Running Out of Money Before Book Launch

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One of these stories where an author just launched his first book and after paying the editor he was desperate for advice how to promote his book.  Sound familiar?  He complaint that he could not afford a publicist and asked how he could promote his book for free or inexpensive.

I bit my tongue, not to tell him that barely any publicist would have taken him on, without a solid foundation of writing portfolio (more than one book, and / or at least 20 - 30 blog posts or even better: newspaper articles)  and a sizable amount of followers on Goodreads and Social Media sites, such as Google+.  I felt sorry for him and offered him some advice:
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First Aid Book Promotion
Here is a list of book launch promotions you can do (for free) before your book launch:
http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2013/12/16/top-18-book-launch-tips
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Did you already start a Goodreads Giveaway? 
This could be only one copy of your book, and it also helps a lot to find people who are interested in your book genre, in order to follow them on Goodreads.
http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2013/06/09/how-to-create-buzz-for-your-upcoming-book-on-goodreads/
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Promote Your Book Launch for Free
You can also promote your book launch for free on Goodreads' and on the Google+ Event pages.  To get on Google's first page, your Social Media activities should be mainly on GooglePlus.  However, you need to invite lots of (readers in your genre), followers on Goodreads and many more into your Google+ circles.
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Reader & Reviewer Communities
There are also lots of reader communities where you can join, and most important, have your book image and blog link in your introduction on these sites.
http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2012/03/11/18-top-websites-to-promote-your-book-for-free/
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Be Social on Social Networks
80-90% of your posts should be helpful, interesting, funny or otherwise useful for readers, and only 10-20% about your writing.  Try to follow more readers, reviewers, and book bloggers, and write LOTS of guest blogs, all with a short bio/link to your book.
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There is certainly way more to do, to let the world know about your new book, hundreds of little steps, but start with these tips in a "Book Promotion Emergency".

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