Writing for a YA Audience: Say Cheese
Posted: January 16, 2019 Filed under: Books, marketing, Promotion, Writing, Writing for a YA Audience, Writing Tips, Young Adult | Tags: book marketing, Book Promotion, Instagram, Jordan Elizabeth, Social media, Social Media Marketing, Social Media Promotion, Writing for a YA Audience, Young Adult Fiction 1 Comment
“Go on Instagram,” said my publisher. “That’s where the teens are. Post pictures of your books. They’ll eat it up.”
I was new to Instagram, but I called up the website on my computer and attempted to join, only to find out you have to post using the app on your cell phone. That put a damper on things – I don’t have a smart phone. My phone flips up, costs $100 a year, and it does everything I need it to (as in, it sometimes sends texts and usually makes a phone call). My husband has a smart phone, so I download the app onto his device, put on a smile, and snapped a picture holding my book. I didn’t look all that great. I snapped a few more, and ended up just taking a picture of the book cover. It got a few likes. They were from people who already knew me on Facebook.
I posted a few more covers and the likes trickled in, still from people who were already my friend. It seemed I needed a new strategy. I needed to attract people who didn’t already know me. I took some pictures of just me doing cute poses or wearing cute outfits. The same thing happened – the same people “liked” my pictures. Next, I tried posting pictures of my cat. That earned me more likes, and a couple new people. While she is adorable, my goal for Instagram was to get my book out there.
I reached out to author friends for advice. Based on their feedback, I started posting inspirational quotes and setting up my books in gorgeous spots. I propped my book up on the porch. I set the book in a bed of flowers. I put the book on my actual bed.
I like to think I’ve gotten better at posing my book in different way. The books are models and I’m their photographer. A very poor photographer. Likes and hearts trickle in, and now they’re coming from people I don’t know. I’m getting there!
Jordan Elizabeth is a young adult fantasy author. If you would like to follow her on Instagram, she goes by JayliaDarkness. The username is a shout-out to the YA fantasy series she’s currently writing.
You can connect with Jordan via her website, JordanElizabethBooks.com.
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Social Media is for Making Connections
Posted: December 17, 2018 Filed under: Advertising, Copywriting, marketing, Promotion, Western | Tags: book marketing, Book Promotion, Social media, Social Media Events, Social Media Marketing, Social Media Promotion 4 Comments
My husband always accused me of spending too much time ‘playing’ on Facebook, and although I do spend a lot of time on social media, what I’m really doing is promoting my writing and interacting with other authors and potential readers. The truth is, social media can be a valuable tool for authors, if they go about it with the right expectations.
Although I hear paid Facebook ads can drum up a few sales, but if we don’t want to spend a lot of money, we shouldn’t expect to sell a lot of books through social media. I know it doesn’t sound like it’s really very beneficial when you look at it from a sales perspective. But social media can be benificial if we use it to connect. Social media connects me with other authors and potential readers via several channels.
On Halloween, I co-hosted the Dead Man’s Party event, together with DL Mullen of Sonoran Dawn Studios. Though I had participated in several such events, this was my first experience with the organization of one. It was also the first audio event I had ever heard of. We mixed things up a bit by having the participating authors provided readings of their works of paranormal and horror, intermixed with the regular promotional posts, silly party games and giveaways. I had recently reviewed Dark Visions, a horror anthology compiled and edited by Dan Alatorre, which had just been released, and with his help, I was able to recruit many of the authors of the stories from the anthology. It was a learning experience, as many of these authors had never published anything before, or done an event such as this. I did many of the recordings and put together one video reading, as well as creating promotional posts for many of them. The whole thing was a lot of fun, drawing in over 1000 visitors I’m told. Overall, it was a success and a lot of fun, and I made many new friends and followers.
But, it was also a lot of work. The recordings took a lot of time to get them right, their were a few audio problems with the video presentation, and I made their promos like I do for my own work, with loving care. However, it was worth it all to get the experience and improve on my promotional skills, as well as in watching my number of followers grow. And one of my new author friends from the event will be joining the WtbR team as a contributing blogger to start the new year. The work I did also gave me some much needed samples of my promotional work, which I used to start my new Copywriting and PA Services page.
So you can see how this event benefited me greatly. Although I didn’t sell a single book, (the ones I gave away don’t count here), I did prosper from the event in many other ways. The message here is to social media to your advantage, but use it in the right ways and for the right reasons in order to avoid having your expectations left unfulfilled. But that’s how you have to approach social media promotion. The first word in social media is ‘social’. It’s there to make connections. That’s what we can expect to get from promotions on social media platforms. Promotion on social media can bring you authors to network with, or readers to build your platform. Any real book sales that you do get are just a nice bonus, but they cannot be expected.
I also gain followers through my Facebook pages. I currently have four pages. The primary page is my Kaye Lynne Booth – Author and Screenwriter page. I also have a page for Delilah – Kaye Lynne Booth, for news concerning both my published western and for book 2, Delilah the Homecoming which is still in the draft stages, as well as pages for two WIPs: my scince fantasy series, Playground for the Gods – Kaye Lynne Booth, and my memoir, His Name Was Michael – Kaye Lynne Booth. Through these pages I hope to gain followers who are interested in my writings. By building my platform, I hopefully gain readers who will buy my book.
I’m a member of a large number of author and book groups that allow promotional posts, as well as discussions. We should realize that most of the participants in these events like the one I spoke about above are other authors and the ‘book sales’ you get will be from giveaways. I use this to my advantage by making these connections my goal, instead of going about it with expectations of increased book sales. I spend my time on social media sharing promotions for my blog posts, responding to comments on my posts, sending out friend requests, and interacting. Through the new author friends that I make at these events, I’m able to find authors in need of interviews or book reviews for Writing to be Read, and my followers are growing through my efforts, as well.
So, I say that social media can be a useful tool if we set the right expectations and use social media the way it is meant to be used. Connections can be valuable to an author, especially a new author. We just have to see it’s value and find ways to use it to our benefit.
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How and Why You Should Build an Author Platform
Posted: November 26, 2018 Filed under: Ask the Authors, Promotion, Reader Platform | Tags: Amy Cecil, Ashley Fontainne, Ask the Authors, author platform, Cynthia Vespia, Dan Alatorre, DeAnna Knippling, Jordan Elizabeth, Lilly Rayman, Networking, promotion, Social media, Social Media Promotion Leave a commentAsk the Authors (Round 2)
I have my own ARC team and I also use Booksprout, which is very effective.
Reviews are difficult to obtain because we, as a society, are so busy. I have used many different approaches yet have had the most success with BookBub and audio books. Audio listeners tend to write more reviews. For example, my novel Tainted Cure has 26 reviews on Amazon and 71 on Audible. I have noticed a lot of audio reviewers don’t post their reviews on Amazon yet I’m not sure why.
Effective? Not really at this point. I’ve done giveaways and requests and its hit or miss.
Unfortunately, no quick fix to getting reviews. You can spend hours emailing book reviewers and suggesting your book to them for review, or you can pay for a platform to put your books out for review. Amazon is also making it harder for people to leave reviews, which makes reviews almost worthless when you don’t know how long your reviews will be up before being pulled by Amazon.
Jordan Elizabeth
The best way I’ve found is to reach out to reviewers personally. I’ll send an email to bloggers and make sure it isn’t just a form email. I always tweak it to match their needs. Out of every 20 emails I send, I usually get 1-2 bloggers interested. I know that doesn’t seem like a lot, but its worth it for those reviews.
DeAnna Knippling
Not consistently. It’s one of those things where you scatter some free copies around and hope for the best. I have an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) list, but people have been drifting away from it–which is understandable. You could be the biggest DeAnna Knippling fan in the world and still not want to conscientiously read & review everything I freaking write! I have a free Instafreebie/Prolific Works account where I host giveaway copies, so I don’t have to manually send them out now, which is nice.
Dan Alatorre
Asking reviewers who liked and reviewed one of my prior books is the easiest way. How did I get those first review for my first book? I asked EVERYBODY.
I have a blog though I don’t post often.
I blog for 2 reasons: to build my platform, and speak on topics I find either useful or entertaining. If you’re going to blog you have to be consistent with it in order to see any growth. I’m constantly updating my blog/site trying to find new ways to attract readers. I’m not a very good blogger. I have a blog on my website, and I tend to share other author’s blog posts rather than blogging for myself. My blog is called Kissed by Literature. I originally started it to review books. I still use it for mostly that, but I’ll talk about other book related things at times. To be honest, my blog doesn’t seem as integral as it used to be. I get more traffic on my Facebook Author page. I started it in 2003 or so at Blogspot, and it moved to http://www.WonderlandPress.com…I want to say that was in 2009? I don’t remember now. I write a lot of nerdy writing articles. It’s led to more ghostwriting work and invitations to talk at places than actual sales, I think! But I like doing it, which means I do it consistently, and I think that’s the key to platform: What can you keep up with consistently? Not, like, three times a week consistent, but “I just like doing it so I end up doing it even when I don’t actually have time” consistent. That’s your real platform. I published a book and my wife said I should start a blog to build an author platform and get my book known. I was clueless about blogging, and had NO followers for a long time. I had like 4 followers and one was my wife and one was a spam bot. Now I have thousands, and in 2017 my blog got over 60,000 views. I rarely have a day without 150 views. The secret there was to interact with others, which is part of a presentation I do for FWA and TBAWP and other writing groups, and is part of a planned webinar and book I’ll be selling. However, if I were starting today, I’m not sure I’d blog. Don’t get me wrong, I get a kick our of blogging and interacting with my fans there. I have writing contests there and get beta readers there, etc. But as far as strictly selling books, a mailing list is probably better, and I’m building mine now.
Not effective at all. My Facebook author page does much better. Not as effective as I have hoped in the past, but that’s all about to change. I’m employing a new strategy, new design, and better content to draw in outside eyes. To you newbies out there don’t be afraid of switching things up. If something isn’t working try a new strategy. I’ve streamlined my author site at www.CynthiaVespia.com but most of my attention is being set on my other site www.OriginalCynContent.com so I can bring useful information regarding marketing, building a business, and building your best self. Honestly? I’m not sure it has, but I like that I have it there, I can update my books on my website, share a sample of my work and other authors I have come across.
Website: Http://www.lillyrayman0007.wixsite.com/lillyrayman
Jordan Elizabeth
People tend to look at my facebook page more than my website. When talking to people and the website comes up, they always seem surprised to find out I have one!
It hasnt brought me a lot of newsletter subscribers yet. But everywhere I go, people are like, “So I read your website and…” and want to have some kind of conversation about the things they’re wrestling with because of some blog post I wrote, so I’m good. For me, advertising and newsletters get followers for books. My blog and FB sites are more for existing fan interaction.
I just use Amazon, Goodreads and Facebook. I’ve signed up to so many, I probably couldn’t remember them all. Bookbub has so far been the most influential in bringing in followers.
Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/Lilly-Rayman/e/B00X5CR5QC
Goodreads Author page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9866872.Lilly_Rayman
Facebook Author page: https://www.facebook.com/lilly.rayman.7
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/MrsL0007
Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/user/mrsl0007
BookBub Author page: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/lilly-rayman
Book Depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/author/Lilly-Rayman
Romance IO: https://www.romance.io/authors/5617d075bfc6b5c0fa94082f/lilly-rayman
Jordan Elizabeth
I’ve found Facebook to be the most lucrative.
Facebok Author page: https://www.facebook.com/JordanElizabethAuthor/
Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/Jordan-Elizabeth/e/B00P0KBRD4
Curiosity Quills Author page: https://curiosityquills.com/authors/jordan-elizabeth/
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jordan-elizabeth
DeAnna Knippling
A lot of these places, you don’t even know that you have an author page. But I’m involved in the Goodreads, Amazon, and BookBub ones. I don’t know which ones are effective, but they seem to interact with the GR one the most.
Goodreads Author page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4456773.DeAnna_Knippling
Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/DeAnna-Knippling/e/B0049HF320/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_2?qid=1543066052&sr=1-2-spons
BookBub Author page: https://www.bookbub.com/search?search=DeAnna+Knippling
Dan Alatorre
I have a Blog, a Facebook page, and I use Twitter. I wouldn’t say I showcase my work on them all, but I do occasionally on my blog. That’s not how I gain followers, though. The blog is for other things, like interaction, writing contests, etc.
Blog Author page: https://danalatorre.com/about/
Facebook Author page: https://www.facebook.com/DanAlatorreAuthor/
Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/Dan-Alatorre/e/B00EUX7HEU
Goodreads Autor page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7847408.Dan_Alatorre
Yes, it works. I have a series and I always offer the first book free when a new book in the series releases. The first book draws them in and then it goes from there. I have a newsletter and if someone signs up they receive two free PDFs. I have done freebies before and had fantastic results, but only when using Bookbub and the book promoted was in the KDP program. The book had thousands of downloads and was over 600 pages, so even though I didn’t make money off the downloads, I did on the pages read, plus I gained 75+ reviews. I’ve not done the “free book for sign up” bit yet but I have done some freebies and they haven’t done anything for me. The only traction I saw was when doing ARC giveaways for a new release and even then it didn’t get the response I was hoping for in terms of reviews. So now I’m very selective in who I give my books away to because everyone I talk to is constantly asking for a free book and it just doesn’t do me any good to keep giving away my profits like that. I offer a permafree book across all platforms, when I do a Facebook event I share the link. I also have details of the permafree in all my books. I also offer a flash fiction exclusively to subscribers of my newsletter. When I share with people on Facebook they can get a free read for signing up, they usually do.
Jordan Elizabeth
I’ve done sales with free books. I’m not sure if its brought in sales for my other books. No one has told me that they read it for free and then bought more.
DeAnna Knippling
It depends. I saw a post recently with (to paraphrase): “Your freebies should be selected based on why you sign up.” In technical terms, the article suggested “segmenting your list” so people who signed up on a mass giveaway (and who had probably never read your work before) got the first book in a series, and the people who sign up on your website get like a short story, character interviews, etc., in an ongoing series (because presumably they already have the first book in the series and read and liked it, and are there for more). I’m thinking of doing that, but I haven’t yet.
About freebies. If they are used strategically, they can be an excellent marketing tool. For that to work though, you need a series of at least three books, the more the better return on your investment. Also, there are sites who won’t charge to post your free books. Readers who become invested in your story will buy the second and third novels without batting an eye. I always recommend giving the first book in the series away or writing a short novella that will feed off the series. Giving away book two or three just isn’t profitable. Free books have to be advertised, too, and on sites that make a splash. As mentioned earlier, those change all the time. The free book has to be of great quality or no one’s gonna read anything else you have, but you still have to have other things. Quality things. And a newsletter to keep everyone updated. A friend has had several books get over 100 reviews by using the Reader Magnets method and as far as I can tell, most authors with successful newsletters used a very similar approach. I mention this because I checked it out and I’ve seen it work, but most people don’t do it (including me). That’s changing. I started working on growing my newsletter last week and plan on getting it to 10,000 subscribers by December 31, 2019. That should help.
Dan, can you explain for those who may not know, what the Reader Magnet method is?
Dan Alatorre
It’ free: https://www.amazon.com/Reader-Magnets-Platform-Marketing-Authors-ebook/dp/B00PCKIJ4C
I don’t do a lot of giveaways, I have used Goodreads and Amazon, but Facebook works the best for me. I have had the most success with Bookbub, however, it is expensive and hard to get picked up.
Obviously Amazon is the biggest platform. I’ve had success on Goodreads for print books and I understand they’re doing ebook giveaways now as well.. Smashwords lets you set your own discount pricing so you can do a freebie there. I’ve also done some giveaways on FB during author events with some success. I use Instafreebie which is now called prolific works for my giveaway links.
Jordan Elizabeth
I’ve found the best to be Amazon. You can set up a giveaway and plan to get followers on Twitter, Amazon, etc.
DeAnna Knippling
I use LibraryThing and Goodreads (on GR, I set up an event where I link to the giveaway code; I’ve also done GR print giveaways and liked those as well). I’m getting prepped to go back into Instafreebie/Prolific Works in a bit. I like them, but it tends to be more newsletter signups than reviews.
Dan Alatorre
I don’t recommend sites publicly, but not because I don’t wanna give away my best secrets. (I can’t write enough books in a year to have a site all to myself, and I need other authors selling books and telling me which sites are doing well for them.) I don’t recommend sites publicly because they aren’t paying me to endorse them. Also, things can and do change quickly in this business. A site I used very successfully five years ago hasn’t done anything good for the past three years. When did it change? It was probably gradual, but what worked for me and my last book might not work for your book or still be working when you publish your Work In Progress. It’s safest to ask all your friends which sites work best right now and to get numbers, see what genre they wrote, and go from there. Track everything and keep using whatever worked, avoiding the sites that are crap. I will say this. When you do a free day or a 99 cent day or whatever on Ammy, do it in conjunction with a site (or sites) your friends have recommended. You’ll make a bigger splash and will usually sell books at regular price after the sale ends as long as your regular price isn’t crazy.
Which social media sites do you use to network? Which sites have worked best for you for gaining followers?
Facebook and Goodreads. Facebook has worked the best. I have used Twitter a little – but I don’t see a lot of action there.
Facebook and Twitter are the two sites I tend to frequent. Honestly, I’m not the best at utilising social media. I have a more interactive network on Facebook, but I try and post in Google+ and Twitter when I remember. Generally, I prefer to be writing than to be trying to promote myself.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LillyRayman0007/
Twitter: @LillyRayman0007
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lilly_rayman/
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+LillyRayman0007
Jordan Elizabeth
I use facebook (the best for networking), Instagram, twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn.
Twitter: @JaliaDarkness
DeAnna Knippling
I use Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads; Facebook’s the primary one, though. I don’t really do Facebook networking on purpose so much as read someone’s comment and go, “That was well said,” and friend them, and then get pulled along into something else because someone knew someone else who knows me. I think trying to use social media to gain followers is a bad idea in general, though. It’s the trying and trying and trying part that concerns me. “How can I try to get more followers?!?” asks the author, and ends up being a sleezy salesman for something that doesn’t naturally appeal to people. Like, if you want to be a good seller, ask yourself, “How can I make this so tempting they can’t say no,” not “how can I get more followers?”
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deanna.knippling
Twitter: @dknippling
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/105906027867306495546
Dan Alatorre
I blog a lot, so that’s where people come to talk to me. Second is my Facebook page. After that, my newsletter, small as it is, and form there I rarely interact on Twitter or other social media. That’s not where my readers are. That can change with different books, though. For my upcoming YA book to do well, I’ll be pimping it on Instagram, etc.
Twitter: @savvystories
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dan_alatorre_author/
I have two P.A.’s that share my links. I have a great street team that shares my stuff everyone and most of the stuff I do on Facebook is in my street team. I do a live video with them every week and am always visible to them.
I used to network quite a bit yet didn’t see any real benefits other than making connections with other authors, so I stepped away from doing events. It’s like you said, it may not be selling alot of books yet but as you gain followers this increases the chances of getting your work out there. But you have to network. Many people make the mistake of just posting about their books constantly and people don’t like to have promotions in their face at all times. When you deliver content to them that they can use or enjoy then you gain a fan and a fan is more important than just a follower because they will buy your books and support you. It makes me laugh when “influencers” talk about how many followers they have. How many of those followers translate to sales? If you’re not making progress in turnover what difference does it make how many people are following you? Again, be smart in your approach. It’s not a popularity contest, its about make intelligent moves in the social media realm that make people want to support you and read your work. I share posts from my author friends, and try and interact where I can on Facebook, my name being seen, being active within the Indie Community opens the door for other opportunities to utilise other authors and their followings, but its important to remember it’s a game of give and take. As long as you share as much as you hope others will share you.
Jordan Elizabeth
I like to reach out to people who have enjoyed my books. I like to connect with other writers, especially so we can share tips.
DeAnna Knippling
I pass on what interests me. Is it fascinating? Funny? Horrible? Insightful? If it feels like something that I like that’s pretty normal for me to like, then I’ll share it. Like puns. I’ll share a good pun in a heartbeat. Doing that consistently, over time, tends to become your brand, or part of your brand, without being fake and calculated. Writers are there to entertain, interest, and educate people. Do that. Do the things that you’re comfortable with, and do them consistently and fairly. When people buy stories, they buy them because of your voice, your view of the world. So share that view of the world; don’t keep it bottled up. That’s my theory, anyway. And listen to and interact with other people. It’s networking. It literally is not all about you as an author 🙂
Dan Alatorre
I’d say this: have a presence on them all, but only use the ones you enjoy. If you aren’t having fun using Instagram, it’ll show, and people won’t have a positive experience with you there. That’s bad, and it’ll hurt business. Take on one new social media every two weeks or so, and work it until you master it. Then decide if it’s for you, while you take on the next one, and the one after that. Don’t try to learn them all at once; it’ll be overwhelming. One at a time, on a regularly scheduled basis, so you actually get to them all, and then work each new one until you get it. THEN decide which ones are for you. I have a presence on all of them except a few, but I use my blog and Facebook because I like them and that’s where my readers are. Don’t try to be all things to all people. I have bestselling author friends who don’t do any of this stuff and sell just fine via lots of paid ads. That works for them. It won’t be the right approach for everyone. What works for your friend might not work for you because she writes murder mysteries and you write romance. That’s always a factor.
Facebook Goodreads and Bookbub Personal appearances. When readers meet the author face-to-face they remember you more than if they just buy your book online or interact on social media. This is why I always tout that in-the-flesh marketing is still very important when building your author empire. Facebook, posting in author or reader groups, participating in page hops, and online party events. Although my BookBub following is picking up.
Jordan Elizabeth
Reaching out to bloggers has helped me to connected with the most readers, and that in turn has delivered the most followers.
DeAnna Knippling
I’m not sure, but I want to say Goodreads. But I’m a book nerd, as in I read more than I watch TV or anything else, and I review everything I read, so I end up attracting a lot of followers who are like, “I just want to talk about books in general, not necessarily yours.” Hm…either that or running with several giveaways on Instafreebie/Prolific Works. I got a lot of signups. I lost most of them, but the ones who stayed like what I write.
Dan Alatorre
I definitely have the most quality followers on my blog. Twitter says 11,000 people follow me, but I don’t interact much on twitter, so it’s not the same quality as my blog. I’m too wordy for 140 characters. I interact most on my blog, then second would be my Facebook page. Most of my readers come from ads I buy.
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Social Media: What’s it good for?
Posted: September 3, 2018 Filed under: Books, marketing, Promotion | Tags: author platform, book marketing, Book Promotion, promotion, Reader Platform, Social media Leave a comment
I posted a link in my Writing to be Read Facebook group a couple of weeks ago. The article discussed the new changes made by Facebook which do not allow us to post promotional materials on personal Timelines. Under the new guidelines promotional posts are only allowed to be made on our Facebook Pages, which are designed to be set up for businesses. If you break the rules and make promotional posts on your Timeline, Facebook can ban you. This information caused quite a stir in my group, and I admit it caused me quite a bit of concern, as well. I came to the conclusion that, as with everything in life, we must learn to be flexible and accoodate change. I changed the title of my Kaye Lynne Booth Screenwriter page to Kaye Lynne Booth Author and Screenwriter and set my automatic posts from WordPress to post there instead of on my Timeline and hoped for the best.
One of the comments I received was a question toward one of the group members who was upset, viewing this as a ploy to force us to purchase paid advertising. The second member asked how using Facebook’s free advertising was going and asked if she had sold many books from it. While I don’t think this change prohibits making promotional posts as long as you make them through allowable channels, the conversation made me stop and think about what we authors are expecting to achieve through such posts.
Free promotion through social media is great. It offers us, as authors, an avenue to get the word out about our writing, without putting a dent on our wallets. For aspiring authors, who haven’t made it to fame and fortune yet, like myself, that’s great. But what results are we expecting?
If you’re thinking your book will rise to the top of the best seller lists, you’re dreaming. That’s not the way it works. The best seller lists, at least those on Amazon, work on algorithms, and if you’re only one of a smattering of books in a category, it may not take many book sales to place your book at the top of the list. Authors who write romance have it a lot tougher, because there are a whole slew of romances out there, a lot of competition, so even if your book is making sales, it may not be enough to launch you to the top because it’s based on the books which sell the most in that particular category.
Likewise, most of the folks who those promotional posts reach are other authors, not the people in your target audience. Authors may buy books, but basically they want the the same thing you do. They are out there to promote their own work. Social media isn’t designed to sell books, although their paid promotions may be quite effective, and anyone who is using free promotions to try and sell books, or anything else, may be sorely disappointed. Social media, my friends, is designed to promote connections, some of which may be quite valuable, but it’s not designed to sell merchandise, hence the word ‘social’. And that is what I get from my promotional efforts on Facebook and any other social media site I use. I grow my blog following and my email list. I find a few people who are willing to review my book. I meet people who can include me in their author services as an editor. I connect with artists who can create the book covers I need. While many are fellow authors, I tap into that as well, offering them interviews or reviews here on Writing to be Read. They get some free exposure and I great content for my blog. It works out great.
That being said, I’ve come to the sobering realization that nothing is free, and I’m going to have to invest some of my hard earned money if I want to boost my book sales. While I can’t afford paid promotion on Facebook or Amazon right now, there are affordable promotions out there.
- There are some affordable avenues of promotion out there. Most recently, I found a promotional site called I Like E Books, which has promotional packeages which range from free up to twenty dollars, which seems promising. They provide promotion on social media channels and other cool stuff, depending on which level od promotion you pay for.
- Although not a promotional site, per se, Book Bub is great for featuring your books under your favorites, so folks can see that they are available. You can follow your favorite authors and hopefully gain some followers of your own. It doesn’t cost anything to join.
- On All Author, you can have your book featured on their site for six months, with twitter promos, weekly mock-up banners, and review posting for a flat fee of $24.
- It’s also free to sign up for PromoCave, which is a site for ongoing promotion via social media sites. It helps on this site to post content fairly regularly, since it will bring readers to your profile.
- BMI Books is a global book marketing site where you can place and manage a book ad for free, although I’m unsure how this one works as yet.
- You may also sign up for free on Write Globe, which has a nice book promotion platform as well as supporting other types of creativity. This site was listed as number one in a list of “Top 7 Websites for Book and Author Promotion” by Alwin Gnanaraj on LinkedIn.
- Creative Designers & Writers is a free international classified site, where you can create and post an ad. It is supportive of other creatives as well and can serve as a platform for collaborative works with graphic designers and artists.
- Books Online Best also allows you to post a free ad in addition to other author services, such as book trailers and author interviews. You can also create a freelance site here.
One day, I’ll be able to afford to play with the big boys. For now, I will be grateful for the benefits I can get from social media, but I will approach it with reasonable expectations, being grateful for every follower I gain and counting any book sales that comes from it as an extra added bonus.
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