Top 10: Ebook Marketing software

2025. NetGalley launches ebook promotion service Booktrovert



NetGalley (a company that specializes in ARC books, i.e. giving readers access to books before they are officially published) has launched a platform called Booktrovert. For readers, there are giveaways, discounts, presales, games, merch, sweepstakes and tools for creating book lists. For authors, there are tools for marketing and advertising. Authors and publishers can launch private and public campaigns themselves - for example, for book clubs or presentations. Pre-orders and direct links to buy books are supported. Books are delivered via Kobo, Kindle and Booktrovert's own web reader. There are analytics on views, clicks, demographics and engagement.


2025. TikTok quickly gave up on book publishing



TikTok is shutting down its book publishing service 8th Note Press that was launched just two years ago in 2023. Through its #BookTok community, TikTok has become an effective place for publishers to drive book sales and even self-published authors have found considerable success by capturing a viral moment on TikTok. So in 2023 ByteDance took the next logical step - tried to earn on book publishing. But probably this project hasn't become successful enough and brings small income compared to Tiktok's advertising business. And taking into account Tiktok's problems with US business, this publishing affair is like a fifth wheel. But nevertheless #BookTok is still a good marketing tool for authors.

2023. Goodreads introduces new Giveaway marketing tool for authors



In the vast, improbably complex universe of bookish endeavors, Goodreads has embarked on a curious new adventure, launching the U.S. Giveaways program—a cunningly designed initiative packed with features that might well baffle even the most seasoned Vogon poet. This masterstroke of literary marketing wizardry comes in two gleaming packages, each engineered to propel books into the hyperspace of discovery while enticing readers to leave their invaluable reviews. Authors and publishers, long clamoring for more robust tools to dazzle audiences, will find their wishes granted with seamless audience connections and the magic of automatically updated Want-to-Read lists. For Kindle Direct Publishing authors, the previously mythical ability to host Kindle ebook giveaways is now a thrilling reality. At a mere $119, the Standard package boldly delivers up to 100 copies—Kindle or print—while the $599 Premium package boasts not only these same perks but also a dazzling "Featured" spotlight on the Giveaways page, perfect for showcasing your magnum opus to the galaxy’s most voracious readers. Ford Prefect would probably approve, though he'd insist on a towel being part of the deal.


2023. PublishDrive adds Sales Events to help authors market their books



PublishDrive, in a move that would make even the most perplexing galactic bureaucracy look like a beginner's guide, has rolled out a series of sparkling enhancements to its self-publishing platform for authors. The menu now glides with upgraded elegance, while an integrated tutorial patiently whispers directions for navigating its labyrinth of features. Sales analytics and reports, once resembling something best left to advanced mathematicians or clairvoyants, now present themselves with a clarity that even a Vogon could admire. The Help Center, too, has been infused with the sort of intelligence that allows it to anticipate what you actually need, rather than presenting you with a long, irrelevant list of things you don’t. But the pièce de résistance is the Sales Events feature, a tool so cunning it practically writes your marketing plan for you. With a flick of the proverbial wrist, authors can book promotions across a dizzying array of vendors, setting discounts and price tweaks that promise to make their books irresistible to readers and entirely noticeable by their wallets.


2023. Pressbooks partners with EBSCO to improve discoverability for books in Pressbooks Directory



In a universe not entirely unlike our own—though possibly with slightly more paperwork—Pressbooks has teamed up with the ever-intriguing EBSCO, presumably to ensure that open-access books published through Pressbooks don’t languish unnoticed in the digital equivalent of a sock drawer. This integration, a splendidly unpronounceable collaboration, allows these noble works to frolic freely through EBSCO’s Faculty Select and EDS services. By diligently dispatching regular metadata updates to EBSCO’s sprawling Directory, Pressbooks demonstrates its relentless enthusiasm for helping both authors and institutional publishers shine their collective light into the murky corners of discoverability. The ultimate goal of this whimsical partnership is nothing less than to sprinkle the joy of free learning materials across educators, students, and other bewildered seekers of knowledge, boldly increasing the adoption of openly licensed content and—just possibly—saving the galaxy from mediocrity, one metadata update at a time.


2019. Goodreads starts Giveaways to help authors promote their books



The shiny new contraption known as Goodreads Giveaways is rather like handing a microphone to your book and letting it shout to the universe, "Read me!" Whether you're nervously launching your debut, keeping the flame alive for your latest masterpiece, or coaxing an old favorite back into the spotlight, this ingenious platform is a delightfully chaotic way to fling your creation into the hands of millions of readers. It’s not just a marketing tool; it’s a bit of a literary adventure, letting readers introduce your book to their friends with the same giddy enthusiasm as finding a really good towel. With Goodreads Giveaways, your book gets an all-access pass to the popular Giveaways section, a bustling place where readers trip over new titles they didn’t know they needed. Plus, your giveaway takes center stage on your book’s page, practically inviting readers to join the fun. Oh, and don’t forget the nifty bit where your Goodreads followers and the folks who’ve already clicked "Want-to-Read" get a cheerful nudge about your giveaway—because what’s better than spreading the word faster than a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster at a book club?


2019. Reedsy launches Goodreads alternative for indie authors



Reedsy, in its infinite improbability, has conjured up a dazzlingly clever contraption called Discovery, a marketing marvel so precisely tailored for independent authors that it might as well come with its own towel. Imagine a universe where your book isn’t just lost among the teeming cosmos of unread stories, but instead is lovingly plucked by a legion of reviewers and hurled with precision at thousands of potential readers. Utilizing the arcane sorcery of machine-learning algorithms (probably powered by very small, thoughtful dolphins), Discovery partners with Reedsy’s ever-vibrant community to make sure your magnum opus doesn’t just sit sulking in the corner. Think Goodreads, but sleeker, shinier, and mercifully less bewildering. Sign up, and voilà! Your book is presented to a crack team of discerning reviewers who pick their next read with all the care of Vogon poets deciding on their next victims. Come launch day, your book will take its place in the spotlight, dazzling registered readers who can fawn over its sample chapter, applaud your impeccable cover design, peruse reviews, upvote it with gusto, and—most importantly—buy it, presumably without the intervention of hyperspace bypasses.