BOOK MARKETING
- Daniella DeChristopher
- 5 days ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
Writing the book felt like it took forever — creating a cover, formatting and numbering pages, editing, ordering proofs, and approving the final version. When it was done, I realized I had only completed the easy part. The real challenge was figuring out how to get people to buy it.
A Beginner’s Journey Through Book Promotion
It seemed like it took forever for me to write my book, create a cover, format and number the pages, have the book copyedited, order an Amazon proof, and approve it. When I was finally done, I realized I had just completed the easy part. Now I needed to figure out how I was going to get people to buy my book.
I have been told many times that unless I am famous or infamous, I most likely wouldn’t get an agent to help me promote my book. I knew the odds were against me, so I watched YouTube #bookmarketing videos, told my friends, built a website, and passed out business cards. A few of my other methods are listed below. Along the way I may have picked up a few readers.
To further complicate the issue, it was important to me to find ways to advertise without spending a lot of money. I knew Amazon had a large network of readers and their startup costs were minimal. The downside was that I also knew they promote 48.5 million books. Many were written by famous authors and celebrities. No doubt I was out of my league and felt somewhat discouraged, but I refused to give up without trying.
I needed to figure out how people were going to find my book among the millions of other books Amazon has to offer. As a newbie, I was certain that the only way people were going to find it was if they knew the book title or my pen name. Then they could search for it. Without question, I needed to do a lot more research. I knew there must be a way!
Regardless of the known challenges, I decided to go the Amazon route. I followed the requirements posted on their publishing site and hit the send button. A few days later, my book was approved to go live. On Thanksgiving morning, 2017, I saw my book on the Amazon site for the first time. It was exhilarating. At that moment, I didn’t care about much else. I wanted to take a little time to revel in the fact that I had made it that far. For me, it was truly a day to be thankful!
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Postcards
I had 1,000 two-sided postcards printed. They looked great. The cost to mail them was expensive. Since I had already purchased them, I sent them out. I have no idea if any of the postcards generated a single sale. There is no way to track your sales with this method. This is one I won’t try again.
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Paid Reviews
I paid for a professional book review. It wasn’t cheap. Online Book Club gave my book four out of four stars. I still haven’t figured out how to use it to promote my book or get it to generate sales. However, it made me proud, and I posted it on this site twice.
I got another paid book review. Honestly, I am convinced they never read my book. The information in the review did not correspond with my book in any way. I think they confused it with some other title. Obviously, it was a waste of money. These options are costly. Until I figure out how to use paid reviews effectively, I won’t repeat this one again either.
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Join Facebook Groups That Allow You to Post Your Books Free
Don’t take advantage of these sites. Join in and be a part of their book group. Participate! They are trying to help authors promote their books. Support them when you can. However, they can also be a great free resource.
The list below includes a few groups that are ACTIVE. These groups come and go, but while you’re using them, follow their rules. Be respectful! They are genuinely trying to help authors sell their books.
Here are a few I found on November 24, 2025:
BOOKS
WRITER AND AUTHORSPROMOTIONS
THE NEW WRITERS AND AUTHORS
PROMOTE YOUR BOOK HERE
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Kindle Direct Publishing Campaigns
I decided to try one of them. At the time, there were two categories and four options. The two categories included Product Display Ads and Sponsored Products Ads.
Product Display Ad - Targeted Interests
This was the first one I tried. It generated four sales in three months. It is not my favorite.
Automatic Targeting - Sponsored Products
I tried the Automatic Targeting – Sponsored Products ad using the suggested bids. Within a short period of time, I knew I was on to something. I sat impatiently and watched the campaign. Some of the keywords were profitable, some were too expensive, and some never generated clicks or sales. With this information, I created a new campaign.
Sponsored Product Ad and Creating Your Own Keywords
I set up a Sponsored Product Ad and created my own keywords. I liked this method best. I added the profitable keywords from my previous Automatic Targeting Campaign. With the help of the online Keyword Multiplier Tool, I added variations of the profitable keywords. Over time, I created a nice list of keywords.
Use caution when using Amazon’s suggested keywords and bids. Try their suggested keywords but monitor them carefully. Reduce the suggested bid if you are losing money. Some of them cost me more money than I will ever disclose, out of embarrassment. Shut the keyword down if you see that the adjustments in your bids are not going to make it profitable.
Summary
Amazon charges my credit card each month for the campaign money spent. It’s unlikely I will ever recover what I’ve lost over the course of eight years. Although making money was not my primary goal, I’m hoping that I will someday make a profit. If you want exposure and reviews, Amazon can get that for you. If you are looking to make money, make sure you have realistic expectations.
I enjoy learning new things. Sure, this book has cost me money, but it taught me invaluable lessons that I believe will benefit me in my future writings. Hopefully, my next book will help me recover some of these losses.
I spent years running ads, trying every method I could find. I experimented, tested, and watched carefully to understand what does and doesn’t work. There were many trials, errors, and hard lessons along the way. I plan to use everything I’ve learned now that My Charming Husband is officially on sale.
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