We’ve all heard the
adage “Do as I say, not as I do.” That one sure does ring true when it comes to
me and promo. With a communications and public relations background, I think I
have some good ideas. I know how to do the visuals, create Media Kits and
design Sell Sheets for my books. Plus, it’s not that I haven’t tried and tried
and tried to promote myself and my books in other ways too. It’s just that I
haven’t yet hit on anything that really seems to connect with readers.
Okay, well there was
this one time. I had hired a Virtual Assistant to spread my name and the title
of my recently released novel Only If You Dare, on as many venues as she could.
My publisher, The Wild Rose Press, had the book available for free at the time
and, after getting the title a spot on a site called freebooksy, in one day, I
had over 12,000 downloads. Though I received no real sales revenue from the
venture, I did garner about ten very nice reviews to use on my website and the
Praise Page of subsequent books.
I’ve also done blog
tour after blog tour after blog tour after…well you get the idea. While doing a
blog tour takes a lot of time and effort, it is enjoyable to interact with
various bloggers, answer their questions, create the essays they ask for. I
also provide free PDFs for review, to those who will accept them.
Unfortunately, the actual payoff simply hasn’t been all that great as far as
copies of books sold. Although I have received several very nice reviews to,
again, use on my website and the Praise Page of subsequent books. (Are you
seeing a pattern here?) But there was another definite down side to the blog
tours as well. Some bloggers either didn’t put up or didn’t promote my
appearance, so the prep work and time put in is all for naught.
One event that
seemed to cause a spike in the revenue on my royalty statement came about
rather serendipitously. I had recently re-connected with my local Romance
Writers of America Chapter, Mid-Michigan. (one I actually founded a few years
before, but that’s a post for another day.) At the time MMRWA periodically put out
a newsletter in which they highlighted various member authors. This one
particular month, I was the highlightee with a front page article containing my
picture, a short bio and information about my latest release. As it happened,
this particular month the chapter had purchased a booth at a rather large women’s
expo event, not only to showcase member authors but to recruit new members for
the group as well. Part of the Potential Membership Packet they distributed to
the many attendees contained the newsletter featuring me and my books, among
various SWAG items, bookmarks, pens, business cards and the like.
What I need to do
now, is try to combine what has worked for me in the past with what others, who
know much more than me on the topic of promotion, suggest that will/should work
for me in the future.
Such as, but not
limited to:
Join a group – not any group, be selective. Find
blogs and FaceBook groups that cater to the genre you write. Post within their
guidelines, of course, to get your name out there.
Keep your website updated and fresh. This also
goes for your author pages on Amazon, Goodreads, FaceBook, BookBub. Let’s face
it, these social media sites outside of your individual website, are where most
readers are going to find you.
Develop a newsletter. We’ve all heard this is
essential for authors looking for readers. But content is key. “WoooooWhooooo!
You out there, come spend your money on my book.” Might not be the best selling
point. Think of giving rather than getting in this instance. Give the reader
something to take away from their visit with you. Preferably in the form of
information, ideas, entertainment, reading material, gift cards.
What I do in the
spirit of a free takeaway that doesn’t cost me anything is to post original short
stories on my website readers can download.
An ongoing promotion effort I use is to hire the services of Author Promo Pal. A pretty savvy promoter who keeps me and my books out there by tweeting me/us on Twitter, posting on FaceBook groups.
Another promo tool
I’m using at the present time, wasn’t my idea at all but came from my editor at TWRP, Ally
Robertson aka our own Alicia Dean when it was time to promote my newest release On The Surface.
She suggested I take the two self-published
novels I currently have for sale on Amazon and include the following inserts.
Near the front of
the book is a tease:
Coming next from Margo Hoornstra
On the
Surface, Book 1 of the series Brothers
In Blue
To
serve and protect was never more personal
With the Buy Link
Toward the back of
the book is a blurb and excerpt.
Florence Price of The Novel Difference implemented this for me.
Although the jury is still out as to whether this particular promotional tool will work. Go check it out using the Look Inside tab at For Money Or Love and Saturday In Serendipity then come back and comment to tell me what you think.
Although the jury is still out as to whether this particular promotional tool will work. Go check it out using the Look Inside tab at For Money Or Love and Saturday In Serendipity then come back and comment to tell me what you think.
My days to blog
here are the 11th and 23rd. For more about me and the
short stories and books I write, please visit my WEBSITE.
Also look for me on
22 comments:
My experience has been similar to yours, Margo...without the PR background though! I remember the first time I had one of my books free on Amazon. It was probably five years ago or so, and Amazon was still including freebies in the sales ranking (in some formula). The book was downloaded in the range similar to yours, and it popped to the top of the genre list. (I know I took a screen shot. I should find it since I may never see that again!) Those were the days.
I think blogging with other authors is fun, but I don't think it's an effective sales tool. There are just too many out there.
Including an excerpt of the new book in the back matter (I think that's what it's called?) of your existing books is a great idea. I always read those sample chapters, and even if I can't buy the book right away, I generally remember the ones to try.
Good luck with the new book/series. It sounds wonderful! Love the excerpt!
I agree about putting a blurb and excerpt of the next book in the back matter of an existing book. That's one thing that gets me to buy the next book. I need to go back and do that for all my ebooks. A free or 99 cent book generates sales for the next books in the series. That was a pleasant surprise. I agree about blogging. I enjoy doing it but don't see an increase in sales. I wish we knew what motivates a reader to buy a book. I know what works for me, but am I a typical reader? Good luck, Margo, with the promo stuff.
Margo, thanks for outlining what works and what doesn't. I used to be active in Savvy Authors and Coffeetime, and this week I'm going to try a Coffeetime, just to see, but blogging doesn't do a lot for me as far as sales. Blogging has other virtues...getting the name out, etc., but blog tours seem more time-sucky than sales helpful. My method to ask people for ARCs and reviews worked better than freebees on my latest book. KU/Kenp hasn't been that successful for me lately (I have two books exclusively in KDP), so I'm going to distribute them to Smashwords like my other books. I'm going to focus on ads for awhile and see what happens. It's great to learn from each other!
This last year I've spent more than I should on marketing ads, a virtual assistant, and swag. While it garnered a few sales, I can't say it really helped either. The only good thing is I can deduct all that money from my income tax.
Thanks for some great tips and sharing your experience.
Ah, my twin speaks! Doesn't surprise me you've had the same experience, Leah. I think in one form or another we all have. I remember watching those rankings on the freeby Amazon list climb. I think I made it within the top ten that day, but didn't have the wherewithall to take a screen shot. As far as blogging with other authors, I cherish my participation in this blog. As they say, writing is a solitary business... Here with colleagues and friends, the process is a little less lonely. I agree, Ally's idea is golden. Here's hoping the results will be golden as well. Thank you so much for the good wishes. Glad you enjoyed the excerpt.
Good idea with the 99 cent price on Number 1, Diane. Something for me to consider, if I can get TWRP on board, when subsequent books in the Brothers In Blue series come out. Thanks for the good wishes my promo stuff works. I have to say, I'm in awe of your promotional skills, and try to follow your lead as often as I can. As far as blogging, if it's something you enjoy, I say do it for that if nothing else. Someone once told me to be patient, the sales would eventually appear. Not sure how they defined patience, though. Definitely not one of my strong suits.
Ah, Rolynn, you give me way too much credit for knowing what works and what doesn't, but thank you just the same. I have yet to discover what really, really works, except to write an excellent book that then receives much 'word of mouth' promotion. I first became involved with The Wild Rose Press when they published about ten of my short stories within a year. At that time, reviews for my work seemed to come out of the woodwork from all different places, and CoffeeTime was one of them. Unfortunately, I was such a neophyte to unline publishing, I had no clue how to capitalize on the surge. I've since learned it's harder and harder (like pulling teeth) to get reviews on books. We do indeed learn from each other, which is really a victory in itself.
Yep, RE, been there done that myself, and still am. Something has to hit sometime, right? Income tax deductions it is. And thank goodness we have those.
My opinion, blog tours don't do squat. My pub arranges one with each release. All I have to do is thank the host (or I'd probably rebel). I don't see that it helps in the least. I love our group here, so I'm not deserting, I promise, but I'm not sure it helps us sell books.
I had great sales (both for the free book after the free period and for the others in the series) back in the good old days when free worked for a self-pubbed series. That ship sailed years ago, unfortunately, and I don't see that free works anymore. Too many people have hundreds of free books on their Kindles already.
Getting on Bookbub is the Golden Ticket for sales. Too bad it's so very difficult to get a spot. I'd sell my soul (or my first born) to get another one of my books on their site.
What does work is writing quality books. Whenever I actually get a sale of the first book in any of my series, the next day, I get a sale of the second, then the third. I feel like one sale is a guarantee the whole series will sell to that reader. How do I know? I'm an obsessive stalker of Amazon rankings. Trust me, I've figured out the patterns. The problem is to get that first book into more hands by reaching new readers. That's the part I haven't figured out yet.
Sorry for writing a novel here. I don't know what came over me! LOL
Thanks for the ideas Margo. I've come to the conclusion that what works for one author doesn't necessarily work for another but I'm willing to give anything a go!
Jannine - where do I begin? You provided sooooo much for me to respond to. (Would we have you any other way?) LOL
Agree on the blog tours being relatively worthless, unfortunately, except to sometimes get valuable reviews. This blog, however, provides support and comraderie we all need. Wouldn't trade that for anything.
Never have had a series, per se, myself, but I will definitely push to get Book 1 in my series priced at 99 cents when Book 2 comes out next year.
Yes, yes, yes. To BookBub. Not sure which would be worth more to them though, my soul or my first born. Maybe both!
Yes, to getting a quality book in the right hands at the right time. Which, is something we really can't control.
I think the bottom line is, starting out, we have to write for the sheer joy of writing. To do anything less simply will not work.
A definite crap shoot, Andi. As I've said for many, many years. And, what works for one author for one book, doesn't always work for the same author for another book. I've heard so many say they did minimal promo for a book that did well, and pulled out all the stops to promo a book that went nowhere. Fickle. Fickle public, I think.
What works for one book might not work for another. Blog tours? My publisher used to set them up and no one, NO one ever responded. Like Jannine, I thanked the hostess and went on my way. I did that for 8 blog tours with zero responses. I have a street team I dearly love. They spread the tweets and facebook posts to a wider audience for me. I don't know if that helps with sales, but it gets my name out there. I offer ten ARC's for reviews and they're scooped up in a hurry. If that person doesn't leave a review, I don't give then another chance--or freebie. I still do facebook release parties when Calvin's well and can handle my being focused elsewhere for the day. Getting other authors to participate isn't always easy. I'm not sure it helps with sales. It's just fun. So, who knows. I don't either.
Good information, Margo. I agree that when you start out, do it for the enjoyment, because it is, as you say, fickle, fickle public....
Exactly, Vonnie, there doesn't seem to be any rhyme nor reason for any of it. I guess we could say blog tours are a good way for us authors to connect with each other if nothing else. One plus of some of the blog tours I've been on, once I answer the questions or submit the essay (if I'm doing more than just the billboard/cover reveal type) I save everything to use in promo for another day. FaceBook parties are nice if you can get the participation. I remember during one, Jannine and I were so bored, we ended up in a discussion about the pros and cons of cheetos! Give Calvin my best.
You got that right, Connie. We really aren't all that significant as we'd like to think. At least for me in the publishing world. And yet we continue out of love.
Some tips gleaned from experience, Maureen. Mine, but mostly the wisdom of others.
Thanks for the ideas on promoting. My hope is that I'll have something new to promote before too long and then I can use some of them! Still waiting.....
Wait no more, Lucy! Congratulations for the good news on your latest! Use away!!!
Great post, Margo. Very helpful. I'm so glad to be a part of your promo efforts. :) I have found that using Author Promo Pal and Amazon ads have been the most effective for me. At least with a promo service, you know, regardless of whether you have any time for marketing, your books are being shared. I haven't been able to trace exact sales, but continual exposure is important, readers have to see things over and over. Wishing you the best!!
Author Promo Pal has definitely given me results, Ally. Not only do I not have the time or inclination to put a lot of effort into promo, I don't have the knowledge or expertise to be very effective on my own. Here's hoping something sticks and takes hold at some point.
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