Platform pressure, mental health impacts and creative fatigue are all costs of building a business with social media. Ai and tech companies are challenging creators to find new avenues to promote themselves or revisit the techniques that predate the World Wide Web. Preparing for a new book release in October, let’s dive in to how I’m approaching promoting The Big Empty: A Sagebrush Survival Story.

Drawing Local Spotlight

Drawing up support in your own community is time tested technique before portfolios were flying around on the internet. Here’s my plan:

  • Advertising in a few local business that I support regularly. Close friends might forget to buy your book but your hairdresser, doctor, barista you’ve been loyal to? Many times eagerly support you back or will recommend to a friend. My car’s glove compartment will be packed with high quality postcards for these moments. My thought is, if my neighbors don’t know about my book I’ve probably done a bad job.
  • Press Release – Guess what’s coming back in style?!
  • Window display at local book shop featuring sagebrush, a life sized horse and the book.

Events

A preschool teacher once told me, referring to working with a large groups, if you are prepared nothing can go wrong. It’s encouraged me to have a fresh approach to events. Here’s what I am planning:

  • Email, calls, text, direct invites to everyone near the area that might be interested. Waiting four weeks to advertise the event.
  • I’ve prepared two different songs that tie in with my book to sing with the crowd. I’m also ready to pull other titles I’ve collaborated on to talk with the group.
  • Visiting local schools for a reading or presentation – a great way to nurture local relationships and generate sales in the children’s book industry board book through young adult books.

Suppliment Materials

Creating graphics of reviews or other news around the book release is another way I’m spreading the word. Below is an exampe of the book being picked for the JLG.

These examples from quotes from book list and school library journal and are formatted for Pinterest.

These graphics can include the same content in different styles and the same link. Done with some creativity, creators can make many different style pins to attract different readers and buyers.

With the help of an elementary reading specialist and the team at learner we created an educators guide for the book. This guide includes three sections, science, art and writing. It’s hosted on the publishers website that can be linked to through places like Pinterest and my website. The entire packet is full of lesson plans and activities. Each topic in the educators guide can double as promotional imagry along the way.

It’s easy to forget the small ways we can advertise our projects. Here’s what I don’t want to forget:

  • Utilizing easy billboards like my social banner and email signature. A picture with a link to your book or website is very simple and effective.
  • SEO revamp on my website: Making sure keywords are inline with the people who will be interested in my book. Double check all my links and photos are live and working properly.

If you are feeling unsure about your approach to sharing your work I hope an insight to what I am trying will be a place to start. Wishing you and your projects well and encourage you to try something new there’s nothing to lose in this fast paced and changing scene.