Promoting Your Self Published Children’s Book

Congratulations! You just self-published your children’s book! Now how do you go and get it out in public? Promoting your book takes a lot of time and patience. Success won’t happen overnight, no matter how much you hope for it. Below are some ideas that I have done or plan on doing to help me advertise my children’s books.
1.) Create a website. Show off your book! Create a pdf file of a preview of your book! Most customers will want a preview before they buy, so give them that! Make sure you create a link where they can purchase your book.
2.) Create a blog and connect with other writers.
3.) Create a facebook fan page and a twitter. Suggest your facebook fan page to all your friends. You can also advertise on facebook, but only if you have the funds to do so. Follow people on twitter that has the same interests as you.
4.) Get reviews. Ask other self-published children’s book authors to review your book in exchange of reviewing theirs. Post these reviews on your website/blog.
5.) Business cards! Go to vistaprint.com. You can use their templates or upload your own. Hand out business cards whenever you can. If you have children, take your kids to the park and hand them out to parents.
6.) If your children’s book is a series, offer the first one in the series on eBay. When I did this, I got the most views and bids when I started at .01 and free shipping. You will probably lose money, but your book will be going to someone who has never seen it. Offer them a discount on the rest of your books if they love the first one! Leave your business card in the book too!
7.) Write letters to daycares and libraries describing your book and why it would be beneficial for them to have your book! Offer them a special discount if you can.
8.) Bumper stickers or a car magnet for your car! Design it however you want and make sure to leave your website on it!
9.) Hang up tear off tab fliers on bulletin boards. Many grocery stores have them as well as libraries. Try the pizzeria’s also! You may have to ask before you hang it up. Make sure you check on them at least once a week. (*Tear off a tab. This will make it look like people are curious about your flier. I have done this and it works!*)
10.) 1800banners.com. They offer really cheap affordable advertising! They are a banner exchange program, but you may also buy banner impressions or website clicks. Websites place a code on their website, and whenever someone views their website, they get a banner view on someone else’s. So when you buy the clicks, you are paying for when people click on these banners. So these are real people clicking on your banner because it catches their eye. Try a cheap campaign and see how it works for you.

Now, these are just some ideas. Follow my blog for my children’s book series, Andy the Spider. You will see what I am doing with my self-published book on a weekly basis. There will be more ideas on promoting your book that I have not listed here. Also, if you review my book, I will review yours in exchange. Let’s help each other!