My fourth book (Relentless) is coming out in just over a week, and I've got to get my butt in gear with figuring out how to promo this one. We've just had a death in the family over the weekend, so I'm not exactly feeling motivated about writing right now, but it's my responsibility to try to get the word out about the book. And I'm looking for a little advice from you guys. What have the rest of you found that works the best? I usually send out a newsletter to people who've signed up for it, and I'll post details about the book here and on my blog. Then there are reader loops and various romance loops on the web where I post excerpts and blurbs, and of course Facebook and Twitter. I also try to find someone who's willing to have me as a guest blogger so I can reach a different audience, and give away a digital or print copy of the book. Hopefully if the reader likes it well enough, they'll go out and get my backlist :)
So I'm all ears. Any good tips or tricks that have made a difference when you promote a book? Inquiring minds want to know!
18 comments:
So sorry about your loss.
I find for promo, blog tours help. Ask the blogs you visit and other authors who write for your publisher. Congrats on the upcoming release.
Thanks Wynter. I guess I'll have to bite the bullet and go asking ;)
Blog Tours seem to be the current new thing.
I send bookmarks for conference goodybags. I'm not sure what really works but I did receive an email once from a reader who said she still had my business card magnet on her refrigerator.
You might look at some more passive advertising. One year a big hit was the purse that had see through holders for authors to put cover plates in. This year to RWA conference, I'm going to carry a totebag with my novella cover and web address on it.
Good luck with your upcoming release.
I think the more you can get your name and the book out there the better. But I'm not sure what works best. I send pens, postcards, chocolate anything I can think of that's inexpensive and catchy to conferences, but I don't know if it helps.I have a monthly contest on my website where I give away a sample chapter. I'm in the middle of a blog tour, and I'm giving away a good prize to the person who comments on the most blogs. It's been fun, I've gained some new readers and it's something I like doing. That's part of the key. If it's something you like to do then it will come through and you'll gain more of a following.
Good luck with your promotion.
Hey, Beth. See? Now that's something I never would have thought of! Thanks for the tip ;)
Hi Paty! I love the idea of holding a contest during a blog tour. That never occurred to me either, lol.
Hugs! So sorry for your loss.
I've found that just being a presence on the net has done great things for book awareness. Not the hard sell all the time either. I try to comment and get to know all the people I'm friends with on FB and engage in conversation. Be a real person. I hate the hard sell. It doesn't motivate me to buy from anyone so I don't see how it could motivate others. Anyway, it seems to be working for me.
Also, get with me about a day that works for you and I'll have you guest blog for me at the Carnivale. :)
So sorry for your loss. I can understand you not feeling up to writing much, especially after just getting over the crud.
On my last book, I spent the money and put an add in Romance sells and had my book reviewed in RT (got 4 stars) have to say, I can't see that it really helped much in sales. Has anyone else gone to the expense and found it paid off for them?
Mimi Barbour
Hey Saranna, thanks so much for the offer! I agree with you about the hard sell, and that's not something I'm good at anyway (and frankly, I'd prefer not to have to do it at all). I'm much more comfortable doing articles or interviews, etc.
Would love to be on your blog! My e-mail is info@kayleacross.com :)
Hi Mimi! That's good to know, and I've always been curious to find out whether advertising with them might be a good idea. I'd assume it would be, especially for those authors with a backlist or upcoming releases. But what do I know, lol. Hopefully you'll see sales go up each quarter and with each subsequent release.
I think this is an important discussion, and you've brought up an interesting point. I haven't gone the magazine ad route yet, but I might try RWR sometime soon. I'm hoping someone else here can jump in and give their two cents worth so you can compare experiences.
Hi Kaylea,
Good luck with your release,I have a release on Friday, but I really can't add anything to what everyone else has said. Only wish I could come up with something different.
Regards
Margaret
hi kaylea,
speaking as an unpubbed but avid conference attendee,i'd have to say that the thousands of bookmarks i receive all end up in the garbage. (the term, 'glut on the market' comes to mind) i enjoy chocolates, but mostly don't remember the author once it's been consumed. pens & nail files (thanks opal carew) keep the name in my brain longer, but i haven't bought a book because of them. the only thing that has so far enticed me to buy a book from unknown author giveaways was a book excerpt.
then again, if you were thinking of giving away a date with the hunk on your cover as a prize, i'd buy all your copies.
(do you know if he can type???)
looking forward to reading your book.
nora snowdon
Hi Kaylea.
So sorry to hear about the death in your family. Little wonder you're not enthused by the prospect of self-promo right now. It's tough at the best of times.
If website hits are anything to go buy, I've found that I get a nice big blip of the upward kind when I offer a free copy of my book on my website in the month before it's released. Other than that, I haven't had enough royalty statements to know what works and what doesn't with regard to promo and sales. But I do believe that guest-blogging around the time of your release, and offering a free copy of your book as an enticement for people to visit, definitely increases your public profile.
I had a heap of bookmarks made when my first novella came out, but honestly? I don't know that the expense is worth it but they're so darn purty! I just tend to offer them as a freebie to anyone who signs up for my newsletter. Not to mention I'm never short of a bookmark, LOL.
I reckon I picked up the most new readers when I joined a forum and was asked to post excerpts of my works in progress. The instant Let Demons Lie was pubbed, I had a small fan base who went out and bought it. The forum has now closed, but they've all friended me on Facebook and regularly check in to see when the next book is out.
Good luck with the release of Relentless!
Hugs,
Maree
I'm with Saranna. Just be out there, and available to other authors. I think author branding is important, too, but then that opens up a whole nother topic!
What I don't think does a lot of good is print advertising...unless you can afford enough market saturation to burn your book cover and blurb into reader's brain cells! :)
Hey Margaret! Congrats on the new release. Man, you must be burning up that keyboard, woman! I'll let you know if I find anything else that works really well in terms of promo :)
Nora!!! I was smiling before I even read your comment (I'm kind of trained to do that now, like Pavlov's dogs). Thanks for your honesty, lol. I'm all for the chocolates too.
Gee, what if we set up a bachelor auction full of hunks to promote GVC releases? Oooh, now that one's got possibilities :)
Thanks, Maree. Yeah, I really like guest blogging and interviews because they're relatively painless and I think readers like getting a glimpse behind the scenes every now and again.
I'll have to do a bit more work on getting myself "out there" on forums and loops.
Liane I was hoping you'd jump in. To me you seem like a social media expert! Seems to me you've already mastered FB and Twitter, and that's no mean feat. From where I'm sitting, you look like a natural promoter, and it must have paid off because you and Saranna learned a ton in the Dorchester contest. Good on you both, because that could NOT have been easy :)
Kaylea, ITA with what the earlier poster said. I really believe the little chapter book excerpts that look like a mini version of your book are the best form of print marketing. That and a couple of bookmarks the only thing I keep from conferences! I've heard so many people say that!
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