Every author needs Chutzpah. Isn’t Chutzpah a lovely word? It’s Yiddish, and it means audacity (for good or bad). Cheek. Insolence, even.
Today, of course, is a day for women the world over to get their Chutzpah on – it’s International Women’s Day. It is the day we women stand up and back ourselves.
Writing a book is all about backing yourself; it is the ultimate moment of Chutzpah. But writing and publishing a book is not enough to unleash your Chutzpah on the world. You must back yourself even more by promoting your book.
Book promotion tip one: Find your Chutzpah
Finding your Chutzpah is like prospecting for gold; the more you look, the more you find. The following tips on how to promote your book without a budget will work, but not until you find the Chutzpah to stand up and be counted as an author.
Book promotion tip two: Word of mouth is king
All your marketing and promotion effort must focus on building word of mouth recommendation. A recent report by the Australia Council showed that we are twice as likely to read a book recommended to us compared to finding out about it on social media. Who knew?
Book promotion tip three: Book clubs
Book clubs are everywhere. Contact some with members who match the demographic of your readers and offer to do an author’s talk. They’ll love you. Provide the attendees with a two-for-one offer.
Book promotion tip four: Two-for-One offers
Carolyn Tate, the author of The Purpose Project, provided everyone who came to her book launch with two copies of her book – one for them, and one for them to pass on to a decision maker or influencer of their choice. She asked her fans to be judicious and choose wisely. They did so. Her book ended up with many of the global company leaders she most wanted to connect with.
Book promotion tip five: Meet me, get a free copy of my book
There is nothing like meeting people one on one, even virtually, do you agree? This is when deals get done. Whenever I meet people, I give them a copy of my book. It’s a lovely moment. It’s a mark of my respect for their time, an opportunity for me to share my ideas and expertise and, of course, it demonstrates my self-belief and confidence.
Book promotion tip six: Give away a chapter electronically
Of course. A free chapter is a teaser, and an invitation to move towards connection. We are all a little cautious these days about giving away our email addresses – spam is out of control. But the offer of a free chapter is a respectful, warm and intelligent exchange.
Book promotion tip seven: Sell your book on your website
Arghhh. This is embarrassing. This tip is ‘don’t be like me; sell your book on your website’.
Book promotion tip eight: Sell your book via Kindle Direct Publishing on Amazon
Kindle Direct is a free service. To sell physical copies of your book on Amazon you will have to pay a monthly subscription fee and a selling fee. While this might be a fantastic strategy, it doesn’t fall into the purview of this article.
Book promotion tip nine: Talk about it
Like I said, word of mouth is the most powerful way to build sales. Make sure you are leading the charge. Talk at co-working spaces, Rotary and Probus clubs, libraries, bookshops, conferences. Make a list, and start talking.
Happy International Women’s Day
Gals, this one is specially written for you. I don’t blame women for keeping their heads below the parapet. Most of us have personal experiences that tell us standing out from the crowd is a risk. We attract criticism, and usually more than men. We need a special dose of Chutzpah to go forth and back ourselves. So, let’s do it for our girls – our daughters and nieces and girls the world over who need us to lead the way.
PS: Want more? You may like: Is wibble-wobble a desirable quality in your book design?