Whether your book is hot off the presses or has been around for a year or two, if it’s not selling as well as you had hoped it would, there’s probably a good reason. No, it’s not the cover, binding or the category you selected. It’s the fact that not enough people know about it.

Hundreds of new titles come out every month across the United States. Some days it seems like the majority of them are printed in my home state of Minnesota alone. With so much competition, if you aren’t working to market your book every day and in every way you can think of, you might as well through in the towel and chalk your losses up to experience.

Here are five things you can and should be doing to get the word out about your book:

1. If you don’t have a website for your book, get one!

These days, the majority of readers are spending time online seeking out titles they may like before placing an order on Amazon or heading to their local bookstore. When you take your site live, fill it with content related to your book. The more information the better!

2. Start blogging.

Blogging is one of the easiest ways to begin building a fan base. It’s also one of the most direct ways to reach your target audience. People who are already interested in the topic you have written about will get to know you through your posts, and if they like what they read chances are good they’ll buy your book.

3. Seek out media opportunities as often as possible.

When I begin working with a new author, one of the first things I do is develop a media outreach plan for them. I used to be a television newscast producer and have a pretty good feel for the needs of the media.

4. Tell as many people as you can about your book every day.

This is something I’m happy to report most of my book clients do every day. Congratulations go out to Sondra Goodkind, author of Empowering Children to Save the Wildlife of Africa. She just received a big order from a travel agency she had told about her book.

5. Invest some resources in book distribution

If your book is already available through one of the major distributors, Baker and Taylor www.btol.com and Ingram www.ingrambook.com, you’ve done a good job in this area. If it’s only available via your personal website or on Amazon.com, you may want to expand your reach.

Major bookstores, like Barnes and Noble, for example, will only order books from vendors that offer the right of return. They won’t even entertain the idea of bringing in a book on consignment, or buying it direct from the author.