Most of us got into writing because we love storytelling. We love the craft. The challenge. The connection to an audience. You know what we don’t love?

The marketing.

But when you write a book, you’re also starting a business. And no business can succeed without marketing. In my work as a ghostwriter and book coach, I’ve had to push myself to learn more about the marketing side so I can help my clients’ work stand out. And in that process, I’ve found six free tools that every author should have in their tool belt:

1) Buffer:

Super easy way to schedule out your social media posts. They have both a web version and phone app. Buffer lets you have 3 social channels for free. (More than that, and if you have to pay…) But for most authors, 3 is PLENTY. If you’re trying to market and engage on more than three socials at once, it’s really easy to burn out.

Pro Tip: Make sure they are socials you will actually engage on. No social media platform likes it when you post and ghost, so it’s best if you schedule your post for when you know you’ll be on that platform. You can stagger the posts too…no need to do them all at once.

Example: Post on Instagram goes live at 8:00 PM and you engage. Post for TikTok goes live at 8:30 PM and you engage. Post for Facebook goes live at 9:00 PM and you engage.

2) QueryTracker:

If you’re querying agents, QueryTracker is a must. The free version lets you search for and filter literary agents who represent your genre and then submit your query letter to them.

Pro Tip: Many agents only use QT for reviewing queries, so you might as well have it anyway. But maybe you’re wondering, “How does this count as marketing?” Because you’re marketing yourself to agents, and sharing your query journey in real-time on socials is a great way to drive engagement.

3) Substack:

You can build an email list and send out a newsletter with Substack…totally free. Oh, and I’ve heard from literary agents directly that Substack is more and more becoming a platform they use to gauge an author’s marketability.

Pro Tip: If you want to set up paid subscriptions for your followers, Substack takes their cut and gives the rest to you. But you’ll need to find ways to deliver some real value to people for them to be willing to hand over their hard-earned $ for your words.

4) ForWord.io:

Full disclosure, I created this web-based app because of how confusing book marketing advice can be. Fill out a profile about yourself and your book and then it drafts a free 30-day marketing plan full of tasks specific to you, your genre, your goals, and your preferences.

Pro Tip: You don’t have to finish the tasks in 30 days. That’s just a suggested timeframe. So if you need more time, no problem.

5) Canva:

I’ve been a fan of Canva since 2014 and used their free version until 2022. You can do a LOT with their free version, especially if all you need are easy templates for creating carousels for social media, flyers, or even promotional stickers for your book.

Pro Tip: Though it’s not free, you can print promotional stickers or flyers through Canva so that you don’t have to deal with going somewhere like Office Depot and waiting in a line to pick up your order. (No offense to Office Depot.)

6) ACX:

With a decent microphone and basic audio editing software, you can use ACX to create and then distribute an audiobook. And if you choose to have exclusive distribution through Audible, ACX lets you generate free promo codes to give out to people (US and UK only). These make great giveaways in your newsletter or as “thank you” gifts for your launch team.

Pro Tip: You can only get the free promo codes if you have exclusive distribution through Audible. But ACX also just rolled out a new royalty model that helps audio authors get more exposure.

No matter what, book marketing is hard, but at least these tools will help you make some serious headway without having to spend a ton of money upfront.

Which of these have you already tried? Which ones are you going to try? Tell me in the comments!

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