In a crowded market it’s difficult to get your book noticed. Particularly with ebooks where there isn’t even a physical printed book that you can actively show people or that can sit on a bookshop’s shelf.
If your book is garnering a number of 4 or 5 star reviews though, it might be worth thinking about promoting your book on one or two independent promotion sites as these can drive traffic to the retailers’ sites, boosting your sales, and just as important your ranking with Amazon (perhaps even getting into those scrolls of recommended books).
There are over one hundred of these sites – see this fairly comprehensive list of promotional sites and also this for a selected list of promotional sites – but dipping your toe into the water might help you gauge reaction to your book for just a small investment.
The sites vary in their conditions but, in the main, you need to have some high quality reviews, your book needs to be at least 100 pages, and be discounted or free. The better sites select books to list on quality criteria, which helps to ensure their high number of followers.
These sites usually send out a newsletter to their subscribers with details of your book and the offer. To submit your book, prices vary from a couple of pounds up to hundreds, but most are under £20.
We’d be interested to hear how you get on. Let us know in the comments below.
Dear Ms Lunn,
A fortnight ago I published my third novel, Agenda Indiscriminate. The majority of promotional sites are based in the USA. I will, of course, use some of these when the novel goes ‘free’ on Amazon between 6th – 10th August. Similar sites that focus on the UK seem harder to find and I wondered if UK Book Publishing can assist in this area?
The novel in question:
Sorry, Pete, we don’t promote books we haven’t published.