A Lot of Marketing is Free

And that fits in everyone's budget.

Before you start creating your marketing plan for a new release, or your yearly marketing plan and budget for an existing book, take time to assess all of the free marketing that is available. That way you can save your marketing dollars for larger marketing items.

Before you look at free marketing opportunities, however, make sure that you’ve done your due diligence and that you understand your book and your readers. Check out my newsletter from September 2nd about gathering your information before you begin to plan your marketing. Even free marketing doesn’t make sense it if isn’t going to reach your target market, because “free” marketing still takes your time… and that’s a valuable resource.

A lot of free marketing opportunities are connected with social media, so if you aren’t active on social media, this might be the time to reconsider that or find someone who can be active for you. If you’re still learning about posting on social media, check out John’s newsletter from August 7th on how to make your posts look great.

I’m going to start by listing the free marketing opportunities with social media. Remember, not every social-media outlet will be a good fit for you and your book. Take that into consideration as you review these lists. And for the social media that you do use, make sure you indicate in you profile that you are an author. Don’t assume people know.