5 Ways to Promote Your Cookbook

You have written and published your cookbook, now what do you do to sell it? I have a list of five ways to promote your book for free! Whether you publish with a publishing company or as an independent author, these ideas will work for you.

There are many social media channels to choose from, and as much as we want to be active on all of them, the top three for authors are:

Let's take a brief look at each platform.

If you still need to get on Facebook, now is the time. First, join and send requests to all of your family and friends. Then, send requests to as many authors as you can find (not all at once, or you will get in trouble with Facebook). The author community on Facebook is among the most welcoming and supportive communities!

After you set yourself up, start an author page and group on Facebook and invite all your friends.
Post to your Facebook account, page, and group five to seven times per week.
Be sure to change up your posts to keep viewers entertained.

Create a business account for yourself as an author on Instagram. Then, start following other authors, writers, and bookstagrammers (people who post about books on Instagram). The writing community on Instagram is super supportive and encouraging.

Post reels and still photos to your Instagram account five to seven days a week, and be sure to vary your posts and use appropriate hashtags.

You can get crazy creative on TikTok as an author. You can share videos of your books and include music. You can talk about your books or read from them. You can sing, dance or use templates from within the app to share your work.

I suggest looking at what other successful authors are doing on the app and creating your brand using what you like and do not like on their channels.

You may also enjoy using other channels: Linked In, Twitter, and Pinterest. Take a look at them to decide if you would like to take the time to share to them as well.

There are several free platforms you can choose from to create an author blog. Creating a blog will allow you an outlet to share your books and other subjects relating to authors, books, and writing. My top three blog platform suggestions are:

And in that order. WordPress will provide the most traffic, but it takes a lot of time to navigate. Wix provides a good amount of traffic and is easier to navigate. Blogger is super easy to navigate but provides the least amount of traffic.

(12 Pros and Cons of Self-Publishing Your Cookbook)

3. Go on a Blog Tour

Reach out to book bloggers and ask them if they would be willing to offer you a guest post where you can share about your new book. If you already have your author's blog set up, you can offer them a guest post on your blog in return. It is a win-win.

Appearing as a podcast guest allows you to be heard by other readers and authors who are not in your circle. So, hop over to Anchor, Apple, Spotify (or wherever you like to listen to podcasts) and find podcasts in your genre that you enjoy. Then, reach out, asking if they are interested in interviewing you on an episode.

Many local independent bookstores offer book signings for local authors. Look online or call around your area and ask if you could set up at their shop.

Another idea is to offer to do a reading from your book at local bookstores or coffee shops (always have books available to sign and sell). Craft fairs and farmer's markets are great places to set up and sell your books.

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