Guerrilla Marketing for Writers: 100 No-Cost, Low-Cost Weapons for Selling Your Work

by Jay Conrad Levinson, Rick Frishman, Michael Larsen

Because the battle begins before a book even hits the shelves, an author needs every weapon to get ahead of the competition. Guerrilla Marketing for Writers is packed with proven insights and advice, it details 100 “Classified secrets” that will help authors sell their work before and after it’s published. This life range of weapons-practical low-cost and no-cost marketing techniques-will help authors design a powerful strategy for strengthening their proposals, promoting their books, and maximizing their sales.

Genres: Writing, Business, Nonfiction, Reference

308 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2000

Reviews

[Renee · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a fiction writer, I give it 2 stars for helpfulness; for those promoting a nonfiction work, though, I'd bump it up to 3. The ideas are sound, but tainted with a salesman's optimism; although marketing oneself requires a certain deluded zeal, it's cruel to imply (for example) that booksellers will happily create window displays for a random book. As a bookseller, I can tell you no, they will not, and you're far better served guerrilla marketing online (or better, working on your next book).

Even the book's more solid advice suffers from sloppy writing & organization. To explain what's wrong with the writing, here's a sample paragraph:

But if your books are as good as you want them to be, they will be excellent calling cards. Only meeting people in person can be more impressive. Books make excellent calling cards. They are an impressive way to introduce yourself to anyone and instantly prove your authority. The more successful your books are, the greater the entree they will create for you.

This is bloated business speak at its worst, the kind of motivational writing that substitutes volume for substance (while telling you little you don't already know). Instead of five sentences, the idea can be dealt with in one:

Books, especially successful books, make excellent calling cards.

The bloat problem runs through the book, and you could reduce the current prose by half and retain most of the book's ideas & value. The book's organization, which splits related topics so that the authors can list more "guerrilla tools," further muddies the content. Still, if you're a nonfiction writer, it might be worth checking out at the library for some ideas. But it's not a buy.

[Wes Locher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Because I had a book that was soon to be published, I starting picking up and consuming as much information as I could regarding book marketing. This was the first book I grabbed (on a long list) and read the majority of it during a flight.

Now, don't get me wrong, there is some good information in these pages and I picked up a couple of good tips, however, this book makes a dangerous assumption: It assumes that you know over a thousand people that you can easily tell about your book, and thus they will buy it, and you will become a best-seller. Don't know 1,000 people? You might be in a predicament.

On the positive side, there is a website companion to this book that has all sorts of good book marketing ideas supplied by the authors of the book, along with many writers who have read the volume and give feedback on how their campaigns worked out. They also include feedback on the techniques discussed in this book, both good and bad.

I can see myself re-reading this at some point in the future when I'm a bit more knowledgeable, however, this may have not been the best place to start when attempting to learn about marketing with little to no previous experience.

[Chrys Fey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of good tips for fiction and nonfiction writers on marketing online and offline.

[Trish]

Some good information but some of it is dated, but that's because I've had this book for a few years and I believe there may be new editions out since this one.

[Spellbind Consensus]

**Guerrilla Marketing for Writers: 100 No-Cost, Low-Cost Weapons for Selling Your Work** by Jay Conrad Levinson, Rick Frishman, and Michael Larsen is a comprehensive, action-oriented guide for authors who want to promote their work effectively without relying on large budgets or traditional publishing muscle. The book presents 100 specific tactics—“marketing weapons”—organized into categories to help writers build visibility, grow their readership, and generate book sales through persistence, creativity, and resourcefulness.

Key ideas and actionable strategies:

* **Treat Writing as a Business, Not Just an Art**

* Success as a writer requires a mindset shift: marketing is as important as writing itself.
* Building a readership involves intentional branding, outreach, and networking—not just producing content.
* Action: Set clear marketing goals and dedicate time weekly to promotional activities, not just writing.

* **Author Platform Is the Foundation**

* Your platform—audience, reputation, visibility—drives sales more than any single promotional tactic.
* It includes your website, social media presence, email list, speaking engagements, and media appearances.
* Action: Start or refine your author website and build an email list with an offer like a free chapter or reader guide.

* **Use Publicity to Multiply Reach**

* Earned media (articles, interviews, podcasts) is more credible and often more effective than paid ads.
* Leverage current events or evergreen topics related to your book to pitch journalists and bloggers.
* Action: Develop a media kit and pitch 10 relevant media outlets with customized angles.

* **Networking Is Crucial and Often Free**

* Build relationships with other authors, bloggers, event organizers, booksellers, and readers.
* Word-of-mouth and peer support can extend your reach exponentially.
* Action: Attend literary events, join writing groups, and participate in online forums or social groups.

* **Get Maximum Value from Every Book Event**

* Book signings, readings, or launch parties should be multipurpose: sales, networking, content creation, and PR.
* Partner with local businesses, libraries, or charities to cross-promote and boost attendance.
* Action: Plan a small-scale event series and document it for social media and press releases.

* **Create Irresistible Promotional Materials**

* Use bookmarks, postcards, sample chapters, or business cards creatively to leave a lasting impression.
* Make them visually compelling and include a strong call to action.
* Action: Design one physical and one digital piece of promo material you can distribute widely.

* **Harness the Power of Content Marketing**

* Write blog posts, articles, newsletters, and guest content that connect with your target audience and reflect your book’s themes.
* This builds trust and keeps you top-of-mind.
* Action: Commit to publishing new content biweekly on your own site or through partnerships.

* **Optimize Social Media with a Personal Touch**

* Be authentic, engaging, and consistent—focus on relationship-building over self-promotion.
* Different platforms serve different purposes (e.g., Instagram for visuals, Twitter for industry chat, LinkedIn for nonfiction topics).
* Action: Choose one platform to focus on and create a weekly posting plan aligned with your brand.

* **Build and Reward a Street Team**

* Create a group of passionate readers or supporters to help promote your book through reviews, shares, and events.
* Offer them exclusive access, sneak peeks, or thank-you gifts to sustain engagement.
* Action: Start a private group or email list for your top fans and give them a mission.

* **Measure, Adapt, and Keep Going**

* Track which tactics generate engagement, visibility, and conversions (e.g., email signups, book sales).
* Guerrilla marketing is about experimenting and doubling down on what works.
* Action: Create a simple marketing tracker to log efforts and outcomes for each tactic used.

* **Think Long-Term, Not Just for Launch**

* Book promotion doesn’t stop after publication—build a career, not just a campaign.
* Many readers discover books months or years after release if the platform and presence are active.
* Action: Develop a 12-month plan that includes regular outreach, content, and engagement activities.

This book empowers writers to take control of their marketing using creativity, hustle, and strategic action. With 100 practical tactics and a guerrilla mindset, authors can build enduring visibility and commercial success—whether traditionally or independently published.

[Nathan Albright · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book.  As a writer, someone who enjoys both the solitary cave-dwelling existence of writing as well as someone who enjoys public conversation about books and writings with others, this book had a lot to offer.  It was told with a great deal of humor and more than a little bit of bracing realism, and the authors themselves have done a good job at not only providing a lot of practical advice for writers who wish to make a living out of their efforts but also practice what they preach, which makes this book all the better in being able to show and not only tell.  As always, though, this book is not so much about the enjoyment of the book as a reader, but its application in the life of a reader.  Or, alternatively, a reader can look to see what he is already doing right as a writer and to ponder what other things can be done to increase one's effectiveness in marketing one's writings at little or no cost.  The authors focus on fellow non-fiction writers but also spend a bit of time focusing on novelists by giving advice specifically for them, which makes the book broadly applicable to book writers in general.

This book is divided into four parts.  The authors introduce by seeking to convince the reader why this book is necessary and how to get the most out of it.  The first part of the book contains two chapters that introduce the idea of guerrilla marketing and its usefulness at present (I), on why a writer has to be a guerrilla marketer (1) and an author's guide to the future of book publishing (2).  The second part of the book looks at weapons that make one a guerrilla (II), specifically the most powerful weapons a writer has for promotion (3), the most powerful tools for selling (4), the most powerful weapons a writer has internally (including niches) (5), and the weapons that make one a guerrilla (namely one's promotion planning and budgeting) (6).  The third part of the book looks at weapons galore to help the writer sell more (III), including publicity weapons (7), more plans that help one prove one is a guerrilla (8), fusion marketing weapons (9), weapons that use technology to help the writer (10), weapons that involve one's books (11), weapons made possible by one's ability to write (12), weapons made possible by one's ability to find allies (13), and weapons that deliver free advertising (14).  The fourth and final part consists of weapons that are all about the writer (IV), including weapons that prove one is a pro (15), weapons that are useful to make part of one's identity (16), weapons for communicating that identity to others (17), and weapons to power an invincible personal marketing machine (18), after which the authors conclude the book with a great adventure (19), appendices on the weapons provided in order of importance, how to find a publicist, how networks can help, a sample media kit, timeline for a publicity campaign, a writer's digest publicity questionnaire, the top 100 markets for publishing in the United States, and Mike's evaluation form, along with some information about the authors.

To be sure, much of this information is not new.  If one has read books on marketing, especially those devoted to authors, one has probably read most of these suggestions, albeit phrased perhaps in a different way.  Where this book succeeds is in the lighthearted sense the book maintains about its material.  One never gets the feeling that the authors are trying to talk down to the reader or promote themselves as authorities, but rather one gets the feeling that they are allies in the common goal of getting good books to customers who will appreciate them and who can in turn be enlisted to read and review the book and help to promote it.  The fact that the authors spend so much time trying to enlist the readers as allies, and in encouraging the writer to build his or her own alliances makes this book an enjoyable read in that it seeks to introduce the reader into a community of writers and other professionals who make a living off of the book trade.  Since many of us readers are somewhat isolated and obscure people, this aspect of belonging makes the book more enjoyable and likely makes the authors pretty likeable people to work with, which makes this book's advice all the more easy to respect and apply.

[Mindy Peltier · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're a writer who hates the words platform, marketing, and social media, you need this book. If you're a writer who needs to improve their marketing, you need this book. If you're a writer who's successfully marketing, you still need this book.

"Guerrilla Marketing for Writers" is an indispensable tool for breaking down the marketing journey into conquerable steps. Their 100 weapons are rated free, low cost, expensive, and paid. Some are easy to implement, others will take time. But, it gives every writer a place to begin and goals to achieve.

The worlds of technology, social media, and publishing are constantly changing. Instead of cowering from the fray, writers should charge into battle, conquer with these tools, and get their message to a hurting world.

Thank you, Terry Whalin of Morgan James Publishing, for providing two free copies. One I'm rereading, the other I will give away in my @NWCWriters Renewal workshop, "Tips for Traveling Through Social Media", in which I compare a writer's journey to taking the Tube in London.

[Axmed Bahjad]

It has marketing weapons for writers to market their books. I highly recommend it.

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

it sounds like people who just compiled a list of ideas from other people's blogs. they don't use it, but, to them, these ideas seem like doable.

[Paul Bard · Rating 4 out of 5]

The basic promotion plan should excite you.

The list of tools at the back is great.

Start with oneself first.

[Victoria Hay · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've never been nuts about this book. Some years ago I bought a copy. Recently, a colleague raved about it and so, having tossed out the first one, I bought a second copy.

It seems to me that about 80% of the suggestions in here are self-evident.

* Write a decent book, one with some qualities that appeal to readers.
* Use the last page of your book to urge readers to visit your website.
* Register a domain name for a series as soon as you think of it; don't wait till someone else claims it.
* Create a presence on sites like Goodreads.

No kidding?

There are some good ideas here, but you have to plow through so much that is commonplace, obvious, or self-serving that you're probably better off to learn the good stuff on your own, by trial and error.

If you're a total newbie to marketing and publishing, buy this book. If you've been around the block even once, save your pennies.

Victoria Hay, Ph.D.
Slave Labor: The New Story of American Higher Education
Plain & Simple Press: An imprint of The Copyeditor's Desk, Inc.
Writers Plain & Simple Blog

[Elizabeth T. Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Great Power Tool for Authors Building a Platform

This book is a fantastic resource for authors look to market their work while not losing their sense of soul. I read the paperback version and really enjoyed the format and structure. The authors are offering ideas that work well in the modern world, although it was written in 2010 so they haven't included explanation of how to do some of the most up-to-date on-line tactics. (This is why I gave it four stars instead of five.) Regardless, it really helps to understand how the big publishers have traditionally approached book promotions, so you can tailor it to your own work. Also, they constantly remind the reader that you don't need a big publisher to do these things; in fact, many of the greatest publishing success stories have been created by individuals with a passion and will power to get their ideas out there. I would definitely include this book in my arsenal of marketing books for authors. Follow me at www.patchofearth.com! #authors #marketing

[Mark Major · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guerrilla Marketing for Writers is a very useful book. The authors pursue a comprehensive and broad approach about marketing for writers. They cover a lot of ground. They are upfront about this but, on occasion, some readers (especially inexperienced writers) will wish for a little more detail about how to precisely pursue some strategies and a little less cheer-leading, "just do it" motivational snippets (especially with regards to the closely-guarded walls of the New York publishing world). Having said this, all types of writers will find something useful in this book.The authors are clear you should pick and choose, not universally apply their marketing strategies. Even someone like me - who is about to publish is seventh and eighth books - found about 25% of Guerrilla Marketing for Writers extremely useful, either in offering new ideas or reminding me about things I used to do but haven't done recently (and really should, as a matter of course).

[Syawal Ameron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pemasaran Gerila untuk Penulis.

Buku ni wajib baca untuk semua penulis buku yang nak jadikan buku dia terjual dengan baik. Buku ini adalah karya terjemahan dari buku asal "Guerilla Marketing for Writers" oleh empat orang penulis yang terkenal dalam bidang penulisan dan penerbitan buku.
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Buku ni sediakan 100 'senjata' kos rendah, sederhana dan tinggi untuk terbit dan pasarkan buku anda. Ni saya quote beberapa ayat yang mungkin boleh bagi inspirasi kepada kita.
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"Menulis dan bercakap apabila digandingkan bersama, memang saling melengkapi kerana dengan menulis kita bercakap dengan tepat, sementara dengan bercakap kita menulis dengan selesa."
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"Sekiranya kita tidak menjamah makanan tengah hari kita, orang lain akan buat demikian".
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"Pita audio boleh menukarkan kereta kita menjadi sebuah universiti"
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#Letsاقرأ #syawalbookreview

[Brendan O'Meara · Rating 3 out of 5]

To no fault of their own, this book is dated. It was written 11 years ago so it doesn't include the importance of Twitter, Facebook, and blogging. Email and websites are their flagship technologies (vital to today, but not cutting edge). I'm sure future editions of this book will include that and it will be a 5-star read.

There are tremendous insights to this book and if I had had this a year ago I might be whistling a different tune in terms of my own book promotion. I can't do anything about that now, but I can still apply many of their insights to my book in its second summer and certainly my next several books.

I'd buy an updated version, but would visit the library for the older one.

[Joy Farrington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guerrilla Marketing for Writers takes the best of Guerrilla Marketing practices (along with some new ones) that authors can use to help sell their books. Levinson and friends includes 100 no, low, medium, and high price marketing tools that any writer can use to help create a marketing plan. This book is a great idea generator for authors seeking to promote their books with little to no cost and I highly recommend this book along with the other Guerrilla Marketing titles to anyone who is doing their own marketing.

[Natalie Weber · Rating 4 out of 5]

If being a successful self-publisher is all about marketing, then this book is what every self-publisher needs! With 100 ideas gleaned from years of experience, there is no want of creative approaches for anyone willing to invest the time and energy into promoting their book. Now that I’m getting closer to the release date for Pajama School, I think I need to get my own copy of this book and re-read it! Read my full review here: http://www.journeytoselfpublishing.co...

[Elisabeth Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent resource for any author who wants to successfully market their book. Guerrilla Marketing For Writers is packed with effective 'how to' tips that help the author establish who to market to and how. It gives detailed instructions on how to write a press release, develop a media kit and stay on track with getting your book in the hand of your reader audience!
I still refer to it for new marketing ideas :)

[Martha Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a version/edition from early 2000's so the advice isn't quite right when it comes to social networking and the like. The other material is good, all about nailing your pitch, your press kit and the like. It's nice to have 100 points, so you can check off which ones make sense and feel as if you have covered some of the basis. I'm marketing my self-published novel, however, and after a point their advice runs out of gas for me.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for people who are considering writing, who are newly published or have been published and are struggling to sell their books.

A lot of great ideas that can be utilized by anyone. Some of the ideas would only be effective for books with traditional publishers, but most of them can be used by anyone at some level, and the resource list is very extensive and valuable.

There are quite a few errors that the editor missed, but none that make the book difficult to read.

[K.S.R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Self publishing takes long, hard work. This is the one book that has helped make sense of the whole process for me. I keep checking it out of the library so i can make detailed notes, which I try pretty hard to follow. I hope that if there is anyone out there that loves to read and write -- and wants to get their writing out there, that you will benefit from this book as I have.

[Nili Levine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book full of good ideas to work with both before and after you write and publish your book! It won't walk you through everything, but it gives you a good basis to work from to get your work out there AND make you money. I love it, and would recommend it to almost anyone looking to publish a book, or whom has recently been published.

[A.L. Sowards]

Probably a good book for writers of self-help books and other how-to books. I'm interested in promoting fiction, so it wasn't exactly what I was looking for, but worth skimming through. I thought some of their 100 ideas were stretches, but if they want to change the title from 100 to 101, their 101st idea can be to use a copy-editor.

[Vada K. Belle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing. I'm astounded by how many people complain that this book is too out of date and doesn't apply to them. Are some things a little dated, yes, but I found that I could easily translate/bring into now each anachronism for today's marketing world. This book is inspiring, comprehensive, action-oriented...a must read for any author.

[Daryl Muranaka · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the book points out, information goes out of date at a rate of 2% a month. I found a couple of things that had changed, but that is a small thing compared to some of the really great ideas that they give that aren't subject to expiration. It's a good book to cheerlead you into starting your promotion.

[Jim Rossi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good solid book. Some of this advice gets into near-quackery territory as far as how formulaic & tiresome it is to prospective readers of your book when everyone with a book out does it that way. But overall, 80-90% of what's in here is really valuable to me, and it's a valued resource as I finish my first book, The Case of the Cleantech Con Artist: A True Vegas Tale.

[Nate Jordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're an author, or have hopes of becoming one, this is a must-read. Containing a plethora of no-cost and small-cost strategies, Guerrilla Marketing for Writers will help you get your books sold and, most importantly, read.

[K.M. Weiland · Rating 2 out of 5]

Contains some interesting and inspiring marketing pointers, but for the most part it merely repeats old standby information and fills out the remainder of its touted "100 weapons" with such fluff as "Weapon #81: Your Enthusiasm," "Weapon #82: Your Sense of Humor," and "Weapon #88: Your Smiles."

[Adam Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for what it's worth. It really does stretch in a few places to get to "100 weapons" and can make some broad assumptions. However, it's a good resource. The most up to date edition would probably be better. The source list is worth the price of the book.

[Steve Goodyear · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was a pretty good read—it has a bunch of useful tips for self-promoting a book. The whole "Guerrilla" thing gets old quick though, and I would've liked some more depth on some key tips rather than rushing to stuff in an even 100.