LinkedIn Strategies for Authors: How to Use LinkedIn to Promote Your Business Book

Man Working Coffee Shop Cafe Concept

In today’s digital age, marketing your business book goes beyond traditional promotion methods. One of the most powerful platforms for business authors is LinkedIn. As a business-oriented social network, LinkedIn allows you to connect with professionals, showcase your expertise, and market your book to a targeted audience. There are several actionable strategies you can employ to leverage LinkedIn to promote your business book, attract new customers, and elevate your personal brand.

Understanding the power of LinkedIn

LinkedIn is more than just a platform for job seekers and professionals—it’s a valuable resource for business authors too. With over one billion members worldwide, LinkedIn provides a unique opportunity to engage with a professional audience who might be interested in your expertise. LinkedIn is essential for promoting your business book because it allows you to:

• Connect with your target audience. LinkedIn allows you to directly engage with individuals who are specifically interested in your industry. This means you can reach potential readers who are more likely to benefit from your book.
• Emphasize your professional credibility. By sharing insights and engaging with others, you can build your credibility as a business author and a subject matter expert in your field.
• Seek out networking opportunities. This platform helps you connect with other authors, industry leaders, and potential customers. These connections can lead to collaborations, speaking engagements, and increased visibility for your book.

Actionable strategies to promote your business book on LinkedIn

Understanding the benefits of LinkedIn for your business book marketing is the first step. Next, you can dive into specific strategies for promoting your business book effectively. Here are seven ideas to get you started. 

Optimize your LinkedIn profile

Before you start promoting your book, ensure your LinkedIn profile is polished and professional. First, make sure your headline clearly states your role as an author and your area of expertise, along with your official title at your company. Next, write a compelling and engaging summary that highlights your background, expertise, and key themes of your book. Use this space to share your passion for your field to enhance your credibility and thought leadership. 

You can also bolster your LinkedIn profile by showcasing your book in the featured section. Include an image of the book cover, a brief description (which could be your book’s back cover text), and a link where readers can purchase a copy. 

Share engaging content

Content is king on LinkedIn, and sharing valuable insights related to your book can attract attention. 

For example, you can share short excerpts from your book—or better yet, a video of yourself discussing the book’s key concepts. These will provide valuable insights or tips and give potential readers a taste of what they can expect when they buy your title. Also, showcase your expertise by writing some articles or blog posts on topics related to your book, and use LinkedIn’s publishing platform to share this longer-form content. 

Engage with your network

Frequent engagement is crucial to building relationships on LinkedIn. Here’s how to make, foster, and maintain connections:

• Comment on relevant posts. Engage with posts from your connections and industry leaders. Providing thoughtful comments can help you gain visibility and position yourself as an expert.
• Join groups. Participate in LinkedIn groups related to your industry or niche. Share your insights, answer questions, and promote your book when appropriate.
• Send personalized connection requests. When connecting with new contacts, send personalized messages that mention your book and how it relates to their interests.

Each time you engage with a connection’s post, be authentic and genuine. Every single comment you write helps potential readers get to know you, and you want to give them a glimpse into the person behind the book. 

Leverage LinkedIn events

LinkedIn Events is a great feature for promoting webinars or book launches. You can host a webinar or a book launch to plug your book by creating an event, including crucial details, providing nuggets about what attendees will learn, and sharing how people can register for your event. 

This event feature allows you to invite your LinkedIn connections, and for even greater visibility, ask them to share the event with their networks. After the event, post a recap on your LinkedIn page and thank everyone who joined in to keep the conversation going and reinforce your personal brand. 

Utilize LinkedIn ads

If you have a budget for promotion, consider using LinkedIn Ads to reach a broader audience. Some business authors start with sponsored content in which they share book excerpts or full articles to increase visibility and drive traffic to the book’s purchase page. Others prefer to use targeted advertising that’s aimed at specific demographics, industries, and job titles. For maximum visibility, consider using a combination of both methods. 

Leverage LinkedIn to build your email list

LinkedIn can also help you grow your email list, which is essential for ongoing engagement—you just need to get a little creative so people actually read it when it hits their inbox. One idea here is to offer a freebie in the form of a valuable resource related to your book. Create a helpful checklist or guide, then promote it on LinkedIn and encourage people to sign up for your email list to receive the free document. 

Another option is to share email sign-up links. If you include links to your email sign-up form in your posts and profile, you’re making it extremely easy for interested readers to join your list. 

Showcase testimonials and reviews through LinkedIn posts

Many people make their purchases—including business books—based on the reviews and testimonials they read on social media and on other websites. So share positive feedback from readers, customers, or industry experts on LinkedIn, and use some eye-catching graphics to highlight these endorsements. 

Another great way to grab attention as LinkedIn members scroll through their feeds is to post a video or highlight reel in the featured section. Showcase your positive testimonials, reviews, media mentions or snippets from a speaking engagement, and if possible, a professional book trailer. This can both enhance your author profile and attract more readers, thus leveraging LinkedIn to your business book’s advantage. 

Our business book marketing services can catapult you to the next level of author-preneurship!

As you embark on the journey to promote your business book, remember that your expertise has value. With dedication and the right strategies, you can successfully leverage LinkedIn to achieve your goals as an author and business professional—and we can help fortify your book marketing strategy. 

Contact us today to learn more about our book marketing services!