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Congratulations on completing your first written work! This is a difficult process that takes years of dedication and practice. But as a pastor, you had an advantage: through years of preparing your sermons every week, you’ve already developed the disciplines of researching, writing, and reaching your writing deadlines.
Now you are probably asking yourself how you can promote your book.
Self-published books currently account for 31% of e-book sales in Amazon’s Kindle Store. That stat marks a significant turn away from traditional publishing methods. This means that there are scores of Christian books that are easily accessible, so how can you make yours stand out?
Book promotion might seem like a big task at first. Read on for 5 ways to spread the word about your new book.
- Church Network
For most Christian denominations there are several layers of governance within the church. There is a local parish, a regional presence, and a national body.
Make contact with the regional and national branches of your denomination. This is a great way to promote your Christian book. They often sell ad space in their publications, which is a cost-effective way of reaching your target audience.
- Use Social Media
Social media is a must now for all self-published authors. Free promotion is good promotion when you are trying to save your pennies.
Make sure that your social media handles reflect your name or your book’s title. This will make it easy for people to find you.
Simple hashtag searches can help you to narrow down accounts who might be interested in helping you to promote your Christian book.
There are a few things to avoid on church social media sites though. It is a sensitive space and proper etiquette will make sure you are engaging the correct audience.
- Use Online Retailers
Make sure you are selling your book to all the major retailers. That means Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Nook, iTunes.
Having your book sold on these major websites and their stores gives the purchaser confidence in the product and the purchase method.
- Have a Pro Website
Having a website dedicated to your new book will make you appear professional to your future readers. A good landing page can provide a strong pitch for your book and will help to increase your SEO.
The more you write about your book online (e.g. blog posts, guest posts and interviews on other website, etc) you will increase the chance of your site showing up in a Google search.
You’ll want to use good design to make sure your website makes a good impression. Thankfully, making a well-designed book website or landing page is very affordable with the number of website templates available for sale online.
- Always Have a Copy on Hand
There are Uber drivers who drive people just to promote what they’re doing on their own time.
Hand out free copies of your book to those you think might be able to promote it. If you can’t afford to hand out paper copies, simply take an iPad with you and start a list of people you can send an e-book to.
Free copies are still the most effective way to promote a book.
- Use an eBook Cover Creator
A good ebook cover creator can save you a lot of time by enabling you to have a professional-quality book cover with just a few clicks. And the best news is that it won’t cost you a lot of money.
This free ebook cover creator even includes the option of creating mockups of your book, which is a very powerful and professional way to promote your book across social media channels, advertisements, and your blog.
Promote Your Christian Book
You have done the hard work writing your book already. Now it’s time to share your message and get your book into the hands of your readers.
Be diligent and stick to our tips to watch your sales soar.
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