This post is for anyone who’s well on the way to completing a book. Here’s a book marketing strategy you should consider: Adding an extra feature at the end of your book to attract more buyers.

One possibility is to insert a Discussion Guide for book clubs. These are informal groups that get together once a month or so to discuss a book they’ve all chosen to read. Book clubs are everywhere (I belong to one myself, and the library in my town sponsors not one but two of them.)

You may have heard of a book called Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells. When it was first published, sales were slow – nobody expected it to become a bestseller. But then book clubs began talking about it, and soon Rebecca Wells was on her way to fame and a series of successful novels.

Another terrific strategy for book marketing is to create a Study Guide for schools, churches, clubs, and similar groups. Teachers and program directors are always looking for materials to use with their members. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if your book caught on with them? 

First – of course – you have to figure out how to create your Discussion or Study Guide. Suggestion: go to your library – or to a bookstore – to see what other authors have done. (You might be surprised how often I thumb through a book or article similar to what I’m writing to see how another author solved a problem.)

And there are other possibilities. When I wrote my police report book, I supplemented it with a free instructor’s manual and free videos. Those are wonderful marketing tools. My book What Your English Teacher Didn’t Tell You also has free supplementary videos. They’re fun to make, and each video ends with a short plug for my book.

Even if you’re lucky enough to have a commercial publisher, you’re going to need to do much of the marketing yourself. When you think about it, that’s a good thing. Who knows your book better than you do? No one!