In the process of publishing a book, the publication date can often be viewed as the end goal. But for a book to truly be successful and have staying power in the market, it’s important to see beyond the publication date. During the lead-up to publication and surrounding publication, there will be a flurry of marketing, promotion, and publicity. But what do you do after the initial fireworks to keep your book top-of-mind with readers?

With thousands of books being published everyday, simply putting your book into the market is not enough, which is why building a strong post-publication marketing plan is an essential component of your overall publishing plan. There are many ways that you can continue to promote your book post-publication and whether you’re an author who’s just beginning the publishing process or your book published years ago, these tips and ideas can add to the continued success of your book:

Continue to secure consumer reviews

Garnering consumer reviews is an excellent way to extend word-of-mouth for your book and bolsters your book’s credibility in the eyes of new readers. Reviews also impact the way that Amazon promotes and recommends titles to consumers. This means that the more reviews you can secure, the better in terms of creating social proof for new readers and boosting discoverability on Amazon.

Regular giveaways are also a great way to drive continued interest in your book and gain reviews. Getting books into the hands of readers, either through a Goodreads giveaway or through a giveaway hosted on social media, can help spread the message and get people talking.

Schedule eBook promotions

Offering a limited-time discount on your eBook is a great way to stimulate sales, reach new readers, and potentially secure Amazon best-seller status. The limited nature of this offer serves to create a sense of urgency amongst readers and encourage immediate action. To ensure that your eBook price discount creates an impact, it’s important to pair the price reduction with promotions in the form of targeted advertising via Amazon and Facebook, post on social media, and submit your book to bargain-priced eBook newsletter sites, such as BookBub.

Take advantage of seasonal promotions

Seasonal promotions are an excellent way to extend the lifespan of your book and to tap into the evergreen components of your book around holidays, events, and news stories. January, for instance, is a strategic time of year for genres like business, self-help, and diet and wellness to tie in with the “new year, new you” promotions that happen around then. Summer is the ideal time to promote novels, since a greater number of readers are looking for “summer reads” as they prepare for vacations. And the holiday season, when consumers are shopping for gifts, is the perfect time to promote children’s books and coffee table books. Tying your book’s promotion to staple holiday times and to relevant current events is also a great strategy for reaching new readers who might not have initially discovered your book at publication, positioning your book well and making it top-of-mind for readers during moments when they would be looking for content like yours.

Use targeted consumer advertising

Promoting your book through targeted pay-per-click advertising on platforms like Google, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and most recently Amazon allows you to create and run ads targeted at specific users based upon their demographics and interests. This type of advertising enables you to set your own budget and adjust as needed. It also ensures that you’re reaching readers who would most likely be interested in your book, so you would be able to spend your budget more wisely.

Amazon’s new targeted advertising platform allows you to reach customers based upon their browsing and purchase history through the targeting of keywords and bestselling titles within your genre. And advertising on Amazon is doubly beneficial in that it allows you to advertise directly where readers would be looking to purchase books and simultaneously provides metrics on sales that occur as a direct result of your ads.

It’s a marathon, not a sprint

Having a strong promotional strategy, including PR, marketing, and branding leading up to and surrounding publication is critical, but don’t forget the importance of post-publication promotion to create a long tail for your book. If you want readers to be reading your book for years to come, the promotion doesn’t stop at publication.