I’ve been researching how to market books as a self-published author for quite some time now. While there’s plenty of advice out there—some of it genuinely useful—most videos, articles, and podcast episodes overlook one fundamental principle: impressions.

You’ll often hear suggestions like:

• Design a great book cover
• Write a compelling book blurb
• Build a social media presence
• Start an author website

But none of that matters if no one ever sees any of that.

Ask yourself this: What’s better—having the best book cover in the world that no one sees, or the worst cover in the world seen by millions?

Obviously, it’s the second. If you can attract a million eyes, you’ll sell books—even if your cover, blurb, or even the story itself isn’t perfect. But if no one sees your book, you won’t sell a single copy, no matter how great it is.

This is why most book marketing advice falls short. It only becomes effective after you manage to drive traffic and generate impressions.

So, how do you get those impressions?

That might be the most fundamental question in all of online marketing. Right now, I’m trying to figure it out through trial and error. One thing I’ve already learned: you don’t get them overnight, and you certainly don’t get them easily.

So far, the only thing that has worked for me is: Give away as much as I can for free. Short stories, full novels, YouTube videos—whatever it is, giving it away for no cost to the reader helps get the ball rolling. From here on, you can build and maybe one day get those precious impressions for free in return.