Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Don't Let Promo Fall By the Wayside by Jannine Gallant

At least that's what my agent keeps telling us. You can't stop promoting your old books. It's a marathon not a race. I'm beginning to think it isn't a marathon at all. Nope, a measly 26 miles is nothing. Promo is actually like one of those hundred mile endurance races run at elevations that nearly kill the participants, up and down mountains, grinding through the dark of night... Okay, maybe a little dramatic, but I have a feeling most of us feel the same way about the subject.


So, despite the fact that I have a new book out, I decided to promote an older one instead. An Uncertain Destiny came out last May. Sales have been nothing to jump up and down about, but I've had some really excellent reviews. Gotta love that! So, I'm back on the promo train with a 3 Day Only After Labor Day Half Price Sale (sounds impressive at least) to celebrate the fact that the kids are back in school and moms everywhere might actually have time to read again! Even more shocking, I'm breaking my cardinal rule about not paying for promo. (Yep, I'm cheap, but I don't understand why people pay more for promo than they can possibly make back in return.) Sorry, I'm rambling. I'll get to the point. A few people mentioned eBookSoda. It's kind of like BookBub, where they send out your book in a listing to people interested in your particular genre. The difference--instead of paying a few hundred bucks, eBookSoda costs $5.00. Even I was willing to risk that! I'll definitely let you know my results and if I recovered my five buck investment in new sales. The listing goes out tomorrow.

For those of you interested, An Uncertain Destiny is currently $1.99. What a bargain! Sale price is only good through September 4th, so click HERE to get your copy.

About those reviews I mentioned...here are a few quotes that nearly had me in tears:

"There is also an incredibly beautiful rhythm to Ms. Gallant's voice. One that flowed like rich melted chocolate as I devoured every last moment of this book." by AJ Nuest

"I absolutely loved this book. Loved the characters, the pacing, and the incredible writing." by Sue Palmer

"I was glued to the book all the way through! Definitely rated as one of my favorite books." by Shiela G. Hanshew

Thank you so much to every one of you who took the time to leave me a review. I truly appreciate it!

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19 comments:

Liz Flaherty said...

I'm glad to hear about that, and I'm so there with you on promo. Not only is it a long race, I hate every foot of it!

Alicia Dean said...

I agree about promo, it's a never ending process, but I've decided to accept that and have fun with it. :)

I tried ebook soda and didn't notice a bump in sales, but for the price, definitely worth a try. For the money, the best promo site I've found is ENT. I have always seen results with that one and made more than my money back. For the first time, I'm going to have a book with Book Bub. The publisher I signed with got a spot for Death Notice on Sept 9th. It's pricey, but they'll take it out of my royalties and pay it up front. They've assured me I'll make more than my money back, so we'll see.

Fabulous reviews, Jannine. I'm SO happy for you. Sometimes, the greatest success is just touching someone with your words. I have An Uncertain Destiny, and I definitely hope to read it soon. Good luck with your promo!

Jannine Gallant said...

Liz, I'd have to agree with you. Promo makes me crazy--except this blog! LOL Love this group!

Ally, I'll be VERY curious to hear how you do with Book Bub. I've heard awesome success stories and people not so thrilled with their results. Hope you'll be in the first category! :)

Margo Hoornstra said...

Me too, hate every 'foot' of the promo race. Now for the book. I've said it before and I'll say it again. This is one fabulous book. It deserves major, major sales!

Jannine Gallant said...

Thanks, Margo!

Alison Henderson said...

I'm so glad other readers are enjoying An Uncertain Destiny - I certainly did! As to promo, endurance race sums it up for me. I try to do a little bit every now and then, I really do, but I doubt it's very effective. I did a major campaign, including a couple of paid spots, when I released my last book. They probably had an effect on the massive number of downloads. Only problem was those were all FREE downloads. I wonder what would have happened if I'd initially charged $.99. Maybe I'd be rolling in dough. LOL

Jannine Gallant said...

I always wonder that, too, Alison. But the 99 cent sales I've done have netted me a handful of sales only instead of thousands. The thing is, out of those thousands, I bet we're lucky if a few hundred actually read the book!

Chrys Fey said...

I think it's always good to promote an older book to upstart sales for it, and you could get new readers with it that'll be interested in your new book(s).

I've never heard of eBookSoda. So thank you for letting us know about that!

Good luck with your promo!

Jannine Gallant said...

Thanks, Chrys. Check back in comments in a couple of days. I'll let you know if eBookSoda helps with sales.

Raquel Byrnes said...

Its been a bit of a learning curve for me. I think sales and stuff make it a little easier though. :)
Edge of Your Seat Stories

Jannine Gallant said...

Raquel, seeing actual sales does make the promo easier. Thanks for stopping by!

Diane Burton said...

I've been remiss promoting my older books. Thanks for the reminder, Jannine.

The Word Place said...

eBookSoda sounds as if it has possibilities! Thanks for the suggestion--and good luck on the book sales, too!

Jannine Gallant said...

Glad I could jog you, Diane!

Thanks,Judy. I hope the site helps with sales.

Alicia Dean said...

I hope so too, Jannine! I will try to remember to share on AHA Chat. If you think about it after the 9th and I haven't posted, holler at me. :)

Leah St. James said...

Would love to hear your results, Jannine. And thanks for the tip about the sale. Just grabbed a copy!

Jannine Gallant said...

Thanks, Leah. Hope you enjoy it! Results so far: 3 sales on day one. 5 sales on day two when the eBookSoda ad ran. 1 sale so far this morning. Worth the $5 (which I just discovered has now gone up in price to $10)? I'm not sure. I've also been posting in FB groups and have a couple of groups tweeting away about this sale. Not sure what got me the handful of sales. It sure isn't spectacular results any way you slice it but better than no sales at all! I'm waiting to hear how Ally does with Book Bub. Should be an interesting comparison.

Donna Michaels said...

Promo is so time consuming, henna, Jannine? I have not tried eBookSoda. I suppose that can be hit or miss. It sounds like it's worth trying. Promoting with my newsletter, on social networks and at conferences seem to work best for me at the moment. I'm always open to new ideas.

Jannine Gallant said...

I wasn't thrilled with my results, Donna. The one thing I haven't tried is a newsletter. I guess because I have a hard time believing anyone would want to read it! Whatever you're doing, it's working, so I wouldn't stop!