You finished the book. You’re holding it in your hands, and the cover looks incredible. The words inside will change someone’s life. Then someone says, “So, what’s your marketing plan?” and your stomach drops.
Sound familiar?
Most authors would rather write a whole other book than figure out how to promote the one they just finished. I get it. I’ve been there. But here’s what I want you to know: the best book marketing ideas don’t require you to become someone you’re not. They just ask you to share what you’ve already created with people who are looking for it.
This post gives you 40+ practical ways to do that, organized by category so you can jump to whatever fits your style, your budget, and your comfort level. Whether this is your first book or your fifth, there’s something here for you. But before we get into the tactics, we need to talk about the thing that stops most authors from doing any of them.
Why Book Marketing Feels So Hard
I started learning how to market books back in 2012, after I self-published my first memoir. I went to school to become a physical therapist, not a marketing professional, so the whole thing felt foreign and honestly kind of terrible. But what I really had to learn wasn’t some fancy strategy. It was how to get over the fear.
Most of us grew up learning not to brag. Somewhere along the way, talking about your own work became equivalent to bragging, and bragging was bad. So sharing your book feels like putting yourself out there to be judged. And every time you share, you risk someone not being interested, or worse, thinking something negative about you.
Are you laughing about this yet? I hope so.
It’s not bragging if it’s true. And other people’s opinions are none of your business.
For me, everything changed when I stopped thinking about book marketing as selling and started thinking about it as sharing. When you wrote your book, you put something into the world that could help someone, heal someone, or shift how they see their own life. Not sharing it? That’s actually withholding help from someone who needs your message. Think about that for a second.
What you feel, they feel. Everything is energy. When you share from excitement, generosity, and genuine belief in your message, people will respond to that. When you share from obligation or dread, they’ll feel that too. So the first step in any book marketing plan is getting right with why you’re doing it. You’re not selling. You’re serving.
As my friend Donnie Boivin says, “Sales is just a conversation with an outcome. Relax. Take a breath. Be yourself.”
Right.
Now let’s get into it.
Start With Your Author Platform
Every book marketing strategy works better when it sits on a solid foundation. Your author platform is that foundation: your website, your email list, and the places people go to find you and stay connected.
Your Author Website
Your website is where someone lands when they search for your name. At minimum, you need a bio, a page for your book with links to where people can buy it, and a way for visitors to join your email list.
If you’re a healer or wellness practitioner, here’s something most people miss: your book page and your services page should talk to each other. The book supports your practice, and your practice supports your book. A reader who finds you on Amazon and visits your site should be able to see what else you offer in about two clicks.
Amazon Author Central Page
If your book is on Amazon, set up an Amazon Author Central page too. It’s free, and it lets you add your photo, bio, and blog feed directly to your Amazon book listings.
Your Email List
This is the single most valuable marketing asset you will ever build. I can’t say that loudly enough.
Social media algorithms change. Platforms rise and fall. But your email list? That’s yours. Email marketing returns an average of $36 for every $1 spent, which is higher than any other marketing channel. Higher than paid ads, higher than social media. All of it.
If you can, start building your list before your book launches, but don’t expect people to just hand over their email addresses. It has a value, so give them something of value in return: a free chapter, a worksheet, a guided meditation, a resource list related to your book’s topic. Even a small, engaged list of 200 people who genuinely care about your work will outperform 5,000 social media followers when it comes time to launch.
If you’re still early in the process and figuring out how to get your book published, know that building your platform now makes everything easier later.
Reviews and Social Proof
Reviews are the quiet engine behind almost every other tactic on this list. A reader who finds your book through a social media post, a podcast mention, or an Amazon ad will almost always check the reviews before they buy. If there are none? Or only a handful? Many potential readers will move on, no matter how good your marketing is.
Start collecting reviews for your book early. Your existing clients are a great first audience, and many of them will be happy to leave a review when you ask directly. Also, send copies of your book to friends, family, and colleagues who you know will read it, and ask them for an honest review.
In marketing, this kind of visible proof that other people have read and valued your work is called social proof, and it’s one of the strongest trust signals a potential reader can see. That baseline makes every dollar and every hour you spend on marketing work harder.
Social Media Book Marketing Ideas
Social media can feel like a massive time suck. I know. The trick isn’t to be everywhere. Be intentional about where you show up, and show up where your readers are already spending their time.
Instagram and BookTok (TikTok)
Create short, engaging videos that put your message in front of people who wouldn’t have found you otherwise. You can do this on both TikTok and Instagram. TikTok even has a #BookTok hashtag that’s perfect for this, and so widely used that it has surpassed 370 billion views (that’s billion with a B).
You don’t need a professional setup for any of this. A phone, decent lighting, and something genuine to say about your topic go a long way. Share a quote or passage from your book as a graphic. Film a 30-second tip from your area of expertise. Show the unboxing when your printed copies arrive from your publisher (that’s a fun one). Collaborate with bookstagrammers (Instagram accounts dedicated to reviewing and recommending books) or micro-influencers in your niche who have small but engaged followings.
Facebook Groups
Facebook groups are another place for a wellness author to “hang out” where your ideal readers “hang out”. Look for groups for holistic healers, health coaches, and other practitioners. Just show up, provide value, and answer a few questions. As long as you’re helping others share their knowledge, your book will naturally come up. Don’t just show up to groups immediately to push your book. Don’t be that person.
You can also host or co-host a Facebook Live around your book’s topic, create your own group if you have the momentum, or partner with someone who already runs a group that aligns with your message.
LinkedIn is wildly underused by authors, but it’s powerful for nonfiction and business books. If your book supports your consulting, coaching, or speaking practice, this is where your ideal readers are already networking. Share relevant excerpts from your book, write articles that share your expertise, and remember, your book is an extension of the content you are already creating on this site.
Content Marketing for Authors
Content marketing is the long game. The work you put in today keeps attracting readers months and years from now. And if you’re someone who loves writing (which, you’re an author, so I’m guessing the answer is yes), this part might actually feel fun.
Podcast Guesting
If I had to pick one underused tactic for nonfiction and wellness authors, it would be this one. You don’t need your own podcast to reach an audience, position yourself as an expert, and create content that continues to attract new listeners for months and even years after the podcast goes live.
When you pitch, lead with what you can offer their listeners, not with “I have a book.” Keep the pitch short and specific. And for wellness authors: there are hundreds of health, personal development, and holistic living podcasts actively looking for guests. If you need a starting point, we put together a list of 50 holistic health and wellness podcasts worth knowing about.
Blogging and Guest Articles
Write blog posts related to your book’s topic on your own website. Each post is an opportunity to show up in search results for terms your readers are already looking for, and it builds your authority over time. A single chapter can easily become three or four standalone blog posts with some reworking. You’ve already done the hard part. Now repurpose it.
Pitch guest articles to publications your audience reads. For wellness practitioners, that could be wellness blogs, coaching publications, or practitioner communities that accept contributed content.
Paid Advertising
Everything above costs more time than money. But once you’ve got your foundation in place (website, email list, reviews, social presence), paid advertising can speed things up by putting your book directly in front of the people most likely to want it. You don’t need a huge budget.
Amazon Ads for Authors
Use Amazon’s Sponsored Products ads to create ads that will show up on Amazon search results and product pages. Start small, with a budget of $5-10 per day, targeting search terms related to your book’s topic and the names of comparable titles or authors in your space. Watch the data, kill what isn’t working, and scale what is. These ads work best when your book already has some reviews and a strong description.
Facebook and Instagram Ads
Facebook and Instagram let you target people based on what they read, who they follow, and what topics they care about. That makes it easier to get your book in front of people who will actually be interested. A modest campaign of $100-200 targeting fans of comparable authors or topics can generate meaningful clicks to your book’s sales page. If you’ve been posting on social media and certain posts have gotten more engagement than others, those are good indicators of what kind of messaging to use in your ads.
BookBub and Promotional Services
BookBub is one of the largest book discovery platforms out there. Millions of subscribers have signed up to receive daily deals on books in genres they love. A BookBub Featured Deal (where your book gets promoted to their subscriber list at a discounted price) is competitive to land because they only accept a small percentage of submissions, but when you get one, the impact is significant. BookBub also offers self-serve ads with a lower barrier to entry, which let you promote your book to readers based on genre and comparable authors.
There are other book promotion services like BookBub worth exploring, too. Many operate on a similar model: they email their subscriber list about discounted or free books in specific categories. Quality and reach vary a lot, so do your research before you spend.
In-Person and Local Book Promotion Ideas
Some of the most effective (and honestly most fun) book marketing happens face-to-face. And for those of us who love connection, this is where it gets really good.
Get in touch with management at local bookstores and cafes to set up a meet-and-greet or signing table. If you’re a wellness practitioner, do it where your ideal readers already gather: yoga studios, wellness fairs, holistic health expos. Speak at local networking events and bring copies to sell or give as door prizes. Donate a copy to your library and offer to do a reading or Q&A. Look for opportunities to speak at local events where you can share your book.
Leave a copy in your doctor’s waiting room, your chiropractor’s office, or your acupuncturist’s lobby. Bring books when you travel and give them to people who gave you exceptional service. Get on local radio, local news, or your town’s community podcast. Put a flyer on the bulletin board at your local co-op or health food store.
These ideas cost almost nothing, and they create the kind of real, personal connections that no algorithm can replicate.
Collaborative Marketing
This is where working with other authors becomes a multiplier, and it’s one of the reasons we built Brave Healer Productions around a collaborative publishing model.
With a collaborative book, instead of one author carrying the full weight of writing, marketing, and promoting a book alone, a group of authors each contributes a chapter to a themed book. Each contributor brings their own audience, their own network, and their own energy to the launch. When ten authors are all sharing the same book with their communities at the same time, the combined reach is so much greater than anything any single author could generate solo.
The marketing advantages go way beyond launch week. Contributors form real relationships during the writing process. Those relationships can turn into ongoing cross-promotion opportunities, referral partnerships, podcast guest swaps, and joint events that keep working long after the book is published.
For many of our collaborative authors, this is especially powerful because your co-authors often serve the same kind of clients you do. One collaborative book can connect you with a network of colleagues who become your built-in promotional community for years. That’s not something you can manufacture after the fact. It’s built into the process.
At Brave Healer Productions, we’ve published over 100 Amazon bestselling titles using this model. If that approach resonates with you, explore our publishing programs to see how it works.
Even if you’re not part of a collaborative book, the principle still applies. Cross-promote with authors in your space through newsletter swaps (you recommend their book to your email list, and they recommend yours to theirs), social media shoutouts, and joint giveaways. Co-host virtual events or webinars with fellow authors who write for a similar audience. Swap copies and reviews. If you’re a practitioner, collaborate with colleagues to recommend each other’s books to clients and feature each other in newsletters.
You’re not doing it alone. You’re part of a circle. The authors who build community around their marketing consistently outperform the ones who try to go solo.
Creative Book Promotion Ideas
These are the scrappy, surprising ideas that make book marketing feel less like a chore and more like an adventure. What if this could actually be fun?
Create a short book trailer. It doesn’t need to be fancy. A phone, some music, and a few excerpts from your book can make a video that works on social media and your website. Run a giveaway on Instagram or through your email list. Share a free chapter in your newsletter to let people taste your writing before they buy.
Make a “Top 10 Books on [Your Topic]” list and include yours alongside titles your audience already knows. Turn your book’s content into shareable quote graphics, one per chapter, posted once a week for weeks of free content. Tell your Uber driver, your barista, and your hairstylist about your book. Yes, really. You’d be surprised how many sales come from conversations you weren’t planning to have.
Book Marketing Ideas for New Authors
If this is your first book and the sheer number of marketing options makes your head spin, take a breath. Seriously. Take a big one right now.
You do not need to do everything on this list. Pick three to five tactics that feel natural and start there. Build your email list. Set up a basic author website. Choose one or two social media platforms and show up consistently.
Remember what I said earlier about reviews? Prioritize getting those first 20 before you spend any money on ads or promotions. That social proof is what can turn a curious browser into a buyer, and without it, even the best ad campaign will probably underperform.
A book launch is a moment. Book marketing is ongoing. Your book will keep finding readers for months and years if you keep sharing it. Give yourself grace with the timeline instead of expecting everything to happen in the first week.
Your existing clients and professional network are your warmest audience. Start there. These are people who already trust you, and they’ll be your most enthusiastic early supporters.
If you’re also navigating the financial side of getting your book out there, our guide to how much it costs to publish a book can help you plan your investment wisely.
Share Your Message With the People Who Need It
Book marketing doesn’t have to feel like a grind. Every time you share your book, you’re offering someone a chance to experience something that could shift their perspective, their health, or their life.
You don’t need to do everything on this list tomorrow. Pick what lights you up. Start there. Build. The authors who succeed at marketing aren’t the ones with the biggest budgets or the most followers. They’re the ones who keep showing up and sharing with generosity and joy.
If you’re looking for a community of authors and healers who get it, come join us. The Brave Badass Healers community offers free networking, masterclasses, and a space full of people who are using their words to change the world.
And if you’re ready to publish your book with a team that walks the journey alongside you, explore our publishing programs and see if it’s a fit.
Big love,
Laura
