by Gillian Nicol
The cool winter weather has finally left us for good and we’ve moved on to longer days and time spent outside enjoying the warm weather with family and friends. Many of us will be making trips to the beach or will curl up on the couch during an afternoon storm where we will more than likely be accompanied by a great summer read. But how do authors position their books to be the “it” book of the season? We’ll walk you through a few simple techniques that can make all the difference in becoming a #1 hit and not just a one hit wonder.
1. Hosting a summer giveaway doesn’t have to be just a summer fling and can be utilized year round by authors and publishers to help with book promotion. Goodreads and Amazon are great tools for you to use in this regard but also feel free to host your own giveaway event to drive traffic to your author website.
2. You can create a heat wave by writing a press release to market your title as well, even to publicize your upcoming book giveaway. This type of media re
lease is a great way to create a buzz especially if there is something new happening with your work. Are you revamping your cover design or releasing your print book as an eBook? Bingo. There is a press release waiting to happen.
3. You’ll be saying good day sunshine while you work your way around to different local bookstore tour events. Set up shop at a few different local retailers to get your name out there and customers familiar with your work. Who doesn’t love a book signing? And remember that press release we talked about…yes, you’re definitely catching on.
4. Take the time to ramp up your website content all summer long. Get creative by writing in-depth character biographies or talk about your experiences with publishing and writing by launching a new blog series. Hosting guest bloggers is another great way to get new content headed in your direction. Your readers will appreciate you all the more!
5. Don’t be afraid to soak up the sun and cultivate your community of readers. Branch out with the different social media outlets that you are currently using and try something new like Tumblr or Pinterest. Be sure that your Twitter and Facebook fan pages are up-to-date and that you have a great flow of information circulating to your readers and fans.
With these tips in mind we know it will only be a matter of time until we see you climbing the charts as the next best summer hit.
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Gillian Nicol is a publishing assistant and aspiring writer. She launched her publishing career at Pressque Publishing and is Publishing Services Manager at PubSmart. She was born in Toronto, Ontario and grew up in Connecticut and Florida. She holds a Bachelors degree in English with a concentration in creative writing from the College of Charleston in South Carolina. The beach is her favorite place to crack open a book and enjoy a good read.
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Image courtesy of topaudio.com
