I have worked through this list and continue to find them both helpful and time-consuming. However, as a struggling artist, I am looking for as many ways to spread the work about my books as possible, thus the free sites. Over the last couple of weeks I have developed a Linktree, connected to Hootsuite, blogged on Medium, listed my books on Amazon, B&N, and on a dozen other platforms. I have joined about 150 Facebook groups for reviews, promotions, and readers. The combined effort is beginning to produce results, but it’s like farming. You plant, water, prune, wait, and wait, and wait. Meanwhile, I have sought other creative pursuits. As a composer, I continue to write, arrange, and promote my choral music. Shawnee press/Sheetmusicdirect and Hal Leonard both have digital outlets where aspiring and accomplished composers can post their digital music and get paid for them. Imagine that, getting paid for one’s work. I love it.
So if you are involved with a church that still uses real choir music, check out my music. Just click the links, type my name, Bryan M. Powell, and you can see not just my books but many of my compositions.
I am currently running two campaigns. One is promoting my latest novel, The Prodigal’s Return. The digital eBook is $1.99 on Amazon and I am praying for 1000 downloads. Don’t worry, I won’t get wealthy or even rich off such a request. In order to set the price at $1.99, I had to lower the commission split to 30% on KDP. You can do the math…I hope. The other campaign is Buy Me a Coffee. For the price of a cheap cup of coffee, you can partner with me in raising the funds for my next BIG idea. And yes, I have one of those from time to time.
So what is your BIG idea? I thought you’d never ask. I have created and developed a game called, Letter-Rip. It is a fast-paced word game. Click this link and read all about it, oh, and, while you’re there, Buy Me a Coffee.
And now the next list.
Monitor your website visitors using Google Analytics, optimizing those pages that get the most hits for optimum engagement
Add an events calendar to your website share where you will be on your free book tour
Add a specific page for your book (one book = one page) and include plenty of “buy now” buttons, linking out to everywhere your book is for sale
Use free design tool like Canva to create a media kit for your website that includes book graphics, author headshots, quotes and more
Always include the same author photo across all promotional materials so that people can recognize you and associate you with your book. Your face + your book = your brand
Ensure your book is listed on all the big directories and available for sale: Amazon, Bookshop.org, B&N, Smashwords, Kobo, and Apple iBookstore
Create an Amazon Author Central account and related Amazon author page
Populate your Amazon author page with your author bio, headshot, and book data
Add an RSS feed to your Amazon author page with a link to your blog
Ensure your book is tagged under the correct category (provided by Amazon), and write a full description, including your genre and relevant keywords
Create a Goodreads author profile so that people can review your book
Include quotes from your book on Goodreads
Answer interview questions on Goodreads to engage with your audience
Run a Goodreads book giveaway
Encourage people to review your book on Amazon and Goodreads. These reviews really do matter!
Enter your book for literary awards
Sign up for a free BookBub account and create an author profile
Register for BookBub’s free New Release alert that will notify your followers on your book’s release
If your book is a debut, submit your book to be featured on Debutiful (be sure to give at least four months’ notice prior to publication)
Submit your book to promotion websites like Goodkindles who regularly choose books to promote from free across their website, newsletter, and social media
Reach out to relevant blogs and websites and offer to write a guest post, with a link back to your website and/or book
Offer to contribute to relevant newsletters in exchange for a link to or short promo of your book
Write and publish articles on Medium on topics relevant to your book
Comment on other people’s blogs and articles. You can leave a link to your book, but don’t make it spammy.
Again, please click the links, Buy Me a Coffee and download the eBook for $1.99. You’ll not only help me reach me goals but get a great book as well.