by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethspanncraig.com

It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking you need to shout about every new release. But I’ve learned that readers don’t follow books—they follow authors they like. When you focus on building yourself as a presence rather than pushing individual titles, every book you write benefits from the connections you’ve already made.

Build Relationships That Last Beyond One Release

When someone finds you because you shared something helpful or interesting, they discover your whole catalog. A reader looking for cozy mysteries who stumbles onto your blog post about small-town settings might browse your backlist and buy three books instead of just the new one. I like to think about promotion as introducing myself to potential readers rather than introducing one specific book. The relationships you build by being a consistent, helpful presence stick around between releases, which means readers are already waiting when your next book comes out.

Create Content That Keeps Working for You

Blog posts about writing, social media updates about your process, or discussions about topics you care about stay relevant a long time after you post them. Someone discovering that content six months from now might become a reader. Book-specific promotion, on the other hand, has a pretty short shelf life. After a few weeks, “Buy my new release!” posts feel stale, and the urgency is gone. But a post about how you approach plotting mysteries or what you love about your genre? That keeps working, bringing new readers to everything you’ve written.

Stand Out by Being More Than Buy Links

Every author has a new book at some point. What makes you memorable is offering something beyond announcements. When you share your perspective on craft, talk about books you love, or discuss topics related to your genre, you become someone worth following. I share writing tips because it’s genuinely helpful, but it also reminds people I exist and write books they might enjoy. Readers remember the author who taught them something or made them laugh, not the author who just posted cover reveals.

Make Everything Else Work Better

All your marketing gets easier when people already know and like you. Readers who follow you are more likely to preorder your next book, leave reviews, and tell their friends about you. Your newsletter gets better open rates when people actually want to hear from you instead of just tolerating release announcements. Social media posts get more engagement when you’ve built real connections. Everything compounds when you’ve invested time in being someone readers recognize and trust.

Build Something That Grows Over Time

Promoting individual books means starting fresh with each release. Promoting yourself as an author means every bit of effort adds to what you’ve already built. Each helpful post, every genuine interaction, and all the personality you share accumulates. Over time, readers start watching for your releases instead of discovering them by accident

How do you promote yourself as an author beyond just announcing new releases?

Author Branding: Build Connections to Benefit Everything You Write:
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