Update: In addition to the sites noted below, I have also added links to various lists of book promotion sites that others have put together.
For most indies, book marketing and promotion is an essential part of our business plan – almost as important than the writing itself. Bearing that in mind, I thought it was important to have a list of sites that could be used for marketing/promotion purposes.
There are probably hundreds – maybe even thousands – of book promotion sites out there. Thus, rather than try to rate them all, I decided to merely list them in alphabetical order. I am, however, breaking the list two into two segments: places where you can promote your book for free (meaning you don’t have to pay anything) and those where payment is required. And without further ado, here is the list:
Update: Hmmm… In looking around online, I couldn’t help but notice that a lot of people have already done a fantastic job of assembling info about various book marketing and book promotion sites. Thus – much as with my page on Kindle/Amazon Sales Rank – it seems to make more sense to document their efforts rather than reinvent the wheel. So, without further ado:
- Interactive List of 100+ Book Promotion Sites – this A-to-Z list of book promotion sites from Readers in the Know has quickly become one of my faves in terms of finding places to promote books. Not only does it provide a chart listing promotional sites in alphabetical order, but it also gives lots of other useful at-a-glance info, such as whether each site requires that your book have reviews, how much they charge, whether they have an email blast, etc. (Personally, I prefer the sites with email subscriber lists.) About the only thing this chart lacks is the reach of each site (eg, how many subscribers they have).
- Top Book Promotion Sites for Paid Books – The good folks at TCK Publishing have put together this list, which shows the top book promotion sites in order based on their Alexa ranking. At the top of the heap – to no one’s surprise, I’m sure – is BookBub. Some may argue about where a few of the others are ranked, but clocking in at #5 is Obooko, which seems an odd choice for this list since their focus seems to be on the distribution of free ebooks. (Oh well, if you have a permafree book, Obooko would seem to be a site to target.) Also, there’s a note stating that the Alexa rankings were updated in March 2016, indicating that the information provided is fairly current.
- 90 Sites to Advertise Your Book – Author James Calbraith has put together a chart somewhat similar but less detailed than the Interactive List above from Readers in the Know. Also, the info might be a little dated, as the chart appears to have been created in January 2013. Still, there’s good info here.
- 79 Free Book Promotion Sites – This list from Kindlepreneur essentially groups like sites together (eg, paid promotion sites) and includes commentary about each.
- Comprehensive List of Book Advertising Websites – This list has a much more free-wheeling name on the website of its creator, Ana Spoke, a comedy novelist. The great thing about it is that Ms. Spoke not only lists the various sites but also provides real-world data by citing her personal experiences in using many of them. In short, she’s already been the guinea pig for a lot of these venues, and she’s not shy about expressing her disappointment in promotions that don’t work well and demanding an explanation for poor performance. (I loves me a woman with moxie.)
- Comparison of Book Promotion Sites – In the interest of full disclosure, it should be noted that this is my list and ranking (to a certain extent) of various book promoters, which is posted elsewhere on this blog.
Of course, as I find more lists I will add them here. Eventually – especially if enough people document their real-world experiences – there may be enough info for authors to get an idea of which sites work work and which don’t (or at least which are worth the price they’re charging).