The final segment of our wonderful trilogy, after creating your children's book and publishing it, is to get it out in the world. A well thought out marketing plan is the key to your book's success, especially when you are self-publishing. Your book will be as successful as you want it to be. The more you do to promote your work the greater chance you have of getting it to go viral. While there are endless ways to get your children's book to the public, we're going to focus on a few free methods of promotion that are consistently worth your time and effort.
Stick to the basics
You may be in love with your children's book, but that doesn't mean that other potential buyers will show that same love and devotion. With that in mind, it's important to connect with every reader that you can without taking money out of your own pocket. Let's first start with the big one, social media. Never before has there been an era of writing where authors have the opportunity to connect with so many people on a regular basis. The ability to bring together the benefits of any or all the social media platforms is an enormous step to getting your children's book out to the public. Don't be afraid to take advantage of every platform that you can. Be consistent in your posts as many search engine algorithms require a solid trend in order to optimize your information's potential.
Join organizations and clubs both online and in the real world. Libraries, park districts and book stores are a gold mine for local authors. There is usually a "Local Author" section in all these locations. Take the time to meet and get to know the local reading clubs and ask if you can take some time for them to get to know your work and yourself.
This is a great way to get others to share your work in an entirely different network.
Know your audience
There is really nothing like seeing those first few books sell. When the dust settles though and you've exhausted your family and friends from the potential customer list, you need to do a little market research to sell that next batch of books.
Remember what your product is and what demographic(s) you should be focusing your efforts on -- it's not just families and children who may be interested in your book. If your book talks about coffee, think about hitting up that local coffee shop. If it talks about an animal, consider working with a local zoo or veterinary clinic. The idea is to remember that your book has multiple outlets if you are willing to take the time to go into those markets.
Congratulations on creating, publishing and marketing your first children’s book. Remember that this is a basic guide and you should thoroughly check all avenues, at every stage in the process, to make sure you are satisfied with the outcome.
