71 Tools and Tactics for Your Book Marketing Plan

In my recent book marketing plan series I shared a book marketing plan outline. One element of that outline involved marketing and PR tactics to support your larger promotional strategy. These are the specific things you'll do to promote your book and your visibility as an author.

While I'm working on a short e-book covering basic book marketing and PR tactics, I wanted to give you a starter list -- a menu of tools and tactics that you can choose from to create the perfect book marketing recipe for your next book launch.

Here are 71 book marketing and PR tactics that can help you spread the word about your book and get it into the hands of more readers. You can download a one-page .pdf version for free at the end of this post.

  1. Advertisements
  2. Affiliate Programs
  3. Ancillary Products
  4. Article Marketing
  5. Assemble Your Own Networking Group
  6. Author Blog
  7. Author Bio
  8. Author Videos
  9. Awards
  10. Back Cover Copy
  11. Become an Expert / Authority Source
  12. Blog Comments
  13. Blog Tours
  14. Book Blog / Series Blog
  15. Book Blurbs From Notable Sources
  16. Book Festivals
  17. Book Signings
  18. Book Trailers
  19. Bookmarks
  20. Bundles
  21. Business Cards
  22. Character Blogs
  23. Contests
  24. Courses
  25. Cover Design
  26. Create a Special Day / Week / Month
  27. Discount / Promo Codes
  28. Donate Books
  29. Email Lists
  30. Email Signatures
  31. Excerpts
  32. Freebies
  33. Games / Interactive Features
  34. Guest Posts
  35. Handouts
  36. Host Guest Bloggers
  37. Host Special Events
  38. Infographics
  39. Interviews
  40. Join Professional Organizations
  41. Join Relevant Forums
  42. Join Social Media Groups
  43. Launch Party
  44. Link to Similar Authors
  45. Live Readings
  46. Look for Unexpected Markets
  47. Media Kit
  48. "Merch" Related to Your Book
  49. Mobile Apps
  50. Partner With Charities
  51. Partner With Other Authors
  52. Partner With Other Types of Artists
  53. Podcasts
  54. Postcards
  55. Posters / Display Signs
  56. Presentations / Slideshare
  57. Press Releases
  58. Publish Research / Reports
  59. Q&A Sites -- Answer related questions.
  60. Radio Tours
  61. Seek Reviews
  62. SEO
  63. Series Branding
  64. Short Fiction as a Lead-in to a Novel
  65. Social Bookmarking Sites
  66. Social Media Profiles
  67. Social Media Updates
  68. Speaking Engagements
  69. Sponsor a Cause or Event
  70. Thank You Notes
  71. Webinars

Download 71 Book Marketing Plan Tactics

(Note: Book and author blogs were combined in the .pdf version which is why only 70 tactics are shown there.)

This list is just a starting place. There are many other options, so you should always be able to find book marketing tactics you're comfortable with. I'll expand upon this list, and give more details about each of these promotional options, in an upcoming e-book as a part of my Busy Author's Guide series on book marketing.

In the meantime, leave a comment here to tell me about your favorite book marketing tactics.

Profile image for Jennifer Mattern

Jennifer Mattern is a professional blogger, freelance business writer, consultant, and indie author. She runs numerous websites & blogs including All Freelance Writing, Freelance Writing Pros, NakedPR, and Kiss My Biz.

Jenn has 25 years' experience as a professional writer and editor and over 20 years' experience in marketing and PR (working heavily in digital PR, online marketing, social media, SEO, new media, and thought leadership publication). She also has 19 years' professional blogging and web publishing experience (including web development) and around 18 years of experience as an indie author / publisher.

Jenn also writes fiction under multiple pen names and is an Active member of the Horror Writers Association.

Subscribe to the All Freelance Writing newsletter to get freelance writing updates from Jenn in your inbox.

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8 thoughts on “71 Tools and Tactics for Your Book Marketing Plan”

  1. Man, you don’t play any games when it comes to resources! This is very helpful. I am hoping to release a novel mid next year and I am using your site for tactics! haha

    Reply
  2. Jennifer, thanks for sharing your book marketing insights. I think most of the marketing and PR tactics you listed will prove to be very useful as my book publishing plans evolve and as I filter and define what is salient and what is not. Currently, I plan to market my book using Amazon’s protocols and features. Not sure if I will stick to that idea.

    Reply
    • While there’s nothing wrong with focusing on Amazon if it’s a good place to reach your specific group of target readers, my one caution would be not to limit yourself. Relying on one strategy — especially if that means relying entirely on a third party — is almost never a good idea. So my suggestion would be to expand your marketing plan a little bit. If nothing else you’ll have the opportunity to test your options and see what works the best for you based on the time or money invested. I hope some of these ideas help. 🙂

      Reply
  3. Thanks for the list, i have my book up on amazon, now i just need to start selling more of them.

    I live in japan and I’m looking to grow my tennis consultant business now.

    Great work, any quick tips?

    Reply
    • The biggest tip I can give you is to start working on your marketing plan asap. It really should have been in place before writing the book. So you’ll have some ground to make up. But you can do it! 🙂

      Reply

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