Too frequently book promotion is seen as the grueling steps we must take in order to please our publisher, agent, or even just our spouse, who has helped us invest money into a self-published book. Book marketing services aren’t always necessary, however. There are dozens of things you can do in twenty minutes or less. Added up together, these small tasks will soon round out your book marketing efforts and create a sizeable change in sales.

[1] Sell autographed books through Autographed by Author at www.autographedbyauthor.com! Sign up for $29.95 ($19.95 for each additional book) and they will send readers to your web site to buy the autographed book directly from you. They rank high in search engines so it will bring you new customers. Many people don’t know how to sell books on the internet in unique ways. This is a fast way to start, especially if you’ve chosen to self-publish your book.

[2] Update your Amazon.com information, especially the tags for your book so you aren’t Amazon’s thousands of authors asking, “How and where can I sell my books?” Go to your book’s Amazon page and scroll down to “Tags customers associate with this product.” Then add any tags you can think of that people would be putting into the search engines to find solutions to their problems. Remember, people usually search by their problems, not by the answers you provide. For example, instead of searching for “marriage” “relationship expert” they may be searching for “how to avoid divorce” or “spouse cheats.” Soon you’ll be an expert at how to sell books on Amazon.

[3] No more pen stealing! Leave your own pens behind instead. Always carry a bunch of pens that have your book’s information and web site in your purse, briefcase and car. Whenever you pay with a credit card and have to sign receipts, pull out one of our own pens and then casually leave it behind. Book marketing need some non-typical creativity. Join a book marketing network so you can exchange other unique book marketing ideas.

[4] Sign up for Google Alerts at www.google.com/alerts on any topics you should be kept up to date on. Particularly, be sure to take note of sites that are blogging about your topic and then go and comment on their postings, while introducing yourself. If you write articles on the subject they post on, let them know where they can get your articles and that they are welcome to reprint them. This is a great way to sell books online.

[5] Do you amazing quotes in your book that people should be highlighting? Hopefully you have at least a few nuggets! Google “submit quote” or “submit quotation” to add them to some quotation databases. You can also submit on at About.com’s web site at http://quotations.about.com/library/bl/blform-Quote-Suggest.htm .

[6] What books are being talked about on National Public Radio and other syndicated book related radio shows? Visit http://www.npr.org/programs/ to listen to NPR shows. See this daily listing of books that have been featured on NPR at http://www.npr.org/books/index.html. See http://news.bookweb.org/mediaguide/673.html to see what authors have future events scheduled on NPR. Study what NPR says about pitching their show here: http://www.npr.org/about/pitch .

[7] Give your readers a call! It’s easy and less expensive then sending a postcard to blast out a voice broadcast to people for just $.12 per call. One company, VoiceShot Outbound http://www.voiceshot.com offers 200 complimentary delivered calls. This is a unique and fun personal way to relate with people on your mailing list. When was the last time you received a phone call from your favorite author? I haven’t yet, but it would sure get my attention!

When any book marketing idea comes to you that you don’t have time to follow through on immediately, even if it seems silly at the time, be sure to bookmark the web site or write it down. When you have portions of free time chip away at a few fast ideas and soon your promotional efforts will sell your books!