10 Creative Ways to Promote Your Book Without Social Media!

So you hate social media. I get it. I hear you. There are so many people that come to us at Book launchers that feel like 5G burn right here and they want to know how to sell books without social media. And the good news is that you can sell your book if you won't use social media. And if you're wondering how to do that, well, this video is for you. Hey there. I'm Julie the Book Broad, founder of Book Launchers, a full service self publishing company. We also have a paid group called the Author Business Accelerator. For those of you with finished books that want some marketing support, guidance and strategy, you can check that out@authorbusinessaccelerator.com now I love YouTube and I am happy to create content for you and reply to comments here. And I don't really like Facebook or Instagram. LinkedIn's okay, but it's kind of boring and I've never used TikTok. In other words, I'm not a social media expert and as a result I've never relied on social media to sell books. I and in the nonfiction world, it's something that helps, but it's not an absolute. You must have this to succeed. You must have a great author website that's a non negotiable. But Facebook, well, you don't have to. It helps, but it's not the only thing you need. And because it's so slow to grow, I always recommend authors focus on book promotion with other people's audiences to get true traction with their book marketing. If you don't know what I mean, well, here are 10 ideas that don't involve you having a social media account to help you market your book. Number one is become best friends with libraries. Organize library events. Set up readings and book signings and discussions at local libraries to build a local fan base. And the best part is that if you're like our client Linda Magoon, doing an amazing job at a couple of libraries could cause word of mouth to spread spread and the next thing you know, the libraries are calling you to do events in their area. At the library. You can collect email addresses, they often will let or even encourage you to sell books at your event and you can uncover other local promotional opportunities. Social media does help because libraries will want to know how you'll promote the event. But if you have a network in the area, you can lean on that. Or if you're going to do radio interviews or some other local media, share that as well. Say number two, connect with book clubs. Offer to attend their meetings in person or virtually to discuss your book and answer questions. There are lots of lists of book clubs and you can see if they are into your genre. To find book clubs in your area or participate in virtual ones via Zoom, consider checking library programs. Many local libraries host book clubs. For example, the Las Vegas Clark County Library District offers various book clubs at its branches covering different genres and themes. You can find those specific meeting times and titles being discussed on each of the library's websites. Also, meetup this platform allows you to search for book clubs based on your location. You can find again both in person and virtual options by entering your city and book club in the search. Of course, bookstores, especially indie bookstores, are often ones that host their own book clubs too. You can visit them or contact them to inquire about any upcoming meetings or groups that you might be able to join or participate in. Or if you're searching online for book clubs, then you can check Reedsy Discovery. This site lists some of the best online book clubs, including theme groups like the Rebel Book Club, which have transitioned to virtual formats and allow participation from anywhere. There's also Facebook groups, but of course because you hate social media, you're not on Facebook. But I had to mention it. For those of you who are on Facebook, you can search for groups in your area or book clubs in the genre the that your book is in. And of course there's Goodreads and there's also many dedicated book club sites and apps now, so you can go ahead and post your favorite in the comments below. This is not a full video on book clubs. Basically what I'm saying is getting into a book club and having a discussion about your book will help you promote your book, market your book and get it in the hands of more readers. Oh plus, when you comment on the day a video is released, you get entered to win some of our fabulous noboringbook swag and copies of my books. And it also moves you one step closer to being one of our YouTube besties like StellaGolph3976 Steven Serrell. Of course we have Kevin hall artist Alan west whose book they Hang Me in Tokyo is sitting right there, and Emily Romero and others. So there are two ideas with no social media required. There is also Number three, participate in festivals and book fairs, showcase your books and meet readers at community events. This can also be at flea markets or full on book events. Most cities have them. Again, when you're there, collect email addresses, use the opportunity to meet other authors for future collaborations and even buying table together at future events and of course, sell some books while you're there. Fourth Idea Pitch yourself for Podcasts and media. Now for podcasts in particular, there's services like PodMatch or PodBean, and you can set yourself up and start to find podcasts that are fit for your topic. And this is a big thing we do for our clients to put them in front of other people's audiences. No social media required, a good media kit and some skills on pitching and being a good podcast guest. Now those things are a good asset for you to have and that's something we help authors with in our Author Business Accelerator. So I do highly recommend you join us there. But getting yourself in front of other people's audiences, getting them on your newsletter, and then selling your book that way. Smart business number five run ebook sales every 90 days. Now I have an entire video that I will link to on the end on this as well as going back to that Author Business accelerator. We're doing a big training on this in January, but Written Word Media is our favorite company for stacking up promos for an ebook sale. But there's other sites out there for running ebook sales and of course that video that I'll link to at the end will help. But running ebook sales helps you get your book momentum. It revives that importance on Amazon so that it will start showing it to Alsobots and and other things and hopefully you get more reviews and it just increases relevancy in the eyes of Amazon and other bookselling companies. You can also look at sales through Apple and Kobo. Speaking of other book companies, depending on where you have your distribution. All right, Idea6 sell directly on your website using a setup like Shopify. I've also talked about selling your ebook through Story Origin or even audio and ebook through Book Funnel. But then you can run ads through Google to promote your book. Now for most nonfiction authors, this approach doesn't make a ton of sense unless you have a funnel or other items you're selling, like a workbook or courses or even other books. An ad to just sell a book is tough to make profitable, but an ad to your book that can lead to cross sells and upsells can work really well. And some authors make a lot of money doing this and will never have to look at building out social media following as a result. Idea 7 Build your newsletter list and sell your book to that newsletter list. Now there's a whole bunch of ways to build your newsletter list and I've talked about this extensively as well. There are Some shortcuts, like working with a service like Crave Books for their newsletter building programs. But the best quality people for your newsletter will always be people who hear about you on a podcast, a speaking event, or get referred to you. So get in front of other people's audiences and give them a strong call to action to get your newsletter like this one. If you want all the tips and more that we've talked about today, get my book Self Promote and Succeed in Audiobook for free. Just just head to selfpromoteandsucceed.com audio and you can download it there or buy it wherever books are sold. Voila. I just invited you to my email list in a compelling way. So get that down for you and you can start growing your email list. Number eight, Run Amazon ads. Amazon ads are a great way to sell books without social media. Again, something I've done a lot of videos on. So just search it up on the channel and of course say hello when you watch those videos. Number nine, collaborate with other authors. You can promote each other or you can sign up to do events together or find a way to work together to get your books in readers hands without social media. This does mean you have to get out there and meet them. So go out, meet authors. We just had Author Nation here in Las Vegas which is a great event for meeting authors, but there's also writing events in cities all over, so look for local events, get out, say hello and find authors to collaborate with those book festivals we already mentioned. That's a great way to do it too. All right, number 10, who do you know? Once upon a time my dentist office promoted my book. My CrossFit gym sold copies for me. My realtor here in Las Vegas is constantly promoting my book and our services at Book Launchers. Connect with people, make friends, support them, add value and you'll uncover all kinds of opportunities to sell and promote your book. No social media required. This list could go on and on. Honestly, I didn't talk about bookstores or speaking engagements, which are also big ops that you don't have to have social media for. There are also many ways to promote your book and social media can support those efforts. But you don't have to have social media for it to work. What else do you do that doesn't require social media to promote your book? Let's chat about it in the comments below. And now here's that video I promised on ebook sales. And this is the one or one of the ones on building a great newsletter list. Both are really great videos to watch. So click on over and say hello when you get there.