With limited money to spend, the highest-value marketing tactics are the ones that trade time rather than cash: ARC outreach, a well-written press release, organic social media, and your author platform, all of which are free or nearly free. These aren't consolation prizes for authors who can't afford advertising; they're genuinely effective on their own, and they're also what makes paid tactics work better later, if and when you do have budget for them.
This is part of the Complete Guide to Book Marketing.
ARC outreach. Sending advance copies to readers, bloggers, and reviewers costs little beyond the copies themselves (often free for ebooks), and it's one of the most effective ways to generate reviews and early buzz. See What Is an ARC?
A well-written press release. Writing and sending a press release costs nothing but your time, and a genuinely newsworthy angle can earn coverage that would otherwise cost significantly more through paid placement. See How to Write a Book Press Release
Your author platform. A simple website and an email newsletter cost little to set up and maintain, and unlike paid ads, the audience you build keeps paying off for every future book. See Building an Author Platform
Organic social media. Consistent, genuine engagement on one or two platforms where your readers actually are costs time, not money, though it requires real consistency to build momentum.
Asking your existing network. Friends, family, past colleagues, and anyone who's already expressed interest in your writing are a free, warm audience for your launch, as long as the ask stays genuine (an honest request for a look or a review) rather than pressuring people into inflated praise.
Community participation. Genuinely engaging in writing and reader communities relevant to your genre, following each community's own rules, builds relationships and visibility over time without direct cost.
If you have a little budget, even $50-200, a few targeted options tend to offer better returns than spreading that same amount thin across many tactics:
Most of what's listed here costs time rather than cash, which means the real limiting factor for many authors isn't budget, it's consistency. A modest set of free tactics, done consistently over weeks and months, tends to outperform a burst of paid spending that isn't sustained.
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Yes, to a real extent. ARC outreach, a press release, your author platform, and organic social media all cost time rather than money, and can meaningfully build reviews and visibility on their own.
If you have a small amount to spend, a targeted ARC service or a Goodreads Giveaway (for review generation) tends to offer better returns than a small, spread-thin advertising budget.
Not necessarily forever, but wait until your listing (cover, description, at least some reviews) is strong enough to convert the traffic ads would send. Advertising a weak listing wastes limited budget.
Spreading a small budget across too many tactics at once, rather than focusing time and whatever money is available on a few things done well.