How to Run a Successful Free Online Book Promotion to Reignite Book Sales

Have your book sales dipped since the launch a few months ago, or maybe even a year ago? A free book promo can be an affordable and simple way to reignite book sales.

But first, is a free book promotion worth it?

The answer depends on you and your books. Still, if the following applies to you, I would definitely consider adding this marketing tactic to your strategy for 2022.

You have a recently finished book series, or you have more books in the series coming out soon, and
You haven’t promoted that book recently or at all.

If the following applies to you, it’s time to start planning a book promo.

Here’s what will be discussed in this blog post:

– Why should I do a free book promo? (And why not a $0.99 sale)

– When should I do a free book promo?

– What should I do on social media during my book promotion?

It increases your visibility and brand awareness, getting in front of your target audience.
It lowers the barrier for new people to try your books.
It gets people more excited for your book series.
It improves your book’s rating on Amazon.

Why not a $0.99, $1.99, etc. sale?

When trying to reach new readers, it’s better to offer your book for free because most likely, they haven’t heard about you or your books. If your book is free, it reduces that hesitancy to read it because if it’s already free, they don’t have anything to lose.

Offering a free book lowers the barrier for readers because they don’t need to take out their credit cards to buy it. You make it easy for people to try out your book. However, if your book is $0.99 or $1.99, that adds another step that readers need to take to read your book.

If you do a $0.99 sale, I am sure your book will get more sales than normal. However, without a doubt, it will be considerably less than a free book promotion.

Really, whenever. However, the best time to do a free book promo might be right before releasing the second book in your series. So, in this case, you would promote the first book for free.

There’s an abundance of book promotion sites out there, but some are better than others.

Book promotion sites are fantastic because they have access to your target audience: Readers of the genre you write in. Rather than making sure your Facebook ads or social media posts are reaching the right people, these promotion sites take care of that and show your book to your ideal readers. And they will cost you a little money, but it’s worth it and is relatively cost-effective if done correctly.

These sites post your book on their site and share it in their email newsletters.

Here are 5 book promotion sites to try.

Freebooksy

For permafree or KDP ebooks
Click here to view the various costs for promoting your book (organized via genre and varies between $30-$100)
A Book Promotion includes:
- A homepage feature
- Inclusion in their daily email
- A Facebook post
Social media following of 300K

The Fussy Librarian

For Kindle and Nook ebooks
Click here to view the various costs for promoting your book (organized via genre and varies between $10-$80)
A Book Promotion includes:
- Posting on their website
- Inclusion in newsletter
Following of 565,000 readers

My Book Cave

For ebooks on almost any platform
Click here to view the various costs for promoting your book (organized via genre and various between $20-$50)
2 ways authors can utilize Book Cave to find readers:
- Promoting your books on retailers
- Gain newsletter subscribers
Reach up to 288,000 readers

EReader News Today

For ebooks available on Amazon and Nook, Google Play, etc.
Click here to view the various costs for promoting your book (organized via genre and various between $40-$50)
Mailing list following of 200,000 and social media following of 475,000

Robin Reads

For ebooks on Amazon and Nook
Click here to view the various costs for promoting your book (organized via genre and various between $45-$85)
Best for mystery, romance, and thriller authors
A Book Promotion includes:
- Posting on their website
- Inclusion in their newsletter
Mailing list size of 194,000

Photo by RODNAE Productions on Pexels.com

While you don’t need to go crazy on your social media during a book promotion, it is helpful to advertise on your own platforms.

If you have no idea what content to create to promote your book or what kind of strategy to follow, here is a simple yet effective strategy for you.

Post every day that week
- Create 3 Reels/TikToks promoting your book using trending sounds
- Create one video post promoting your book
- Create 2 other posts/reels not related to your book but related to reading to build brand awareness and loyalty
Post to Stories once every day about your book
Engage in your feed for 15 minutes every day
Follow and engage with accounts that post under hashtags related to your book and its genre (ex. #mysteryreaders, #romancereadersarethebest, etc.)
Send an email newsletter sharing your book promotion if you have an email list

Want free social media templates designed for book promotions? Download my FREE social media templates for authors HERE.

My templates help you save time and energy so you can actually post every single day during your book promo without feeling overwhelmed.

Here’s what you’ll get when you download my freebie:

1 book promo reel/TikTok template
1 book promo video post template
1 book promo Instagram or TikTok Story template

How to use the templates:

Follow this link
Enter your email
Open the email with the templates
Sign into a free Canva account
Replace the background image
Replace the fonts and colours with your branding
Add your book cover
Insert your applicable quotes, reviews, etc.
Download your content
Post them to social media!

Here’s a sneak peek of one of the templates!

Do you feel ready to run a free book promotion now? You know why you should do a free book promo, as well as when to run it and where to promote your book.

It’s time to reignite your book sales and grow your brand awareness!

For more author marketing tips, make sure to follow my Instagram and TikTok accounts, which are all linked down below.

Do you struggle to find the time to create content for your social media, engage with your readers, promote your books, or even a proofreader? I’ve got you covered! Click the link to browse my services below.

BOOK MARKETING

SOCIAL MEDIA

PROOFREADING

Check out my recent blog post: My Social Media Marketing Strategies for 2022: What I’m Adding, Abandoning, and Improving