With Book Expo less than a month away, I thought this would be a good question to answer. I have been going to trade shows for the past 30 years or so. Over that time, I can think of a single show, covering three different industries, where I sold anything of substance during the show.

If you’re heading off to Book Expo America this month, you already know that it’s the largest book trade event held in the U.S. and second only to the Frankfurt Book Fair internationally. And whether you’re exhibiting a self-published book at the show, signing autographs in your publisher’s booth, or just planning to walk the floor, you can make it a more profitable experience. Here’s how:

Blogging is a relatively easy way for you to publicize your book and even improve your writing while you’re at it. If you can write an e-mail, you can write a blog—it’s the easiest, cheapest, and perhaps best way for authors to find an audience and connect with readers. Blogging is an informal, intimate form of communication that inspires trust among your readers.

One surefire way to spread the word about a book is for the author to embark on a public speaking campaign. Authors who pursue speaking engagements gain more attention for their books. Some authors have single-handedly propelled their books to bestseller status through traveling and speaking nationwide on a continual basis.

It’s wonderful to get media coverage for your book or business. But even if you’re successful in getting publicity in magazines and newspapers—how can you guarantee that your publicity will translate into sales? Here are five ways to up the odds that your media coverage will translate into sales:

Performances on radio talk or news shows are the workhorses of book-promotion activities. With radio as part of your communication plan, you can reach hundreds, thousands or millions of people at little or no cost. You can even sell some books, if you do it right.

If you can’t get journalists interested in writing about your book, it doesn’t matter how good your book is: It’s going to be hard to find an audience. So how can you pitch your book to journalists to get them interested? Here are some tips on effective media pitches.