This video is the last of three videos created by NotebookLM by Google using the 10 Ways to Market Your Books report generated by the Comet browser from Perplexity AI as input. I’ll share the other two videos in the next few days. It’s interesting to hear how each of the videos approach the 10 Ways report by featuring the top 3 or 4 ways. Obviously Google and YouTube favor top 3 and top 4 videos versus top 10 videos.
if you’re an author in 2025, getting your book noticed can feel like you’re shouting into a hurricane. So how do you break through all that noise? Well, today we’re going to break down a powerful three-part game plan that does just that.
It’s all about building your home, engaging your community, and then expanding your reach. So let’s dive right in. You’ve got thousands of new books dropping every single day. And you’re not just up against other books.
You’re competing with Netflix, with social media, with almost everything. So how in the world does your story find its person? Okay, so here’s the good news. You don’t need some magic bullet or secret trick. The most successful authors, they don’t just do one thing.
They build a smart, solid plan that covers a few different bases. It can be broken down into the marketing trifecta. Just three core parts. Number one, build your home. Number two, engage your community. And number three, expand your reach.
1. Build Your Home
Part one, build your digital home. This is all about creating the online spaces that you own and control. Think of it like this. Are you gonna build your own beautiful storefront or are you just gonna rent a tiny little stall in someone else’s giant, noisy, chaotic market?
This distinction is crucial. On one side, you’ve got your owned platform. That’s your website, your email list. You’re the boss. You make the rules. But on the other side, you’ve got the rented spaces like social media. You’re basically just a tenant there. And the landlord, the algorithm, can change the rules, raise the rent, or even kick you out overnight with zero warning.
Your foundation has got to be built on the stuff you actually own. So what do you need for this home base? Well, first off, a dedicated author website. This is your central hub, your home on the internet. You’ve got to make sure people can actually find it, which is where SEO comes in.
But you know what’s maybe the most important piece of all? Your email newsletter. This is your direct line to your biggest fans. No algorithms, no gatekeepers. It’s just you and them building a real connection.
2. Engage Your Community
Part two, engage your community. This is not about shouting buy my book into the void. It’s about being smart. It’s about finding out where your readers are already hanging out and talking about books and then just joining the conversation like a normal cool person.
This is where all the action is. You’ve got the big ones, like BookTok and Bookstagram. But it goes so much deeper than that. Work with influencers, getting those all-important reviews on sites like Goodreads and Amazon and linking up with other authors for cross-promotions.
You’re not just marketing. You’re becoming a real part of the whole book world. Relationships built on shared interests and authenticity are more impactful than broad transactional promotions. It’s not about the transaction. It’s about the connection.
The big goal is to build up something called social proof. Think about it. When you’re deciding on a book, what’s more powerful, a random ad or a recommendation from a friend or a podcaster you trust? It’s the recommendation every time. That’s what social proof is. It’s using trusted voices to help new readers find you.
3. Expand Your Reach
The third and final pillar: expanding your reach. So if your home base is your foundation and your community is your network, this part is your megaphone. This is how you start shouting from the rooftops and getting your book in front of people who’ve never even heard of you before.
This is where to get a more proactive—things like targeted ads on places like Amazon, BookBub, or Meta.
Get out there doing speaking gigs, author events, you name it. Build up that all-important buzz before you launch with cool teasers, cover reveals, and giveaways. These megaphone actions get you real powerful results. Ads can drive sales right now. Events create those amazing personal connections with readers. Also, a great pre-launch campaign can create a wave of excitement that just might push your book straight to the top of the charts.
Conclusion
There you have it: the three big pillars of building your home, engaging your community, and expanding your reach. But the real magic isn’t in doing just one of these things. It’s about how they all work together. The key to winning at book marketing in 2025 and 2026 isn’t just picking one of these and going all in. It’s all about balance.
You need that solid foundation of your home base. You need the genuine connections from your community. And you need the power of your megaphone all working together in harmony. It’s kind of like a three-legged stool. The most effective authors, they’re doing all three things. They’re building their own assets, they’re genuinely engaging with readers, and they’re proactively reaching out to find new ones. Try to stand on a stool with only one or two legs, and the whole thing just falls apart. You need all three.
Now you have to ask yourself a new question: What story is your marketing going to tell?
