Mazel tov! You just published your new book. You’re so excited, but you don’t want it to fall flat. You hope to get the word out far and wide, sell lots of copies, and ensure that it’s a huge success. But how?
As a publicist and marketer for Jewish authors, I get this question all the time.
Unfortunately, publishing houses don’t always offer publicity. It’s usually up to the author to promote themselves. If you’re self-published, you have to do everything on your own.
How can you do that if you don’t have a huge social media following? What if you don’t have a big budget to advertise? Are there other strategies you can pursue?
Yes. Thankfully, there are so many ways you can go about promoting your new Jewish book. Here are five ideas to get you started.
- Offer Sections of Your Book to the Jewish Media
You already wrote the content, so why not send it into the Jewish media? Jewish newspapers and websites are always looking for great content. Usually, they want short pieces ranging from 600-1,000 words, but the word count will vary depending on the publication. By sending in a good piece, you’ll show that you’re an amazing writer – and that’ll make people more likely to pick up your book.
- Connect with Social Media Influencers
People ask me all the time: Do I need to start a Facebook? An Instagram? A TikTok? And then they get anxious about the prospect of having to create so much content.
Here’s my advice: Don’t panic. You do not necessarily need social media to promote your book – especially if you aren’t going to post on it regularly and offer your followers valuable content. And if you can’t afford advertising, then you don’t need an author page on Facebook. The algorithm only favors you if you pay to boost your posts.
Instead, connect with social media influencers and see if they’d like to promote your book in exchange for a free book or a fee. Many influencers are trusted – their followers listen to what they say and will buy the products they promote. Find ones in your niche and ask them if they’d like to help you.
- Ask Your Family and Friends for Reviews
Amazon reviews are so critical to your book’s success. Whenever anyone buys a book, ask them if they could write a review and rate it on Amazon. When you give someone a book, include a little postcard inside asking them to review it. And make sure you thank people who took the time to leave you reviews.
- Do an In-Person Signing and Discussion
When your book comes out, schedule an event and promote it to the community. You could partner up with a well-known rav or leader in your community to hopefully entice more people to show up. Hold it in a professional events space or synagogue, provide delicious food, and discuss an interesting topic for your book.
Need help promoting your event? Create a free, beautiful flyer on Canva, and then send it out to WhatsApp groups. You can also advertise it in Jewish papers, like this amazing one.
- Send Out an Email to Your Network
You can create a free, nicely designed email on Mailchimp and send it out to your connections. Include the link to your book on Amazon and your publisher’s website, if you have one. Make it easy for people to purchase and leave you a review.
By starting with these tips, you will be well on your way to making your book a huge success. B’hatzlacha!
