Promoting Your Book Online for Academics
by Jennifer van Alstyne and Dr. Sheena Howard
A FREE COURSE
Course Introduction
Your book deserves to reach the people you wrote it for. This free course for academics is from Dr. Sheena Howard of Power Your Research and Jennifer van Alstyne of The Academic Designer LLC.
When I ask professors who haven’t promoted their book, “do you hope more readers find this book?” The answer is often “Yes,” even if the book is older. Even when the book didn’t sell as well as you may have hoped.
Even when your book is out of print there are things you can do to have agency in sharing it online.
This free course is for academics with a book or research project you should be sharing with the world ✨
What inspired this course 📖
Jennifer van Alstyne of The Social Academic blog and Dr. Sheena Howard of Power Your Research designed this course for professors and researchers like you.
It’s especially for you if you’ve ever felt like, “I don’t need to do this for me, but I should do this for my book” when it comes to your online presence.
Or, if you worry about self-promotion but know your writing / research can help more people if you’re open to sharing it.
In this course
Bookmark this page for later 🔖
You deserve an online presence as an author and for your book when you’re ready. It’s okay if that’s not now for you. Bookmark or save this page for later. You can return when you’d like to be more intentional about how you show up online in the future.
What’s stopped academics from sharing your book?
Stories from professors and researchers. Do any of these sound like you?
“It came out but didn’t get the traction I was hoping for. If more people read the book it could really help X. [But also haven’t done anything and feel unsure what I could do.]”
“I did share it on social media (the day it came out).”
“I bought my domain name a while ago, but haven’t gotten a website up yet.”
“I thought my publisher would help. I didn’t realize that marketing my book would mostly be on me.”
“I had to pay more myself than I expected. The indexer was expensive. I got a book cover designer. There wasn’t much left for marketing.”
“My friend shared it on social media. I reposted it.”
“Those books are older now. I don’t know how or if to share them.”
“It’s not out yet. I thought I had to wait until it’s published.”
“I’m not good on video [wasn’t asked about video].”
“It’s out of print. No one reads it anymore. [But it still matters to me. And I think it could matter to other people too.]”
“I did a book tour or a few talks, but nothing on social media really.”
“There was some press about my book. No, I didn’t really share it.”
“I didn’t know how to do it without being braggy.”
“I don’t really want to promote my book, but know I should (my co-authors deserve to be celebrated).”
“Social media, do I need a website? Should I be on podcasts? I didn’t know where to start. So I haven’t done anything.”
“I did a virtual book party. But not really anything else.”
“My department / school / university shared it in the newsletter.”
“That book came out last year, and I have another coming out soon. It’s too late to share it.”
“I posted about it when it came out years ago. But I haven’t shared it at all recently. Should I?”
“I want to make a book trailer, that’s what will help people read my book. [But unsure of how to share the trailer or how many people it could reach].”
Meet Jennifer and Sheena [VIDEO]
A short introduction video
Download your course worksheet 📃
Goal-setting for your digital success as an author [VIDEO]
There are questions to accompany this video in the Worksheet.
Sharing your book or research project in meaningful ways [VIDEO]
There are questions to accompany this video in the Worksheet.
A Meditation for Your Book’s Online Presence [AUDIO]
Play or download this audio meditation to save for later.
A Meditation for Your Writing for Social Media Practice [AUDIO]
Play or download this audio meditation to save for later.
16 Prompts for Your Social Media for Book Authors
Most of the questions in the course Worksheet document can be adapted for written posts or video content for social media. Here are 16 more prompts to inspire you. Best wishes for your online presence and sharing your book online!
- What prompted you to write this book? Who did you write it for?
- Introduce your book. What’s your book about? Where can people read your book?
- Thank the people who supported your book. For instance, who did you dedicate your book to and why? Or consider thanking your book’s team, or people you’ve thanked in the Acknowledgements section.
- What was it like to 1st get physical copies of your book? Tell your unboxing story.
- Celebrate the book design / cover design. Is there a story to tell about working with the designer or how the cover is important to you?
- What was the hardest chapter of your book to write? How come? What helped you get through writing it?
- Let’s say people will only remember 1 thing you share about your book. What would you want them to know or remember?
- Thank a reviewer (and share their review of your book).
- What do you hope people think of or remember your book 20 years from now?
- Share a post on the anniversary of your book’s publication.
- Share your book in progress or next project (and at the end mention your last book).
- What’s 1 thing you learned about yourself as a writer while working on this book?
- What’s 1 thing you tried or experimented with for this book?
- Share a media mention, podcast appearance, or news about your book. Tag the publication, journalist, or member of the media when you post about it.
- Ask people to request your book in their local library.
- Share a savings or discount for the book. Is your publisher or another bookseller running a sale? Help people buy your book with a savings when you post about it.
- Introduce yourself. What do you most want people to know about you as the author of this book?
Using media to boost research impact and funding [VIDEO]
There are questions to accompany this video in the Worksheet.
Media opportunities for your book and research [VIDEO]
There are questions to accompany this video in the Worksheet.
Discussion [VIDEO]
A discussion about books, digital presence, and sharing online
Resources for you
Find resources to help you with your online presence on The Social Academic blog. At the bottom of the page you can even search by category to help you find the article or interview you’re looking for. I also encourage you to subscribe to Dr. Sheena Howard’s YouTube channel.
Here are some resources for academics specifically related to authors and books:
Interviews
- The Graphic History of Hip Hop with Dr. Walter Greason and Tim Fielder
- Author Websites with HR Hegnauer
- Writing, Radical Imagination, and Social Justice with Dr. Andrea Rexilius
- Your Time Matters with Dr. Martha Kenney
- Speaking Out on Social Media with Dr. Monica Cox, Author of Never Defeated
- Dr. Carlotta Berry on Diversity in STEM and Online Presence
- Writing Your Book for Minoritized Women Academics with Dr. Jane Jones
- Author Linda Moore on Attribution and Feeling Comfortable Talking About Your Book
- Academic Writing and Finding Community Online with Dr. Lisa Munro
- Successes and Setbacks of Social Media with Dr. Cheyenne Seymour
- Writer Steven Dunn Talks Facebook and Community
- Dr. Norman Eng Author of Teaching College Talks Self-Publishing
With Dr. Sheena Howard
Articles and Interviews with Jennifer
- Sharing Your Book On Social Media for Professors with Dr. Jane Jones (IG Live)
- How to talk about your new book on social media
General online presence articles you may find helpful (not specifically about books)
- Faculty Profile vs. LinkedIn profile
- How to Make A Personal Academic Website
- 35 Page Ideas for Your Academic Personal Website
- Setting Up Your Personal Academic Website (event replay)
- Social Media Platforms for Academics
- Social Media for Academics in 2025
- Dealing with Negative Reactions on Social Media for Academics
- How I Got Started Helping Professors With Their Online Presence
How we can work together
Want Jennifer and Sheena on your team?
It’s totally okay if you’re like “I’ve got this,” and are ready to go without support. Yay! I’m excited for you. You’ve got this.
You don’t have to work with us to have a stronger online presence. We’re here to help you if you do want support.
Schedule a no pressure Zoom call to chat with Jennifer about working together on your online presence.
One option is a Team VIP Day where Jennifer and Sheena team up to help you with the areas of your online presence and sharing your book personalized to your needs ✨🌱
Dr. Sheena Howard
Sheena C. Howard, is an award- winning author, filmmaker and scholar. She’s Founder of Power Your Research where she helps tenured professors increase their media coverage and visibility so that they can gain visibility, authority and income both inside and outside of academe.
In 2014 Sheena became the first Black woman to win an Eisner Award for her first book, Black Comics: Politics of Race and Representation (2013). The Eisner Awards are considered the ‘Oscars of Comics’. She is also the author of several critically acclaimed books and comics books. In 2017, Sheena published the Encyclopedia of Black Comics, which is the first book of its kind, profiling over 100 Black people in the comics industry. The Encyclopedia of Black Comics was named the 2018 American Library Associations’ Outstanding Reference Source.
In 2014, Sheena published Black Queer Identity Matrix and Critical Articulations of Race, Gender and Sexual Orientation. Sheena is the co-writer of the comic book, Superb about a teenage superhero with Down Syndrome.
She has appeared on NPR (National Public Radio), ABC, BBC, PBS as well as other networks and documentaries as an expert on popular culture, politics and social justice. Sheena is the subject of a 2018 Emmy-nominated episode of State of the Arts, which airs on NJTV and WHYY. She has been featured in ABC, PBS, BBC, NPR, NBC, The L.A. Times, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and more for her research on representation, identity, and social justice. Connect with her on social media @DrSheenaHoward
LINKS
Jennifer van Alstyne
Jennifer van Alstyne helps professors feel confident when sharing your research, teaching, and leadership online. She empowers academics to have an online presence, to tell your research story through her company, The Academic Designer LLC. Since 2018, she’s worked with faculty 1-on-1 on professor website design, social media for academics, and done-for-you bio writing.
Jennifer is a Peruvian-American poet. She knows words have the power to change our lives. The words you share about your research, about your science, about the teaching you care about? They matter. You have opportunity to touch more people when you’re open to sharing them online.
She hosts The Social Academic podcast where Jennifer interviews professors and people who help academics about what it’s like to have a digital footprint in Higher Education. When you have a stronger online presence, you help more people with the hard work you do, the things you already value in your academic life. There are 100+ resources to help you create your legacy online on The Social Academic blog.
Connect with her on social media @HigherEdPR / @JenVanAlstyne.
LINKS
- View services
- View testimonials
- Book your no pressure Zoom call to chat about working with Jennifer on your online presence.
