Instead of answering, I went through all the responses thus far and made a spreadsheet of the answers. (This is absolutely non-scientific and possibly inaccurate, plus there's no data as to how well these strategies worked, but hey, I was curious and thought maybe others might be interested too.)
I also have a list of "Other" answers that didn't fit neatly in these boxes or struck me in some way-- I'll link those next.
Ok more about this huge list with why the post appeared here. @ashtardeza posts weekly chapters, which caught my eye as a strategy (even though it won't work for me by and large, as I tend to write out of order)--but snippets are great and as a reader I've absolutely picked up books based on snippets the author shared. @ewdocparris showed a book trailer and shared the expectation not to make money on a debut book, which I've heard before. Lots of strategies shared though in this string of posts!
@sarahijackson posted about workshops and a quarterly writing magazine ( @innerworlds ) which caught my eye.
@floofpaldi does serials, which is super effective for other writers I know, too.
@CA_Hawthorne talks about completing the series as part of her strategy, which yes, I absolutely need to get on that for my own series!
@crcollins mentioned the @liminalfiction site, which I've looked at. This and other sites designed to boost authors (like IASFA etc) are a cool resource.
@ElisesWritings Specifically mentioned genre-specific newsletters which I thought was a smart detail to consider. @joyce mentioned not seeing a lot of boost from FB/Amazon ads, and that mostly word of mouth has been key. @pretensesoup specifically mentioned Instagram working well in regards to time spent, and also targeting hashtags. @sagetyrtle mentioned taking workshops for learning to get better at promotion which I've been working on too.
@stevendbrewer mentioned posting story fragments as well as large posters of his covers that are visible when he runs Zoom, which I thought was a cool idea. Also cons, being on panels, and offering readings and goodies-- tons of great ideas here! @amalia12 mentioned creating video readings and other videos. Also, I just perked up in general since she's another indie author, so promo ideas might translate well @heatherrosejones has an amazing thread of her strategies you really need to check out!
@johnyNocash mentioned pre-sales with extras (I also do direct sales with goodies), but what really struck me was his music-oriented strategy. Very cool, and I hadn't heard of that before.
@Firlefanz mentioned BookFunnel promos which I also do, and using Fussy Librarian, which I've heard about but haven't yet tried.
@catchingshadows caught my attention mentioning Discord servers, as I'm on Discord a lot too.
@anderlandbooks mentioned making pictures and videos which sounded very cool to me.
@raemariz mentioned blog interviews and word-of-mouth, especially when talking about other people's writings. This struck me because this is what I do too-- I'm way more comfortable shouting about other people's books, lol
@drinkswriter does all the things. This is probably the correct answer, lol! Gin tastings might be a fun thing to springboard off of if you write alcohol-adjacent stories (or hey, who knows, maybe even if you don't)
@RubyJones specifically mentioned being creative about showing people what she writes including images & tropes, which I thought was a smart detail to mention
@JonSparks mentioned using promo stacking, which I've also tried but not with success--I've heard people advise it though!
@mamelby mentioned book signings and going to a festival, which caught my eye.
@Chriscutler brought in a new perspective, living in France and reminding us that successful strategies might vary from place to place.
@skaeth TBF, I was being brief to fit the space. I have also used sales, Instagram, and reviewers, although I've found direct engagement via social media/word of mouth the most productive. I would go to conventions in COVID-safe times, but there haven't been any since I started selling under this name. I dunno if any of that affects your stats! 😄
@RubyJones@skaeth dito. I've also used blog tours for reviews in launch month.
Another strategy I've heard but haven't tried is spending time reading and reviewing books on Goodreads and Amazon instead of being on social media. I wouldn't want to drop my socials, but I find the idea of catching genre-specific readers eyes via reviewing an interesting one.
@ElisesWritings@RubyJones I haven’t heard of reading and reviewing as a marketing strategy, though I do a ton of reading and reviewing when I can, mostly to spread the word about amazing books, as well as to fill the creative well, study craft through incredible storytelling, and to find similar books to target for ads, etc (If you like X and Y try Z— and if you like X or Y but haven’t tried the other, do that too!)
@skaeth@RubyJones it struck me because I wonder if the odds of hitting your target audience with in-genre reviews on review sights are better than posting to anyone and everyone you do (or don't) interact with on social media. I'm guessing its impact is hard to track though.
I should do more of the latter, but with an epic, portal, YA Fantasy with incidentally queer characters, limited romance & initially low magic... non high-risk-of-misleading ones are pricks to find 😆
@ElisesWritings@RubyJones I’d be very interested in knowing how effective that strategy is too!
For comp titles, (first of all, I’m just plain interested, but that’s a total sidebar) have you tried asking @bookstodon ? Or using the #Bookstodon hashtag? Using this resource, I have gotten so many amazing books to read to see if they’ll fit, along with just plain awesome books to read for fun too. I asked recently for low fantasy adventure romance recs and now have a pile of books to read.
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