I asked Wendy for some do’s and don’ts on book promotion – here’s a quick list:

DO:

1. Be visible – at conferences, workshops, etc. – either as a speaker and/or an exhibitor.
2. Set up an e-commerce site to sell your book online.
3. Join many professional associations as a vehicle to increase your visibility and generate more book sales.
4. Connect with “specialty” audiences that may be interested in your book (e.g., for my military resume book, I do a look of military job fairs).
5. Write articles – paid or not – to increase visibility of you and the book.
6. Send free copies to various search engines, websites, publications and more in anticipation of getting free press.
7. Send a press release announcing your book (PRWeb.com is a great resource for this).

DON’T:

1. Don’t waste your time doing book signings at bookstores. They rarely yield more than a bare handful of book sales.
2. Don’t rely on the publisher to do all of the book marketing. They’re going to rely on you heavily to get the word out.

Thanks Wendy!