Quiet, Effective Ways Of Book Promotion: The Humble Hyperlink

One of the best ways to promote your book involves HTML.  You know what you need to learn?
The hyperlink.
Because too many damn authors talk about their books in the abstract, with mushy comments like this:
“I had my baby shortly after I got the idea for my second book, so I had to juggle changing diapers and writing…”
Which is nice, but hey!  Which book did you write?  What’s the name?  Where’s it published?
Just add this:
“I had my baby shortly after I got the idea for Hot Lesbian Alligators, my second book, so I had to juggle changing diapers and writing…”
Now, the trick to this is to be a functioning human being.  If three out of every four comments you write make reference to Your Fantastic Book, then smack yourself in the genitals and try again.  But if you’re an author, eventually your book will come up – and when it does, just quietly drop in the name so we can look if we’re interested.
Don’t go out of your way to promote the book.  Don’t make funny ha-ha jokes like adding “(BUY IT NOW)” after mentioning it.  Your book is a friend, you see, and when you mention a friend you’re proud of you name them, so treat it like that.
And yeah, there are people who will yell at you for that mild level of self-promotion.  Fuck those assholes.  Assuming you’re not bending every conversation to revolve around the twisted spoke of Hot Lesbian Alligators, mentioning that your book exists is not overpromotion.  Particularly if you’re a woman or a minority, you’re battered on a daily basis to not mention your achievements, so you self-sabotage before you even start – and all the while, talentless white guys like me shamelessly trumpet their books like they were Jesus announcing his sequel to the Bible.
(When Jesus writes the Biblical sequel, it will be called – say it with me – Hot Lesbian Alligators.  Jesus has gotten way more modern in His parables.)
So don’t be afraid to mention it, unless the forum specifically says not to, or a moderator complains.  Let no one make you ashamed for mentioning the existence of your book.  As long as you’re not making any claims to its quality, you’re merely saving the curious a potentially-fruitless Google search, and as such you’re actually doing people a favor if they’re sufficiently interested in you that they want to follow down to your books.
So remember.  Hyperlink that motherfucker.