How to promote your book with confidence

Promotion does not come naturally to everyone. It is, however, a crucial stage of the publishing process, traditionally led by a publishing house’s marketing and publicity teams. The two terms are sometimes used interchangeably by those discussing generalised promotional activities, but technically speaking, marketing activities are generally identified by paid outgoings, such as advertising, book prize submissions, launch events and merchandise, while publicity activities are cost-free to the publisher. Examples include: book reviews, opinion editorials, extracts or features. 

For me, the value of book promotion is foregrounded where we consider the popular philosophical thought experiment: if a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? 

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In the absence of promotional activities, books, or other research outputs such as research papers or monographs, enter the arena of published work silently. Without promotion, research papers may have fewer citations and it will be harder to reach journalists, policymakers and practitioners who might be influenced or compelled to take action as a result of your work – in addition to your primary academic audiences. 

As a blog editor whose LSE Press blog forms part of the LSE Blogs network, I credit social media for its ability to amplify recently published work and facilitate dialogue and responses, which benefits those immersed in research fields, as well as us, the publishers. 

Without these essential modes of amplification, research can all too easily go unnoticed or unremarked upon, in a way that is crucial to free and open academic discussions. While opinions on the best social media outlets may differ (X versus Bluesky), these platforms are inarguably important tools in this age of digital publishing.

Whether your chosen publisher is a trade or academic enterprise, it is important to offer the caveat that there are organisational differences between publisher operations. In my work as a communications professional working for an institutional publisher, our diamond open-access publishing model means that our books are free to access for all, regardless of access to capital or geographical location. This model removes the barrier of promotion with an underling profit motivation, which can create more of a global impact. 

The following article shares some helpful and transferable advice when embarking on promotional activities in your capacity as an author and academic. So be emboldened and take pride!

Communicate with your publisher 

We work closely with our authors to coordinate a tailored comms (marketing and publicity) plan. Once an author submits their final manuscript, we distribute an author survey as a precursor to meeting and discussing the best way of working together. The foundation of our promotional process is communication, and we have been credited by our authors for how supported they feel throughout the publication process and after the fact. This is strengthened by exchanging ideas and bringing together both author and publisher to forge a shared understanding of our respective networks. Promotion works best where you communicate effectively with your publisher and it’s useful to speak about expectations and activities on both sides to avoid duplication and collaborate effectively. 

Where working with a publisher to promote your work and in these early stages, it’s useful to start collecting names of individuals who you would like to endorse your publication as soon as possible. These might be scholars publishing in your field, or people in professional networks who have commented on your work on social media or at conference. Or they could be people to whom you have no existing connection but who you look up to and who you think might like to read your publication. 

Depending on your publisher’s process, they/you will then approach these individuals for advance praise to help promote your book and allow booksellers and readers to situate your work in the marketplace of existing associated publications. These quotes may be used on the book’s cover, the inside front matter (the initial pages before the title and chapter pages) and online. 

Collecting endorsements is one of my favourite parts of the promotional process, and watching the web of positive praise for our authors’ work extend across global networks is especially satisfying.

Talking points

If you have capacity, it’s worth letting your publisher know that you are interested in writing additional articles related to your research for publication in blogs or mainstream press. We’ve supported our authors publishing a range of articles relating to their research in external outlets – from opinion pieces, to listicles and edited extracts. Other related activities could include broadcast media or podcast features, as well as book festival appearances. 

Your publisher might produce a press release aggregating important information and news hooks relating to your title, showing how your research relates to the current news cycle. These hooks can shift, as the news cycle does, so the value of staying in touch with your publisher’s publicity/comms lead is doubly important here. 

If you have any questions or concerns, it’s worth asking your publisher directly for your press release as well as support around this and directing you to any dedicated author toolkits, resources or broadcast media training to guide you through working with the media. 

Maximise your network and embrace passive promotion 

Promotional work is inherently active. Between teaching commitments and other life pressures, academic authors can be short on time and energy to engage with traditional modes of promotion detailed above (posting frequently on social media, writing related articles, engaging with the media). Luckily, there are valuable modes of promotion that work on your behalf. One of the best and most time-effective ways to promote your work is through promo that doesn’t require frequent checks, emails and discussions. 

As you approach publication, consider the appearance of your digital profiles from the perspective of a journalist or someone who might be interested in reading your work. Your publisher will be responsible for feeding metadata and keywords, but you can spring clean your biographies and publication lists featured on your website, departmental academic profile or ORCID page. Be search engine smart and ensure that the results that appear when you search the name of your book, or your own name, are updated and feature hyperlinked details of your book. 

Another way you can passively promote your work is through including details of your book and any early endorsements in your professional email signature. Ask your publisher for a tailored banner image featuring your book’s cover to include here, in addition to customised profile banners for your primary social media accounts, such as LinkedIn, Bluesky, X or others. 

Social media might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I can certainly testify to its impact on the reach of publications. If you are on social media and have an established audience of people with a shared interest in your research – great! If not, no publisher will expect you to start from scratch with setting up. 

If you are on social media, let people in your networks know about your new publication and make sure to amplify any endorsements, reviews and publicity related to your work. If you’re short on time, make sure you repost posts by your publisher mentioning your book and tagging your account to catch the eye of people in your networks showing their support for your work. 

A key ingredient of promotional posting which resonates with your networks is authenticity, and if you can communicate your passion for your research discipline, and something of the publication process and the journey to your book entering the publishing arena, you’re on the right track. 

Elinor Potts is communications coordinator for LSE Press, the non-profit, open-access publisher of books and journals in the social sciences at the London School of Economics and Political Science. 

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