As a self-published author, you have to be your own publicist. But you don't necessarily have to do all the marketing yourself. There are ways to encourage others to do your marketing for you.
Marketing, Pass it On
It's more possible than it sounds, and there are no loaded guns or weird ransom notes required. In fact, you still have to do most of the work (which is always going to be the case).
- End of the book: Include a short Author's Note at the end of each of your ebooks. Encourage readers to review the book, buy your other books, follow you on Twitter, or whatever it is you want to promote. Include links, and hail the magic of tablets.
- Local outreach: Whip up some pretty bookmarks, because some people still read paper books, and go find places to deposit them. You're likely to have more luck with independent and small businesses. Indepedent bookstores, grocery stores, gyms, doctor's offices, schools, laundromats, libraries. Pound the pavement. Keep some in your car or purse. If you're out running errands anyway, ask if you can drop some free bookmarks on the counter for others to take. Make each bookmark a coupon with a QR code, redeemable for a copy of your book.
- Social contest: Encourage others to tout you on social media sites using contests. Give them a certain hashtag to tweet, or ask tweets to be directed to you, offering some sort of prize for the winner (a gift card and some free books is usually enough to spark interest). Now you've got people tweeting about you and your books.
Find other ways to make the promotion work easy on yourself. Use third-party marketing to spread the word about your book, and get others to help you carry the message far and wide.
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