I’m making this page with a list of all the sites I’ve used for advertising with a list of some of their services. Some services are free and others cost money, so you can pick and choose what you want to use. As I use more sites, I will add on to this page. These are service sites and not self-run sites like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. (Those sites are still important.)
Very helpful for getting reviews and connecting with readers and authors. Make a profile and put in for an author page, which is free. Then set up a page for your book and attach it to your author page. They also run book promotions.
They make an announcement post after you provide them with the necessary information for your book. It attaches directly to your book’s Amazon page. They are also starting an Author Website directory, which you can get on by attaching a Goodkindles link with specified message on the front page of your website. They require that you write a book description that is unique to their site, so I would recommend looking over books from your genre that are already on there to see what people did.
Add-on July 14, 2013: They now are a paid site with packages ranging from $7.95 to $19.95. Each package gives you a permanent listing and a notice in their newsletter. The Silver and Gold packages allow you to request a bump of your book BACK to the homepage after a minimum of 30 days. This means you can pull your book out of the shuffle to make notice of promotions and sequels. The Gold package also means that your book appears on their social media and newsletter again when it’s bumped.
This is a very simple site where you submit your Amazon/sale page and your cover art, which must be more than 500x500px. They make a pin of your book that goes into their database. No charge and very simple. Make sure to read their submission guidelines to see if your book can be accepted. They do not accept anything pornographic, extreme violence, or anything horror.
I just began using this site this morning and it is another listing-based site. They connect to all of your social media and to your book’s Amazon review page. This is another site that requests a unique book description for their site, but they have a lot of networking options for you to use. Pricing is $15 for the promo package and you can pay $10 for a 30 Tweet Package. The Tweet Package allows you to promote your book on their personal Twitter page.
This is a big site that was suggested to me by Ionia of Readfulthings. I believe she found them through Twitter. They are pricier than the other sites on this list, but that’s because of what they do. You get various forms of book features, banners, author interview, routinely mentioned on Twitter with some packages, Book of the Day, and combo deals for multiple services. For example, I got an author interview, book feature for Beginning of a Hero, and new release feature for Prodigy of Rainbow Tower for $161. I’m still seeing both books getting promoted on Twitter and it has been days. I highly recommend this service because you certainly get your money’s worth. One word of warning: They have slots, so you need to choose from the days they have open. You can contact them for a promotional service pamphlet here.
Facebook Groups
There are several Facebook groups that you can promote on. The ones that I use are Novelspot Readers, Heroic Fantasy, Authors and Book Lovers Discussion Group, Book Junkie Promotions, Passion for Books, and Indie Author Book Promotion Page. There are hundreds of others if you go hunting and I’m still picking a few up. Follow their rules and promote your book for a few sales and exposure. I haven’t figured out how best to use them and how often to post. Maybe once every 2-3 days to avoid being over the top.
Not so much an advertising site, but an answer to the question ‘how do you sign an ebook?’. It seems to only be for Kindle because it asks for your books’ Amazon ASIN, but it does say in the FAQ that you don’t need a Kindle version of your book to sign up. I haven’t figured out how though. Maybe you put in whatever the non-Kindle site’s equivalent of an ASIN is? Still it takes only a few seconds to sign-up.
This is big site in terms of scale and there are quite a few things they provide. They are a big podcast run by Adam Scull as well as a place to post book excerpts, poetry, and other things. That part is free and you can be offered a lengthy interview too. They have a $10 Book Plug, which a brief ‘check out this book’ post on their site. I went for this and submitted Allure of the Gypsies Prologue and did an interview. They also have Cover Ads that get posted on their site for a $50 a month and you pick from open time periods. I got this and the choosing a time period instead of now allows me to make this a later advertising move when the book is starting to cool off. One thing I will mention is that Adam is really fast in getting back to people. Maybe I got him on a day where he wasn’t very busy, but I heard back maybe thirty minutes after I submitted. A really good site that I haven’t finished exploring yet.
Author Databases
There are several sites out there that act as databases for indie authors. I’ve begun signing up and putting myself in there. Many are free and others are paid for, but they all kind of work the same. You register and submit your author information along to get a profile and then you do the same for your books if the option is there. I’m registered at Independent Author Network (one time fee of $24.95 for 1-6 books) and AuthorsDB (Free). I will say about the IAN that it’s a big community and they have a designated Twitter hashtag of #IAN1. So you retweet fellow members and they return the favor. I’ve seen a major rise on retweets through this.
These are all of the sites that I’ve used and I’d like to think they all helped a little bit. I tried to use all of them within a few days of each other, so I couldn’t tell you if one is better than the other. In my opinion, it doesn’t hurt to join them all and get your book’s name out there as much as possible.
Legends of Windemere 
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Thank you for this list. I just shared it with a friend!
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You’re welcome. Glad to be of help.
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Wow, this is a great resource, thanks for sharing!
All the best 🙂
Rohan.
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Thanks. Glad I could pass the knowledge on.
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Okay, I just submitted to AskDavid.com
I’m a little nervous, but if it will help my break my two-month-long-only-3-books-sold ‘record’, I’ll be happy! Thank you Charles for the list of resources!
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You’re welcome. Hope it works for you. If you submit to Kindle Mojo, you can do an author interview after your book is posted. I believe the interview is free and it’s done through email.
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I already went ahead and submitted to Kindle Mojo too! Thank you!
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No problem. Doesn’t hurt to mention it just in case. 😉
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Of course! And thanks again for all your help and advice!
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Thank you so much for this post. It’s a big help.
I’m sure you’ve been told, but just in case. The Goodkindle link doesn’t work because it’s a .net –
Hope things are good and thanks again,
gabe
The Complete Bullshit-Free and Totally Tested Writing Guide: How To Make Publishers, Agents, Editors & Readers Fall In Love With Your Work (1.99 on Kindle)
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Actually, I haven’t been told that. Thanks for letting me know.
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of course 🙂
do you know anyone who uses it?
My writing book has only been out for a week. Great reviews so far on amazon but I need to get it into the hands of more writers.
thanks so much
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All of the sites I listed have been used by me and the authors that recommended them. I know Goodkindles specifically has also been used by Gwen Bristol.
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There. It should work now. Thanks again.
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thanks again..
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Very helpful info. Thanks!
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You’re welcome.
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Okay..I hate to put you on the spot but what’s a ping back?
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A pingback is when you make a post and include the link to another post. This is usually done with a hyperlink. If someone goes to the linked post then they will see a message and can follow it to the new post.
It has to be a post. If it’s just the main blog page (example: http://www.legendsofwindemere.com) then it won’t make a pingback.
At least that’s how I’ve figured it out. I should be honest and admit that I’m still sobering up.
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Nice Resource.
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Great resource guide, Charles. Thank you.
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You’re welcome. 🙂
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Great list Charles thank you.
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You’re welcome.
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I’m once again utilizing this list. SO glad you posted it.
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You’re welcome. Hope it helps. 🙂
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Excellent … and about five other adjectives. I will be heading over to check out the links. Thank you, Charles.
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You’re welcome. Good luck and I’ll be happy to lend a hand.
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I didn’t know there were so many places to sell a book online. Thank you for this. I haven’t checked any of them out yet. I want to use a real publisher for my next book. My first novel was on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, but I have no idea if they’re still available. Sales were dismal.
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You’re welcome. I’m sure there are even more out there. If you self-published your first novel then it should still be available. There are some on those sites that don’t sell at all.
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Thank you for the list, this will be good for the plans I already made.
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You’re welcome.
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This was a really comprehensive article. Thanks!
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Glad to be of help. 🙂
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First thank you for the follow. This is a great resource. I don’t need it yet, but I hope I will in the future. Thanks so much for posting this and I expect to spend more time on your blog.
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You’re welcome. I do have to check and see if all of the sites are still around. It’s been strange, but a lot of indie promo sites disappeared over the summer.
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Okay. I will be following your blog. And congrats on your success.
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Thanks. Good luck on your projects too.
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Thanks
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This was super helpful! But just to let you know, the HEI link sends the person to some Chinese site and not a book site. 🙂
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Guessing the site is no more. Thanks. I’ll remove it from the page.
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