I’m looking into self-publishing. Assuming I go this route, how do I make as many people aware of the self-published book as possible? (I’m not seeking large profits, I’m just asking about spreading awareness.) Thanks!
Advertise. - Post it up on Facebook, Twitter, whatever your social media poison of choice is. Don't just limit it to your timeline, though - find the groups who are likely to be interested in this kind of thing and post it at them. On Facebook this will mean finding groups for writers and readers of your kind of fiction - based on the other thread of yours I saw, that probably means searching for things like 'Christian Readers', 'Christian Writers', and anything with 'anti-woke' in the title. Join the group, be an active member, talk about your stuff whenever it's natural in the conversation. On Twitter this means engaging with other authors/influencers in your space and trying to get yourself retweeted - that doesn't mean asking for a retweet, that means popping up often enough and being interesting enough that they start seeing you as a human being. - Record yourself reading some of your work. Put it on YouTube, use it as content on social media. - Run paid ads. Facebook's where I'd start with this because I'm most familiar with their system and know they have a wide range of interest-focused targeting options, but there's a load of platforms out there. - For all of these things, make sure you're sending people somewhere that emans you won't have to advertise to them again. Set up a landing page and build an e-mail list. Mail these people a newsletter every couple of weeks or so. Talk about what you're writing, stick a link to your book in the bottom of every message. Make the message about your book when you've got news about it - publication, new edition, e-book's coming out, special offer. - Offline, go local. Get a few copies printed and talk to your local bookshops, see if they'll stock you. I imagine most won't but some might. See what places will let you put up flyers, use that as your compromise option for the bookstores who won't carry you.
Are you a member of Christian Indie Authors on Facebook? There's two groups by that name, in fact (I belong to the one with the coffee cup). They have some good ideas on marketing. Another source of advice is Kristine Kathryn Rusch's weekly Business Musings blog, Kriswrites.com. She and her husband Dean Wesley Smith are powerhouses in the independent publishing realm. One thing I've heard, and I believe it, is that the best advertisement is to have as much out there available as you can. I'd take this advice myself, only I'm lazy and let myself get distracted.
