E-mail newsletter services out there, and I’ve tried almost all of them.  The reason I chose MailChimp is because you can have up to 2,000 members on your lists and can send up to 12,000 emails per month for free.  They also have extended features at a reasonable price.  I use this service for my E-Mail newsletter, as well as for my Street Team.
5. WuFoo – This is a great resource to create sign-up forms and can easily be added to your blog or website.  Click here to see how I am using it on my website.
6. Blog – We tell our authors that one of the best ways to promote their book is to start a blog.  Seth Godin recommends starting one three years prior to the release of your book.  If you haven’t started a blog yet, then we suggest using either Blogger or WordPress (we use WordPress for all of our sites and host them on our server).  Michael Hyatt has some great tips for serious bloggers.
7. KickStarter – There are several crowd-funding websites on the rise.  However, I have opted to use KickStarter because it is more well-known and it allows me to offer benefits for different levels of pre-sales.  We encourage our authors who may not have a huge budget to utilize this site to help fund projects.  I will be launching my 30 day KickStarter Campaign on September 1, 2012 and would appreciate your support!

Is there something I have forgotten?  If so, leave a comment below!

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