The Business of Book Promotions

It is hard (for me) to promote my books. It seems like empty vanity. I realize that it's not -- promotion is essential -- but it's difficult.

Packt just send a raft of detailed information for authors. Some things they suggest I do.

• ✅Referrals. Want a "free" Python book? The "free" is in scare quotes because you'll have to write a review. Otherwise, the book is yours. DM me @s_lott and I'll put you on the list.
• ✅Amazon Author Profile: https://www.amazon.com/Steven-Lott/e/B00HNRSLEK Check.
• Packt Blog Posts. Interesting. I'll have to look into that. I think they can follow the RSS feed from here. If they can, check, this is done.
• ➡️Other on-line PR. Cool. I give them the blogs I follow. Nice. I can do that.
• ✅Social Media. I (sort-of) link these blog posts to my Twitter feed through https://dlvrit.com. But I'm half-hearted about it. Packt suggests in including @PacktAuthors so that there's a proper Twitter tie-in. That seems like there's no work to that. Also, there's a Packt Experts Author Community on Facebook.
• ✅Blog. Got it. You're reading this. And, also, here: https://medium.com/@s_lott.
• ➡️Author Newsletter. This seems like next-level blogging with more serious editorial planning. Interesting.
• 🆒Packt Promotions. I like this: they do the marketing. I just have to cooperate by sharing the information.
• 🆒Virtual Book Release Party. Wait. This could be cool. Functional Python Programming 2e is coming next summer. Hmmm. This could be fun. Banners and raffles for freebies or discounts.
• 🚻Author Street Team. Mutual Support. Advanced Copies. I would need to keep it organized, right? That's (potentially) a chunk of work. I'll need to contemplate that
• ✅Conferences. This is fun. For one of my PyCon trips, I got a promo code from Packt for free content during the conference. That was handy to give out. I went to Vistaprint and had a box of cards printed with contact info and the promotion code. 
• ➡️Packt Live on-line conferences. I've done a few webinars. They're difficult. Writing is easier because it unfolds more slowly. I'll have to look into doing a few more of these.
• ✅LinkedIn Profile. https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-lott-029835/ 

I've hit a few. A few more to do.

This is a pretty comprehensive list. It's good to see this kind of author support.

Also. They've done some serious re-engineering on their Author toolchain. MS-Word documents seem to be a thing of the past.