Reading Time: 9 minutesAs the New Year begins, and we start to plan out 2019, the one looming question remains: What should I do to promote my book?

Social media is, without question, a big book promotion time suck for most authors. We know we need it, but there’s a lot around social media that still leaves us baffled. The biggest issue is this: When it comes to book promotion, is social media really effective? Yes and no. Posting to social, for the sake of posting and “looking busy,” isn’t a great way to drive engagement. Posting thoughtful pieces that drive engagement and audience response is a better way to grab attention on social, but does it drive sales? The answer is not technically – but it drives exposure, which helps drive sales. As with anything you do to promote your book, it’s got to be more about exposure, and less about sales. In most cases there is no direct correlation between a post on Facebook and a book sale. The same is true for a book review, blog interview, etc. But it all leverages into exposure – and the right kind of repeated exposure will get you book sales.