Marketing Tips from Indie author Lori Pescatore

I know many of you are readers, but how many of you are aspiring authors as well out there, my dear readers?

Today I have the pleasure of having Lori Pescatore, author of Human Blend and the sequel Earth Blend, here to share some of her own marketing tips. If you see something you like, shout out! Have something to add? Let us know.

I’m always happy to share information!

Hello, My name is Lori Pescatore and I am the author of Human Blend and the newly released Earth Blend. Today I’m here to talk to you about some of my marketing techniques. This is after you have written, edited and formatted your book and have both an e-book and print book ready for publication.

I am a self-published author. Human Blend was published in 2010 and was my education into what it means to be self-published. Being an author means so much more today that just putting your thoughts into words and letting your imagination tell a story. To be honest, that is the easy part. Today some established big house authors have taken on the responsibility of doing some self-promotion to drive up sales. With the addition of indie publishing, the field is wide open. Where do you begin? I asked that question two years ago and here is what I have learned.

The most logical place to start is with friends and family. They are your core support group and can help you spread the word.

Social media is the next big step. Be sure you are on Facebook not only with a personal site, but with an author page as well. You will want a page that your readers can go to and get fast information on you and your books. A lot of authors also establish their own web-page and/or blog dedicated to their books. I did not go that route only because it would require more of my time, but if you are tech savvy or know someone who is, that is another big step. Twitter, of course, is another fine area in which to promote your books. Befriend other authors and gather tips from their posts on how to have a successful marketing strategy using Twitter. A big thing today is also creating a book trailer. This is also not something I ended up doing; it would require me to spend more money to hire someone, but again, if you know someone I highly recommend it. You can post the trailer on YouTube and link to if from all of your sites.

Establish yourself on other core websites such as Goodreads, Google+ and Linked In. These sites put you in touch with others in your field. Lots of authors are willing to share their expertise. On Goodreads there is also a multitude of readers. Join groups that reflect your genre and participate. All these ideas do not cost any money but they do require time and effort.

I attribute the success of my first book to the amazing bloggers of book review sites. To get started, either on your networked sites or just doing a search, find blogs that are accepting copies of your book in exchange for a review. Make sure the blog caters to the genre of your book. Read the review policies of each blogger for more info on what they accept. With new technologies, many bloggers are accepting e-books. This cuts down on your expense, but many do still ask for paperback versions. Also when selecting a blogger, look at the number of followers they have. I choose ones with at least 500; this means more readers will check out my book. Don’t be afraid to give a new blog a chance too. I became friends with a reader who was just starting her own blog site and within a year she had over 1,000 followers. Great blogs grow fast.

Create bookmarks for your books. These are great calling cards. I have given them out whenever I have the chance. I’ve put them on supermarket bulletin boards and left them in banks, dry cleaners, and anywhere else that allowed me to leave some behind. Even a few left at a local coffee shop could garner you another sale. If you have gone the route of creating your own website, why not get other items to market such as coffee mugs and tee-shirts with your book cover on them? Always make sure to link to your book wherever you post.

Last but not least, my favorite of all marketing techniques is a book signing. If you have a paperback novel, check out your local independent bookshop and see if they will let you do a book signing. Most are very receptive to local authors. Also do not be afraid to get creative; your book signing does not have to be at a bookstore. Some authors get permission to hold signings at local landmarks like museums. If there is an event or fair coming to town, there is another great place to stumble upon new readers. I had to front the books for my signing, so if you go this route you may encounter that expense.

I hope you found some of these marketing tips helpful. I wish you all the best of luck following your dream.

Lori Pescatore

Human Blend

Terminal Blend (Coming Summer 2012)