It’s hard to believe, but there are only two weeks left until the embargo on my Amazon-published (KDP) eBook is lifted. I chose May 1st as the release date because it gives me roughly four weeks to finalize my marketing strategy. As a complete newcomer to the task, I thought this would give me enough time to build momentum. I think I tried to convince myself that “momentum” was something that might happen if I gave it enough time. But I also knew that this was unlikely to happen without a huge pinch of luck. Two weeks away from the publication date, I think my realistic expectations have been met. I’ve been pleased with my own efforts and sticking with the course, but I’d be lying if I said the result was not a tad underwhelming. Don’t misjudge me — I’m still very excited, and I do think this book is worthy of being picked up. I just don’t think I’m going to be Scrooge McDucking my way around a pool of coins any time soon.
To be honest, marketing is not my strong suit. I did look into hiring a marketing firm to handle it, but the options I found were either too expensive or I just didn’t trust them not to take my money and do the bare minimum. So, I’m doing my best with Twitter and Facebook. I’m not really into Instagram or TikTok, and while I’ve considered making YouTube videos, I’m a private person and don’t want to be all over the internet. That might seem pretty naïve of me, and if so, I’ll take the criticism. I’ve tried my best, given the tools I have available within myself. I’ve boosted a few social media posts, which have gotten some decent returns, but so far, they haven’t translated into pre-orders or newsletter sign-ups. Apparently, newsletter sign-ups are a big deal in the self-publishing community, but I currently have zero. I’m pushing a little harder to see if I can get some traction. It’s interesting — newsletters to me are like having a website guestbook used to be. I thought they’d died a death, but apparently not.
I’m excited to finally get my book out there! Not least so I can finally talk about it in the present tense. Know what I mean? In the meantime, I’m keeping an eye out for other opportunities to promote it. Hopefully, I’ll have some good news to share soon!