Indie authors who are working on their book marketing strategy should know that planning is crucial to your success.

There are numerous components that can greatly help you in your marketing efforts but here are a few that we here at Hybrid Global Publishing recommend you consider incorporating in your own plans.

Author website: we consider having a website in your name critical to your book promotion. Having a space carved out on the internet to detail you, your history, your details, your books, and where else you are on the internet or if you have any events coming up can tie up your web presence and make you look more official. Just make sure your website is well designed! Having a website that looks like it was built in 1999 can hinder you more than it will help you.

Blog: another component we highly recommend. It may be easy to decide against starting your own blog since everyone and their mother has one nowadays and you may think yours will drown under all the rest. But it really does help to introduce people to your unique voice, your perspective, and your expertise. Plus if you blog regularly, you can always include a quick note about your upcoming book or if your book is already up on Amazon and give a direct link! You can also direct readers in your book to check out your blog to get them stuck in your orbit from blog to book to blog to next book (hopefully).

Advanced reader copies: an overlooked component of marketing strategies that indie authors decided against because of the costs involved but the pros well outweigh the cons. If you have the budget to print a few early copies of your book before its actual publication date, you can send them out to review outlets, newspapers, and magazines to have them review your book before it actually comes out. Then, you can grab some buzzy blurbs from those reviews and slap them on the final cover as glowing endorsements to entice potential readers to buy your book! If you are enterprising enough about it, you may find that the benefits are well worth the investment.

Read more about what you should include in your book marketing strategy at IngramSpark’s blog!