Lulu Blog

One of the perks of my job here at Lulu is that I get to spend a lot of time browsing through thousands of published titles available in our marketplace. Believe it or not, with that many books, there are a surprisingly large number, I believe, that show the kind of potential to be the next great undiscovered work within their niche. Unfortunately, many of these great books will most likely remain undiscovered in their author’s lifetime, largely because they lack some of the basic marketing elements necessary to initially capture and hold the interest of a potential reader, convincing them that your book is worth reading.

Now admittedly, seriously marketing your book can be a full time job in itself as many of you can attest, but there are some quick, easy and, in most cases, free things you can do, right now, to get your book out there and dramatically increase its visibility to potential readers. Here are a few tips that will help get you started.

Create a new and unique book cover – Our research has shown that Lulu books with custom covers sell four times as many copies compared to those with the default covers we provide in the publishing wizard. Create a new cover that’s tailored to your book, or let us help you create one that’s sure to get noticed. Learn more about Lulu’s professional cover design services.

Create a book preview – Why should I provide a preview of my work? Your book’s preview serves as a significant marketing tool by allowing potential readers to sample a portion of your work. Learn how to start setting up your book’s preview now.

While you’re at it, get even more viewers and consider creating a preview on Google Book Search.

Get your book distributed worldwide – Publishing your book on Lulu is just the first step. Get your book automatically listed in tens of thousands of retailers online and off, including Amazon.com, Borders, and Barnes & Noble, Inc. Learn more

Write a description- Peak a potential reader’s interest in your book by providing a short description on your book page. Highlight key topics for your reader or simply ensure the contents of your back cover are visible online. From your My Lulu account page, click the “revise” icon to the right of your book’s title, then click the “Edit” button to get started.

Create a Lulu storefront – A Lulu storefront is a free, easy-to-use webpage highlighting both you and your work. Send potential readers a direct link to everything you’ve published on Lulu by setting up a storefront today. Learn more

Add “Keywords” to your book: Keywords enhance the way potential readers find your book when searching a relevant topic. By adding key words or short phrases to your keyword list, you can dramatically increase the likelihood that potential readers will find your book. The key (no pun intended) when setting keywords is to think about what words a potential reader would use to search for books on your subject and try to use these in your list of keywords.

You can add keywords the same way you can write a description: from your My Lulu account page, click the “revise” icon to the right of your book’s title, then click the “Edit” button.

Earn revenue on each book sold – Now that you’ve enhanced the marketing potential of your book, don’t forget to set your creator revenue. Select the amount you earn on each sale and start earning today.

Looking for more help? Regardless of what you take away from these tips, the key is about increasing the likelihood that a potential reader will successfully find your title, then improving the quality of those first critical moments of exposure, convincing them to open to the first page. Marketing your book does take work, but you don’t need a dream team from a major publisher to get noticed either. Make an effort to improve your book’s presence when you have some extra time. If you discover that you need a little help, Lulu offers a wide range of cost effective author services, ranging from editing and formatting, to graphic design and marketing.

Is this in itself a shameless attempt at marketing our service? You got me! But seriously, we want to help you be a more successful published author and if you need our help, we’re here for you. View Lulu’s full range of author services

Have any other free marketing tips to share? Post a comment and share your tips with authors here.

-Adam