Marketing Strategies For Shy Writers

Marketing can be a really tricky part of the book writing and publishing processes for many authors. Those that cringe at the idea of promoting their own work really struggle to do so. Yet without marketing your book, it’s incredibly difficult to find any real success.

So if you are shy about shouting about your own work, what can you do?

There are lots of challenges associated with self-promotion. We all know that it’s crucial, yet it feels daunting and overwhelming and we feel embarrassed about having to ask people to read our work. We’ll put all our energy into creating and perfecting our writing, yet we are too shy to actually dare and suggest that anyone dare so much as throw it a cursory glance. 

If we want to be seen over the masses of competition, we are expected to be loud and shameless in our self-promotion, but this simply doesn’t suit many writer’s personalities. They just want to write, they don’t want to do book signings or learn social media or be ‘talk show ready’. 

So how can we make self-promotion easier?

Goal setting

Anything that feels daunting should be broken down into smaller, more manageable goals that you can take step by step. The more you practice being confident and promoting yourself, the less scary it will seem so just set yourself small goals to start with such as gaining 10 more followers on social media or getting a certain number of likes or shares for your social media post. You could aim to submit your book to review sites, or be brave and share that rave review of your book via your Facebook author page. Doing small tasks frequently to promote our work will build our confidence and prove that nothing awful is going to happen if we sell ourselves a little. 

Figure out what works for you

There is no point in making yourself miserable by doing things you hate, but at the same time, you do need to push yourself, experiment, and be willing to step outside your comfort zone a little. You can also use analytical tools to try and better understand where your strengths lie. You might be hopeless at Twitter and feel embarrassed and self-conscious every time you try to create a witty Tweet that doesn’t get any reaction. However, you might notice that your Facebook post with a link to that great article you wrote was shared by three people, and it made you feel good – so do more of that and don’t sweat the stuff that, well brings you out in a cold sweat!

Stick to tried and tested methods

There is lots of fantastic information and tips available to writers about how to self-promote. You don’t have to try and reinvent the wheel. Instead, do your research and look to those who are clearly successful at self-promotion and then learn from the best. If others are doing it, you can too!

Practice self-confidence

There is a massive difference between confidence and arrogance and it is important for writers to understand that being proud of themselves and believing in their work is perfectly OK. Make sure you take time to give yourself a boost, congratulate yourself on your achievements, and remember to take yourself seriously as a writer. Writing might make you feel as though you are wearing your heart on your sleeve, but if you can shift your focus you can remember that you have something important to offer, and sharing that with the world is doing them a favor – that is certainly well worth remembering! Good luck!