Collaborate to boost your book promotions

When your marketing energy needs a boost...

When you’re promoting your book, it can sometimes feel like you’re the only person who cares about your creative achievement. Yet if your book promotions are going well, you’ll see plenty of book reviews to give you a boost and a greater number of book sales too. However, we always say to authors you need to treat your book marketing as a marathon, not a sprint. That way your energy levels won’t drop too fast after the excitement of the initial publication date and book launch.

Staying consistent over time is the key to reaching new readers and building a strong fanbase. What does that involve?

Set your intentions: identify your book promotion goals

Before you enter into a collaboration with anyone else to support your book marketing, it’s worth thinking through what you want to achieve, how much time you can invest in book promotions and which activities will suit your skills and weekly routine. You also need an idea of how much you’re willing to invest into book marketing. There are plenty of specialist services to choose from, if you’re happy to invest in publicity, podcasts or marketing training. If you’re going to collaborate with another author, they might have wildly different ideas and be spending less or more than you. It’s important to have an honest discussion about your expectations upfront to avoid misunderstandings later on. Once you have an idea of your book promotion goals, you can measure against them and figure out which types of collaboration you need.

Fuel your plans: get all your book marketing resources set up

There are plenty of marketing resources which are very low cost or free. Things like setting up a Facebook page, a Tiktok account and / or a LinkedIn profile. You can also create a Canva account to help you with online creative photo or post designs. Then you need to consider a website, email marketing and content platforms like YouTube or Spotify - for podcasts. It’s helpful to think about which platforms your audience is most active on, so you can focus your efforts there.Then when you’re ready to enter into a collaboration, you know which resources you already have and which you need to create next.

Find a training buddy: collaborate with other authors

Pinpointing the people you’d like to work with to promote your book is a key step. Pick people who have written similar books to yours, or someone who’s based geographically near you for events, or you might choose an author who you admire and is writing for a similar audience to yours. You also might choose someone from your previous profession or a charity partner with whom you want to build a lasting relationship. When releasing his book, 'Peg’s Boys’, author Johnny Tudor teamed up with musician, Mal Pope, to create their own YouTube show. Look for someone whose strengths complement your own, so you can each bring unique value to your joint efforts.

Plan your approach: share your ideas with your collaborators

Once you’ve found another author or a willing collaborator, spend some time brainstorming your ideas. Two heads are better than one and you can quickly come up with fresh ways to market your own and each other’s books. For example, you could:

• Pitch yourselves as a joint literary panel for a book festival or a conference


• Offer a corporate 'learn at lunchtime’ session together


• Attend and exhibit at a local business show together on one stand


• Organise a local library event - talk to Debra about the Story Healing events in Bristol


• Write guest blogs for each other or create content such as a podcast or YouTube show

Treat each other with basic professional respect by taking notes and developing a shared strategy that outlines your responsibilities, so everyone is clear about their role

Practise your skills: share the load with your book marketing buddy

Collaboration is all about teamwork, so be ready to share the workload fairly and leverage each other’s strengths. For example, if one of you is stronger at writing press releases and the other has video editing skills, divide tasks accordingly. This approach will save you time and ensure that your book marketing has a professional finish. Make sure to check in regularly, celebrate your wins together, and be open to feedback. A successful partnership doesn’t just promote your book, but also builds lasting relationships that can continue to support your writing career in the future. By pooling your resources and efforts, you’ll each reach new audiences and make the process more enjoyable.

Just like in a marathon, pacing yourself is essential when collaborating on book promotions. If you push too hard at the start, you’ll risk burnout, but if you’re too slow to engage, you might miss out on key opportunities. When working with another author, communicate what you can do and set a steady rhythm for your promotions. It’s better to focus on a few key activities rather than overwhelming yourselves with too many at once. This approach allows you to build momentum gradually and sustain it - and your partnership - over the long run.

Stay motivated: lean on each other when your book sales slow

There will inevitably be tough stretches during your book marketing marathon-times when sales are slow, engagement dips, or life’s demands pull you in different directions. This is where a collaboration becomes truly valuable.

Like marathoners who encourage each other when energy flags, you and your book marketing buddy can provide much-needed support and motivation. When one of you is feeling low, the other can step in with new ideas or take on a bit more of the workload, and vice versa. This shared commitment and mutual encouragement will help you push through any dips and keep you both moving toward the finish line.

< Back to The Learning Zone