by Whitney Braun

I am no expert, but I can also say that this isn’t my first rodeo.

If I had a “bane of my existence,” it would be marketing. Doesn’t the world know that one of the perks of an author’s job is because there are no other people around when we are writing? But alas, we must trudge on into a world where we are required to draw attention to ourselves.

The definition of “doom scrolling” for me is not swiping through worrisome world news or negative social media posts. For me, it is the endless scroll through Pinterest, looking for book marketing ideas that don’t involve me paying for Facebook ads, boosting my Instagram algorithm, or creating content for daily posts. Do I know that social media is often a necessary and useful tool for authors? Sure, but it doesn’t mean I want to do it.

But guess what? Those blog posts with titles like ‘10 Tips for Tik Tok Authors’ or ‘5 Ways to Boost Your Kindle Title Through Instagram’ feel too big for authors that are just beginning.

There is no reason to skip the small stuff. In fact, even after I have done the Facebook ads and the content planning, my sales when marketing local always exceed online attempts. So I guess my advice is that maybe you really SHOULD sweat the small stuff. By small stuff, I mean start your marketing journey locally when the big picture stuff feels too overwhelming.

Local Bookstores

I live outside of a small town. Our closest Costco is over two hours away. But when we are hoping for a NYT Bestseller, we often overlook the most important area—our home.

Bring your book to local bookstores, ideally not a franchise store, but instead, your Mom & Pop shop. In Fort St John, we have exactly one. I brought my book in and met with the store owner. After a quick flip through the pages, she asked me a few questions about the content, the audience, and the price point. Within 12 minutes, she had asked me to bring more copies in, and she would have them up on the shelves right away! And one of the bonuses of these local stores is that they often post their new stock on their social pages without any investment from you.

Don’t get your hopes up for a big pay day here. This is mostly for local exposure of your book, and if you are lucky enough, the local news site reporter might saunter in, have a peek, and write about it in next week’s release.

Don’t forget about those local gift shops too! Farmhouse style consignment stores are trending, and they love to carry locally made inventory—even books.

Public Library

I can hear you already. Public library!? That’s the opposite of profitable! In dollars, yes. But if we are counting the pairs of eyeballs who see your book on a shelf—invaluable!

I donated copies of my novels and children’s books to our local public library, as well as local school libraries. I understand that this defeats the purpose of sales; however, if you are a series writer, readers are more likely to seek out your books after having read the first installment. See what I’m doing there?

Consider also shoving a few copies onto a ‘Take a Book, Leave a Book’ shelf at your local airport or one of those little libraries hiding in the park. More eyes on it will translate to more sales later. Plus, have you ever felt the joy of returning to the airport, scouring the shelves for your book, and then finding it gone? What a rush!

Book Readings

Book Readings are another way to generate interest and word-of-mouth advertising. This is especially valuable to those children’s book authors out there. Contact local schools, preschools, churches, day cares, and the like to see if they would be interested in having a local author come in to do a reading of their new book.

Now, if you are hoping to read to children in a place like a school or day care, keep in mind to have a recent criminal record check with you, as this is often required.

If you dig around to find my other blog post from a few weeks ago, you’ll read about how school readings took off for me with my latest title, where I ended up reading to hundreds of students! And here’s the kicker, I printed and laminated hundreds of bookmarks to give to each student that featured pictures of my characters and a QR code on the back that would take the parents right to the book on Amazon.

These are just a couple ways to market your book without social media and without financial investment other than a few donated copies. I hope this isn’t just some advice that gets lost in the shuffle of those Pinterest posts, but instead a beacon of hope for us indie authors.

Author Bio:

Whitney Braun lives and farms in Northern BC with her husband, son, and 2 cats. She is an advocate for people with complex needs and promotes inclusion wherever she goes. Her latest children’s book, Larry Finds the Brightside, can be found on Amazon.