Book Promotion on a Budget

One of the most daunting questions a newly published author has is, "Okay, the book's sold - now how do I promote it?"Well, there are as many different ways for authors to promote their books as there are budgets. That said, but the sake of this article, the focus will stay on the new author whose new budget is minimal at best. By minimal, think non-existent to around $450.00, maybe less. What can you get for that nowadays?

More than you think, especially if you plan carefully, use your creativity to its fullest potential and do a lot of the legwork yourself.Start with basics and freebies. Today, one of the easiest ways to get your name mentioned is through the Internet. So build yourself a web page with one of the many free web host programs out there. While you may have to put up with pop up ads, it's better than nothing. These web sites have web building tools and templates that basically do the work for you. You pick and chose what you want and where you want it, and after hitting the refresh button, what you see is what you get.Solicit book reviews and search the web for book reviewers who focus on the type of book you've written and email them with a request to review your book. All you pay is postage, but don't forget that SASE if you want your book returned.

To keep costs down, mark one or two books as reviewer copies and ask for them back. They won't think less of you for it.Moving on, what's next? What about business cards? Do you need them? Yes! After all, your book is your business. Writing is your business, so you must advertise your talent. There are sites on the net that charge very little to print up business cards, but even so, you must choose one of their templates and color schemes. Try designing your own using Microsoft Word, or if you're fortunate enough, Photo Shop or some other graphics program. Add the pertinent information, save the document, and then go to the local Office Depot and grab a pack of business card forms that can be used with your printer. Or go for the ordered package from your local Depot, Staples or Kinkos... they're relatively inexpensive.