Book marketing is not dead. Some writers say so because tactics that worked a few years ago stopped working, and the market changes every six months to a year. What works now is a better book, tested ads and an email list you own.
Why do writers say book marketing is dead?
You try something that used to work, and it stops. That is frustrating, and it has happened over and over. When I started, the main strategy was to set a book to free on Amazon for five days. People downloaded it, read it and left reviews, Amazon credited the downloads, and the book jumped up the rankings when the promotion ended. You could repeat it every 90 days. Promotion sites and email lists, including BookBub, then sent the free book to a large group.
Amazon changed the rules. Its help page now says that in the Kindle Store Best Sellers Rank is divided into Paid and Free lists, and Free Book Promotions do not count towards the ranking in Paid lists. Free downloads no longer pushed a book up the paid page.
Then people moved to $1 book campaigns, which still work a little, and to ads. Ads were cheap at first. Then bids rose and other products started appearing against your books. Facebook ads went the same way. I tried them and never had much success, though some people did, selling training. The cost of reaching readers rose until it ate the profit on a typical book. If you want to know what a book can earn, read how much self-publishing authors make.
What works now?
The same things as always, done better.
- A better book. The cover must be good. The keywords must be things people search for, with few competing books. The description has to look great. The book itself needs to be good enough to earn positive reviews, which drive more sales.
- Tested ads. You cannot throw a book out and hope. Test your ads and use a keyword tool to find the keywords that let you spend little and earn it back. I have had a lot of success with ads. They work even on books with no reviews, as long as the cover is good, because people who search for similar books find the ad.
- An email list you own. This is the most powerful of the three. Put a link to a page on your own website in your books, even when you give something away free, and not straight to a sign-up form, which KDP’s Hyperlink Guidelines do not allow. Use the list to tell readers about new books and to build an advance team that helps you get reviews. It works for fiction and non-fiction. See setting up an advanced review team and why KDP keywords are so important.
What do the numbers say?
KDP’s help page says you can offer an ebook free for up to 5 days in each 90-day KDP Select period, that you earn no royalties on the free days, and that free downloads don’t count as paid sales. Your paid rank drops during the promotion for that reason (KDP).
The Written Word Media 2025 Indie Author Survey (1,346 authors, 2-Dec-25) gives a picture of what authors say works. Their own email list, promo sites and reader magnets were among the most effective. Facebook ads worked for authors who learned the system, while Amazon Ads and BookBub Ads got mixed reviews because many found them hard to optimize. Authors with an email list had a median income of about $300 a month, against about $15 without one. About 80% of authors with 1 to 3 books earned under $100 a month. The survey says these are self-reported figures and correlations, not promises.
How much do authors spend on marketing?
In the same survey, average monthly marketing spend rose with income, from about $81 a month for authors earning under $100 a month to about $4,500 for those earning over $10,000. It does not show whether spending caused the income or income paid for the spending (Written Word Media, 2-Dec-25). So do not copy a big spender’s budget. Start with a small test budget, keep the ads that earn their cost back and stop the rest.
So marketing is not dead. It rewards testing, patience and a list you own.
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Frequently asked questions
Is book marketing dead?
No. Some writers say so because tactics that worked a few years ago stopped working, and the market changes every six months to a year.
Why did old book marketing tactics stop working?
Amazon changed the rules, so free promotions no longer count toward the paid ranking. Ads that were cheap at first became more expensive as bids rose.
What works in book marketing now?
A better book, tested ads and an email list you own. The email list is the most powerful of the three.
What does the Written Word Media 2025 survey say about email lists?
Authors with an email list had a median income of about $300 a month, against about $15 without one. The survey says these are self-reported figures and correlations, not promises.
How much do authors spend on marketing?
It rises with income. In Written Word Media's 2025 survey the average was about $81 a month for authors earning under $100 and about $4,500 for those earning over $10,000. Self-reported, and it shows no cause.
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