Novel Rocket's 10th Anniversary Bash!

Don't forget to leave comments on each day's posts, because you can get 1 entry for each day. We'll draw at the end of the week. Here's this week's prize:

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Goodreads Giveaway of Chapel Springs Revival

by +AneMulligan  @AneMulligan

I'm doing a giveaway  of my debut novel Chapel Springs Revival (#2 in Amazon's Hot New bestsellers) on Goodreads, from midnight tonight to midnight tomorrow night. Don't register before midnight. 

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/107754-chapel-springs-revival

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You Gotta Know When to Hold 'Em: Marketing & Advertising for the Indie Author, Part Two

   

By: Heather Day Gilbert

Last month, we looked at social media and personal ways to reach readers. This month, we're focusing more on paid advertisements and no-cost ways to get the word out on your novel.

As we did last time, I'll link to the contributing authors and their sites/books. Hopefully these posts will help as you make decisions on when to spend your bills...and when to "hold 'em." This series is by no means exhaustive, so if you've tried alternate ways of marketing/advertising, please comment below!


 PAID ADVERTISEMENTS

The consensus seemed to be to do as much or as little as you can afford.

—Bookbub was consistently mentioned as being worth the advertising cost, but you have to make sure your book is at a competitively low price (say, 99 cents; or even better, FREE, which can seriously bump sales/reviews afterward), and you've categorized it in the right genre. ENT (E-reader News Today) is another site like this. Just know that these sites generally require a minimum number of Amazon reviews and are more selective about what they will pick up.

—Authors also said that although you might not get fast returns from paid ads, the result of consistent exposure to a book ad might pay off later. I have mixed feelings on Facebook ads, since in the interests of experimentation, I paid $30 to boost a Facebook post advertising a radio show I did with blogtalkradio. I was able to target it to the US, Iceland, and Norway (Viking haunts). I will say I might've gotten a couple new followers and a couple book sales, but I don't think I boosted the right post. It's probably better to boost one when your book is on sale for 99 cents or free. If you've done a paid Facebook ad, please comment below with YOUR results and suggestions.

      ONLINE CONTESTS AND AWARDS

This idea brought mixed responses; namely, that judges are quite subjective and feedback can run all over the board. If you're only looking for exposure and not feedback, I'd recommend free online contests, such as reader's choice awards or e-cover art awards. With these contests, you gain some exposure but don't have to pay to enter. As an indie, I have to ask myself why I am entering award contests, when my readers really don't care if I have awards in my bio or not. For me, it's not worth it to pay to enter contests at this point.

However, as of March 6, ACFW has announced that indies can be eligible for Fiction Finder and the Carol Awards (in 2015). Although there will be minimum requirements to meet, I feel this is a huge step forward for Christian authors as a group. I hope more contests open doors to self-published novels and novels produced by smaller houses. I think this will bring a wealth of previously undiscovered gems onto readers' radar. I could definitely see the benefits of entering a contest like that.

I think the key with contests is entering ones you know will reach your demographic/readership. For example, enter mysteries in a mystery contest, Christian fiction in a Christian contest, etc.

      FREE ADVERTISING

Sites such as The Fussy Librarian and eBooksoda deliver book recommendations to readers directly via email. Both are just getting off the ground, but I've already gotten feedback that one reader found my book through eBooksoda. They are choosy about genres they accept, but it's worth checking into.

Radio interviews and vlogs are another great way to gain exposure and connect with your readers. It's easy to set up a YouTube channel, so your vlogs can be centralized in one place.

      REVIEW SITES/FREE DAYS ON E-READERS

I quickly learned that only certain book review sites will accept indie novels. Most larger sites work directly with publishers. But if you poke around the internet and watch who's reviewing authors in your genre, you can find individuals or sometimes larger groups willing to exchange a review for a free book. There are a couple Facebook review sites for Christian authors to connect with reviewers: Crossreads Reviewers and the recently established Christian Fiction Reviewers. An excellent post I recently discovered on all the ins and outs of finding reviewers was here at The E-Book Author's Corner.  

There are also author co-ops that utilize NetGalley. I paid an author friend to use her slot for the month of February. I would just give the caveat that if you go with a co-op, make sure your genre matches what your group usually distributes to readers. I didn't garner large numbers of reviews, but I learned that one library might purchase it, so that was a win for me. I'll probably try this route again.

I have mixed feelings on authors doing freebies. I know it can generate early release buzz, but then again, you run into readers who aren't in your target audience and might give lower than average reviews. I'd love your thoughts below on freebies (as a reader OR an author). I have found some favorite authors via free Kindle downloads, but that generated no income for said authors. However, it did generate a loyal influencer who will spread the word and buy all the author's future books. Therefore, I am planning to do this at some point, if I choose to go with Kindle Select.

GIVEAWAYS

Nowadays, you don't have to look far to find the latest book giveaway, often complete with a free Kindle/ipad/mp3/Amazon gift card. I wonder about the effectiveness of these costly prizes. Yes, they draw a lot of attention and plenty of entries. But do they pay off in the end? 

Staci Stallings, co-founder of CrossReads, shares that CrossReads offers a $50 Amazon gift card with their Book Blasts twice a month, which links readers back to author sites and social media outlets, resulting in solid increases in an author's audience. However, an uptick in sales on featured books tends to correlate closely to the book's price point, with 99-cent and free books getting the most boost.

I've had mixed success with book giveaways on blogs...I would say 8 out of 10 winners will review my book and spread the word. But much of this just depends on how your particular book resonates with that particular winner. I've decided not to spend my profits on electronic incentives for giveaways. 

I'd also like to point out the importance of following through on your giveaways. I think many of us have had experiences where we've won a book and the author never made good on sending it to us, or finally it showed up five months later when you'd forgotten all about it. Now, maybe I'm just a gal indoctrinated with Southern ideas on courtesy, but I believe if you promise something and don't make good on it, you look like a liar. In other words, it'll reflect very badly on you as an author. If there is a good reason why you can't get that book out, offer a gift card or alternate gift. But at the very least, contact the winner and apologize.

As I've said in previous posts, Goodreads giveaways are a great way to get many people to add your book to their To-Read list, thus increasing your visibility on Goodreads. Some of those people will eventually buy your book, even if they don't win. But I'd just advise to offer at least three copies of the book and let your giveaway run a month so it will reach more people who might potentially share it with others and review.

Finally, I'd be remiss if I didn't share this link to an older Author Media post on this very topic: 89 Book Marketing Ideas That will Change your Life. I have a feeling I'll be reading over and pondering each one of these options.

A huge thanks to the authors below, who contributed to this series. Names link to their author sites, titles link to their most recent books on Amazon. Thank you!

Adam Blumer—The Tenth Plague
Carole Brown—The Redemption of Caralynne Hayman
Susie Finkbeiner—My Mother's Chamomile
Cynthia Hickey—Deadly Neighbors
Carla Laureano—Five Days in Skye
Terri Main—Fangs for the Memories
Amy Matayo—Love Gone Wild
Wendy Paine Miller—The Disappearing Key
Staci Stallings—Deep in the Heart
Heather Sunseri—Mindsiege 

MaryLu Tyndall--The Ransom

***Would love your thoughts/experience with advertising hits and misses. This is a place where we can help each other get ahead and make the most of our advertising budgets!***

Heather Day Gilbert enjoys writing stories about authentic, believable marriages. Sixteen years of marriage to her sweet Yankee husband have given her some perspective, as well as ten years spent homeschooling.

You can find Heather at her website, Heather Day Gilbert--Author, and at her Facebook Author Page, as well as Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, and Goodreads. Her Viking novel, God's Daughter, is an Amazon bestseller. She plans to release her contemporary Appalachian mystery, Miranda Warning, on West Virginia Day: June 20, 2014.

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Getting the Good out of Goodreads: Six Methods to get Your Novel Noticed

By: Heather Day Gilbert

(Goodreads illustration from Cass Co. Public Library)

I'd like to offer a few short and sweet tips on how to make Goodreads work for you; specifically if you are self-publishing, but much of this will also hold true if you're traditionally published. An alternate, yet equally effective title for this post could have been "Learning from Heather's Mistakes on Goodreads."

1) The moment your cover art and blurb are ready, list your book on Goodreads. This gives people time to get it on their To-Read lists, which will increase your visibility on search engine sites. I'd suggest getting your cover art and book blurb up about two months ahead of time to build buzz on all your social media sites. You can also post quotes from your novel, which is another effective way to draw people into the story. A fun way to do this is to use PicMonkey and edit free pictures (I got many from Morguefile), if you can find some that fit your fave quotes.

2) Give yourself an author page to link with your book, pre-publication. When you write your author biography, try to use action verbs as much as possible and don't make it all about the one book that is coming out. Take the long view of what kind of fiction you write and who you are as a person. 

You can also easily link your blog to your Goodreads author page, as well as upload vlogs, trailers, or YouTube videos so people get a visual picture of your novel.

3) Nominate your book for Listopia lists. Yes, even before it's released. Yes, it seems really self-serving, but it will help it get noticed sooner in its appropriate genre. Use judgment as to nominating your own book for "Best of" lists before it's even released/reviewed. I stuck to lists like "Eye-Catching Cover Art" or "2013 Releases." 

Oh, while you're poking around in Listopia, nominate your other favorite books for lists! Boost those authors, too.

4) Send out a Goodreads friend request to all your Twitter followers. This is something I did by accident, and I felt bad for asking all kinds of people to accept my Goodreads friendship. But it added a whole plethora of readers to my follower lists and increased visibility. In short, it was a brilliant mistake.

5) Join Goodreads groups in your genre, but READ the group regulations before linking to your book. I confess this is something I learned the hard way. I *gasp* got kicked out of a group, because I misunderstood their rules on sharing links to your own book. I felt like a heel and offered a personal apology, but never heard back. In short, I felt like a jerk. Make sure you keep your groups straight —if you're in several, it's easy to forget which ones allow author shout-outs and which ones don't. 

6) Once your book releases, if you have softcovers in hand, do a Goodreads giveaway. This is a GREAT way to gain exposure for your novel. You can't offer an e-book in a Goodreads giveaway, though—only hard copies. I would strongly recommend you offer at least three copies of your book to reach more readers, and run the giveaway for at least a month. 

I made the mistake of only offering one copy of my book for a two-week giveaway. I still got lots of requests, but I could've reached even more potential readers if I'd extended the giveaway and offered more copies. Bonus perk: when people sign up for the giveaway, there's a handy button they can hit to add your book to their To Read lists. I would rough-estimate that over 200 people added my book to their list in that two-week giveaway period.

In short, it's relatively easy to make Goodreads work for you as an author. You just have to spend time/effort getting your book cover/blurb ready ahead of release, fixing up your author page, and exhausting built-in marketing opportunities such as giveaways and groups. 

Here's hoping you go forth and get the good out of Goodreads!

Heather Day Gilbert enjoys writing stories about authentic, believable marriages. Sixteen years of marriage to her sweet Yankee husband have given her some perspective, as well as ten years spent homeschooling her three children. Heather is the ACFW West Virginia Area Coordinator.

You can find Heather at her website, Heather Day Gilbert--Author, and at her Facebook Author Page, as well as Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, and Goodreads. You can find her Amazon best-selling Viking historical novel, God's Daughter, here on Amazon and Smashwords.

 

***Question for you: If you're an author, what's been the most helpful aspect of Goodreads for you?***

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31 Days of Giveaway!

In honor of the launch of Jessica Dotta's debut book, Born of Persuasion, 

she's hosting 31 Days of Giveaways

And we're excited! We're getting ready practicing our tea etiquette! 

Elizabeth Ludwig is dressed for the tea

 Ane chose her cup but still has to dress for the tea

Now, it's your turn! 

Post a photo of yourself with your teacup on your wall and link it to Jessica's author page: http://www.facebook.com/BornofPersuasion. Say you're getting ready for the Giveaway Tea!

www.writergrannysworld.blogspot.com

http://carolinatrails.blogspot.com/

http://pamelasmeyers.com/

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What Do You Think About Giveaways?

No, it's not Christmas in July, or June for that matter. I've simply got a snarly ball of thought wadded up in a corner of my brain, kind of like the horking gob of Christmas lights when you pull 'em out of storage. Let's unravel it and see what we find. I apologize in advance if it happens to be mouse droppings.

All the trendy kids are doing giveaways lately. Even my editor asked if I wanted to do one. Of course I said yes. If my publisher wanted me to ride a pony backwards through Times Square in a bikini, I would (sorry for the visual). But honestly, I'm not super convinced giveaways are effective. Oh, they're fun and sparkle like disco balls, but how much bang for the buck does an author really get?

That's assuming, of course, that the giveaway is of value. No one really wants to win my grandmother's dentures, even if they are signed by Johnny Depp. So...

What constitutes a valuable giveaway?

Recently I won a Nook from a blog giveaway. Wowzer. Value city, dude! I certainly struck the jackpot. But not everyone can afford to deal out electronics like candy. In researching the giveaway trend, I came across some basics that should go into choosing a geegaw to award a lucky winner:

• Branding (item should reinforce the author's niche)
• Worth (don't stick the recipient with something stupid you pulled out of a junk drawer)
• Unique (in a positive way...something they're excited to tell others about)
• Memorable (long lasting & durable to remind recipient of you/your books)

Do giveaways sell more books?

From what I've read, the answer is no. So why do a freakin' giveaway in the first place? Because it's a way to get your name out there in the public realm, more so than if you don't do a giveaway. And if your name is seen on Twitter, Facebook, the inscription on the cover of your book sitting on somebody's coffee table who won it, the more chances a victim person will eventually want to find out what the hype is about and they'll finally buy a book. It's not necessarily the giveaway in and of itself that will sell you, but the cumulative name recognition.

Convinced? Apparently I am, because I’m doing a giveaway this week over at Writer Off the Leash. Stop by and give it a whirl. You just might win!

Michelle Griep’s been writing since she first discovered blank wall space and Crayolas…professionally, however, for the past 10 years. Her latest release, A HEART DECEIVED, is available by David C. Cook. You can find her at: 

Writer Off the Leash, www.michellegriep.com or on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest.

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