How to Publicize Your Book Online
And what we should keep when the pandemic is over
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The last year has been brutal (obviously), as the country and the world suffers through a global pandemic. While not as severe as loss of life or the loss of a family member, the loss of professional opportunities is still devastating. That’s especially true for authors who have spent years working on a product only to have your book tour or book parties canceled. Nothing can fully make up for a book launch party, but there are many steps you can take to promote your book online. And so many of these strategies should continue after the pandemic, as they really expand your audience nationally and even globally.
I wrote a little bit about how I’ve made the best of my pandemic experience in this post, but I get so many questions about how to promote a book in a pandemic, that I thought a separate post would be helpful. You can find my book, The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution HERE.
Virtual Events.
In the absence of in-person events, many bookstores, historic sites, museums, libraries and more are hosting virtual events. There are pros and cons here to be sure. You can reach more people across the globe and you can actually do more events because you don’t have to travel. Audience members don’t have to change out of their pajamas and they can tune in while doing tasks around the house. Cons: people are getting a bit tired of zoom and I’ve noticed attendance numbers across the board declining. People are less likely to buy books without the peer pressure of the author sitting at the back of the room signing books. You can improve sales by asking the host to email the link to the book after the end of the event. Here are a few other tips to make your virtual event a success.
- Dress up! You should wear event-appropriate attire on top of course, but I recommend putting on the whole outfit. It really helps you get into the right frame of mind to present your work, especially if the…
