So, you managed to got your book published. Congratulations. Having a book in print helps you build your credibility as an expert in your field - and increases your sales online and offline.

But if you’re relying on your publisher to promote your book, you’re in for a real shock. Unless you’re a celebrity or well known writer like Stephen King or Mark Victor Hansen, you’ll be lucky if they include you in a press release with other authors.

A large part of promoting your book is promoting yourself and making sure your name is recognizable to your target audience. While you may not reach John Grisham status, you can go a long way to establishing yourself as the expert on your subject matter by becoming heavily involved in the community for which you write.

If you want your book to become more than a blip on Amazon.com, you’re going to have to do some of your own publicity.

1) Write some more: To promote your book you need to make sure your target market knows that you wrote it and you need to pique their interest enough to make them want to buy it. To do that you should write press releases and articles about your book’s topic and submit them anywhere that holds your book topic's audience. And the releases shouldn’t just be about announcing the book. They should offer tips and advice related to the book to establish yourself as the expert.

2) Network: Attend meetings and special events where you are likely to meet people who would be interested in your book, then talk about it. Make sure you have a short 'commercial' all ready to say to anyone who shows the least bit of interest in your book. Convince them that if they only buy one book in a year, yours is the one they should buy!

And remember, networking doesn’t just mean offline events. You need to network online too. If you are active on list-servs and bulletin boards that relate to your book’s topic, then mention the book in your email signature.

3) Arrange public appearances: Call up bookstores to arrange for a reading and book signing. Also, approach those who organize speaker events and ask them if they'd like you to speak. Think Rotary Clubs, Business & Professional Women’s Clubs, Chamber of Commerce. Experts with free time are very hard to come by. They'll probably jump at the chance to have you contribute.

4) Use an email campaign: Ask colleagues with strong email lists to promote your book. Write an email that drives people to Amazon.com to buy your book on one particular day. (Just make sure that day isn’t when the next Harry Potter or anticipated next bestseller is scheduled for release.) You and your colleagues email it out. Depending on how big the email lists are, you could see your book become an Amazon best seller.

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