You can have the best book in the world, but if no one knows about it, no one will buy it; publicity, promotion, marketing and a focus on selling more books should now be a big part of your daily life. It's one thing to write a book, but an entirely different thing to write one that's saleable, viable, and marketable. Self publishers need to have a good marketing plan to sell books and should be written prior to writing your book and in place a year prior to publishing your book.

Using press releases for marketing or promoting your book or book's website has become increasingly popular as publishers discover the powerful benefits of using press releases. Mail a press release to all the trade journals in your field over and over again; you can use the same release. Make sure your press release spells out the 'who, what, where, when, and why.'

Mail a press release to at least 1000 print and broadcast contacts just prior to publishing your title and again and again after you publish; you can never send too many. Don't underestimate the value of a good press release for making book sales. Learning to write and use powerful optimized press releases can often drive tons of traffic to your website while providing multiple back links that can lead to increased page rank and numerous top ten search engine rankings for your targeted keywords.

Invest in press release submitting software and set aside time every week to send out a press release online to the press directories. Send out at least 10 press releases to the print and broadcast media in your area every month.

If your book fits a specialty market, find a store that fits the genre and offer to leave books on consignment; many publishers have sold thousands of books this way. Find a non-exclusive distributor with a good reputation to carry your book for the book store trade, as well as for other retailers. Print and online publications provide longevity to your marketing campaign in terms of having something tangible for people to reference ongoing.

I've not found that book signings sell many books for publishers and are often a waste of time; better to spend it elsewhere. Make sure to promote and market your book each and every day, both online and offline. Market your book to your number one market first, and then go after the secondary markets.

Make five telephone calls a day that relate to marketing your book. Be your own publicist and send a press release along with a review copy of your book to publications in your book's genre and to book review magazines. Remember to make sure your book is listed in Books-in-Print; don't assume it's already listed.

Make sure not to overlook the Internet; get yourself interviewed or profiled for sites both about writing, publishing and about the topics covered in your book. Contact any companies, corporations or organizations that might use your book for promotions; offer significant discounts for volume orders or for thousands of copies offer a specified amount above book production costs. Get as many testimonials about your book, as possible, from experts in the field relating to your title, not customers; use on your fliers and back of books.

Place free ads periodically for your book's website on Craigslist in different categories to drive even more traffic to your website. Women buy more books then men; see how you can fit your book into the women's' market.

When you get a nice write up or feature about you and/or your book, have it laminated and set it up on an easel at trade shows. Build a web site that provides another avenue for ordering, a virtual online press kit and link exchanges with sites that relate to your topic.

Yes you can market and promote your book on a shoestring budget, just be careful about your marketing dollars. If you apply yourself every day and you promote your book like crazy, you can achieve that ultimate goal of selling thousands of copies of your book, many self publishers have. With these book marketing tips you'll be well on your way to conquering the world of self publishing and book publishing.