Promoting Your Book When You Have No Time to Promote

Not having enough time to promote is one of the most common complaints I hear from authors. Yes, book promotion takes time, but you won’t sell many books without it. Here’s a trio of tips to make the process easier:

1. Focus your time on the publicity efforts that generate the best results. You’ll soon know whether a mention on a blog or published article results in a surge in book sales. In addition, track your web statistics to see where your traffic is coming from and when. Google Analytics is a good tool for this. Drop the publicity efforts that aren’t paying off in favor of those that are.
2. Create a calendar of book promotion activities. For example, you may want to publish one article a month, create a press release every quarter, update your blog twice a week, and comment on other blogs and discussion boards weekly. Factor time in your schedule for the promotional efforts that are working and it starts to become a habit.
3. Outsource the tasks you don’t have time for. If you can afford it, consider hiring a virtual assistant or intern to handle some of the more routine promotional tasks. If your budget is tight, try the family approach. Skilled teens, retirees, or stay-at-home moms may have the time to help out the author in their family.