Last year, I published Jobs of a Preschooler and Pickles, Pickles, I Like Pickles (affiliate links). I had a lot of fun writing them and publishing them, and I learned a lot about the process of promoting them.
I always feel funny talking about myself or my books in person to other people, but I love having the opportunity to read my books to kids and listening to the stories of why someone is buying one of my books. (I hope to share some of those stories in a future post.)
To promote my books, I created this website, started a Pinterest account, created a Goodreads account, made coloring pages and activity sheets to go along with the books, celebrated National Pickle Day, was interviewed on live TV, led preschool story times, did a library presentation for adults, entered my books for a Goodreads giveaway, sold multiple copies of Pickles, Pickles, I Like Pickles to a couple of pickle stores, received a Readers’ Favorite 5 Stars Review for each book, and I signed up on HARO (Help A Reporter Out).
I know there is more I could do to promote my books, but I haven’t done as much promotion this year for them as I did last year. Instead, I have been learning a lot by attending two SCBWI conferences, a picture book group meeting, and a monthly writer network/critique group meeting. I have also been writing quite a bit.
That doesn’t mean I have been doing no promotion for them, though. I am thankful both stores I sold multiple copies of Pickles, Pickles, I Like Pickles to last year contacted me again this year to purchase even more copies. I have also been selling copies of both books at a local farmers’ market, and I continue to add information to my Pinterest account.
I have also been responding to a few inquiries from HARO. Reporters, bloggers, and authors can use HARO to inquire about a specific topic. The “sources”, which I am signed up as, receive three e-mails a day five days a week. Each e-mail contains multiple inquiries. When I know I will have some time to respond to potential inquiries, I scan the e-mails to see if there is anything I would be able to respond to. Most of the time there isn’t anything I can answer; however, I have been used as a source on a few different websites, which have included links back to my own website.
Recently, I found an inquiry from AMA Feed on HARO asking for information about ways to promote a book. Thankfully, I had some time, so I responded with 14 potential tips. AMA Feed recently published what I had sent to them on their website. It has been published as 14 Tips to Promote Your Book.
Hopefully, I will continue to learn, write, and publish more books in the future that will need to be promoted.
What is something that turns you off from making a purchase?
Brigitte Brulz 