This document provides tips from author Dana Marton on promoting books and driving sales. It recommends adding book links to your email signature, collecting reader emails for a newsletter, blogging about related topics to drive readers to book links, using Facebook and other social media strategically to engage readers while occasionally promoting books, teaming up with other authors, offering free excerpts in various places, and contacting local organizations for promotion opportunities. The overall aim is to thoughtfully engage readers and build an audience over time through varied promotional strategies.

1. By Amazon Bestselling Author, Dana Marton

2.  Add a signature line to your email that will be
automatically added to all your outgoing mail. Mention
the book in the signature line and make it a direct link to
the book’s buy page. This is what my signature line
looks like, each book linked directly to Amazon:
www.danamarton.com
Jun. 2013 -- DEATHTRAP (Amazon bestselling romantic suspense)
Aug. 2013 --DEATHWATCH (Amazon bestselling romantic suspense)
Sep. 2013 -- MOST ELIGIBLE SPY
Oct. 2013 -- MY SPY (Romantic Times Magazine TOP PICK!)
Nov. 2013 -- SPY IN THE SADDLE
Dec. 2013 -- DEATHBLOW

3.  Start collecting emails for an author newsletter. I
ask people to sign up for my newsletter in the
back of my books, on my web page, and on my
Facebook page. Over the years, I’ve collected
over 5,000 emails from interested readers. As
soon as I release a book, I send them a note with
a link to the book’s buy page on Amazon. This
makes a huge difference in first day sales, which
influences the book’s Amazon ranking.

4.  The key to a blog that drives sales is to blog about a
subject that will be of interest to a great many people.
Instead of blogging about your book, write a blog
about how to get published, how to promote, etc. If
your book is about gardening, you might write a blog
about how to build a perennial bed in a single
afternoon. Make the topic of immediate benefit to the
reader, then post a link to your book at the end.
Readers will pass on your blog, and a great many of
them will click on the link.

5.  1.2 billion people use Facebook worldwide.
 Make sure you create an Author Page, since your
Personal Page will only allow 5,000 friends.
 80% of your posts should be informative,
entertaining, about keeping in touch. 20% should
be about your book. Saying nothing but, “buy my
book,” “buy my book,” “buy my book,” doesn’t
work.

6.  Set up your Facebook Author Page so your posts are
automatically sent out via Twitter as well.
 The same 80/20 rule applies. The majority of your
posts should be used to engage readers and gain new
readers. Don’t flood your Twitter account with “buy my
book” type of messages.
 An easy way to gain Twitter followers is to find and
follow readers. Most of them will follow you back if you
write the type of books they’re interested in.

7.  Set up your Pinterest account so new pins will be
sent to both Facebook and Twitter.
 Set up boards that will be of interest to your
readers. E.g. if you write gardening books, have a
board for vegetable gardens, one for formal
gardens, one for propagation of plants, one for
gardens around the world, etc. Use one board for
book cover and images from your book. Make
sure to put buy links into the comment section.

8.  Team up with other authors in your genre.
 Share Facebook posts.
 Retweet each other’s Tweets.
 Repin each other’s pins.
 Exchange links to each other on your web site.
 Exchange book links in the back of your books. (E.g. If
you read all of my books, you might want to try TITLE
by AUTHOR, a great story about BLURB.)
 Teaming up with 10 authors will increase your reach
tenfold.

9.  Offer a free excerpt or even a whole chapter
wherever you can.
 In the back of book 1, put a sample of book 2.
 Add an excerpt on Facebook.
 Add a free chapter to your web site.
 Add a free chapter on Wattpad.

10.  To your local paper.
 The trade magazine of any trade organization
you’re part of.
 The college paper at your alma mater.
 Any paper or magazine that you can claim a
connection with.

11.  Local bookstores
 Local libraries
 Your college
 Your church (if appropriate)
 Local VFW (if appropriate)
 Any local organization that have regular meetings
(as long as the book is a good fit)
 Get a booth at the local fair