Word-of-mouth advertising can be one of the best forms of book marketing. But what if nobody’s talking about your book? They might not know about it or don’t have a reason to tell others about it. Then, you have to get the word out, and you can do it elegantly.
If you’re conscious of shameless promotion, you can promote your book without directly talking about it. Join popular forums and provide value to other members. If they deem your input valuable, they’ll brand you an expert.
So, which forums are best for advertising your book? And how do you do it without people feeling you’re shoving your product down their throat?
Quora
One of the best forums to exhibit your expertise is on Quora. Anybody can join and post questions about something they need more information about. That’s your opportunity to chime in and add value to members.
Members upvote the best answers, so your answer/solution has the potential to be seen by thousands, maybe millions of people. Regardless if you have a self-help book or a mystery novel, you can find questions you can answer.
Search for questions about the topic of your book. You can even answer questions about writing books, publishing them or promoting them. You should have some degree of knowledge about all those aspects if you’ve written a book.
Now that you’ve added value to others, how do you promote your book?
On your Quora account, you can add personal details that appear next to your name on each post. Your profile can be: John Doe, Author of Book X. Chances are high that people who like your answers will find out more about you by searching for your book.
Also, Quora allows you to add a short bio. Many members who appreciate your feedback will click on your name to read your bio. Include a website in your bio where people can buy your books.
Reddit is probably the biggest forum in the world. Members discuss just about any topic. You can join groups, known as subreddits, and comment on topics related to your field. Reddit allows you to create threads (topics) or post comments on other people’s threads.
The aspect of Reddit I use the most is posting my short stories. Members reading my stories receive a sample of my writing, and some subreddits allow links. I post links to my book at the end of the story.
Moreover, my link is to my free book. Not only do members get a free story on the forum, but they also receive my free book. What do I get? Their email address, which I use to advertise my novels.
Members upvote the best threads. So if your thread receives the most upvotes, it bumps up to the top of the group and gets seen by many members. Some subreddits have millions of members. Reddit allows you to include a bio, so ensure you’ve included links to your books.
Medium
Contributions to Quora and Reddit are free, for the most part. But you can make money by posting on Medium. It’s difficult to earn a wage from Medium, but it’s a great platform to post any content.
Medium enables you to post articles, short stories, and videos. The best part about Medium is that you can include links at the end of your content.
If your post is popular, Medium editors can pick it up and feature it in their newsletter, which millions of readers receive. Members also ‘applaud’ your post, which is the platform’s way of enabling readers to appreciate your work.
You can also add links to your book in your bio, which is displayed with every post.
Discord
Discord is similar to Reddit. You join groups of your niche and post comments. Some groups have various categories. One of the groups I joined has a shameless promotions category, allowing authors to post links to their books and covers.
More than 300 million users are registered on Discord. It’s a great place to find like-minded people. You can discuss various topics and uploaded memes and pictures. It’s an informal forum that doesn’t make you feel you have to add value to others so they regard you as an expert.
Discord enables users to add links to their bio, and you can add a link to a post if your comment is related to your book. Some groups don’t allow links, but you’re bound to attract the attention of others if you’re fun, knowledgeable and add value to others.
Coil
Similar to Medium, Coil provides a platform for content creators to share their works. You can earn money for your posts. Payment is in XRP cryptocurrency and determined by the number of hours readers spend on your posts.
If you don’t make money from Coil, it’s still valuable for promoting your work. Coil enables you to share short stories and articles. Post content related to your field, and include a link at the end of your post.
This platform is especially for content creators in the cryptocurrency and gaming industries, but almost all content is welcome. Coil is a few years old and growing, so getting into a platform and expanding your brand before it becomes saturated is a key strategy for any author who wants to promote their books.
Final Thoughts
Forums provide a great platform for you to provide value to others and indirectly promote your books. If you provide answers/solutions to people, they’ll want more of your knowledge. That’s one of the reasons you don’t have to feel embarrassed about adding links to your threads and comments.
Add value to others before promoting your books so that your promotion isn’t spam. Forums enable you to reach millions of like-minded people around the world. It’s the best kind of networking and word-of-mouth advertising from the comfort of your home.
