tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1268238247379169028.post5989671561275082265..comments2024-03-14T02:21:43.549-07:00Comments on Faeries, Dragons, and Spaceships: Promo sweet promoMarie Andreashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11422636765580836358noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1268238247379169028.post-54745225771847737312011-06-16T09:38:34.634-07:002011-06-16T09:38:34.634-07:00I'm currently having a mini anxiety attack reg...I'm currently having a mini anxiety attack regarding promo as my book will be released from Luna in September. I have 2 published books with small presses, but the Luna book is in a whole new (and bigger) league, so I'm feeling anxious about what to do. <br /><br />Harlequin has a publicity team that does quite a bit, but i doubt it extends to their debut authors. Which means I can't afford to drop this ball.<br /><br />I have a marketing background, which helps, but one thing is for certain is that promotion isn't an exact science. It's hard to track results for things like swag and media ads. I did a lot of promo stuff for my small press book and didn't see much in the way of results. It's kind of like throwing cooked spaghetti against the wall to see if it sticks.<br /><br />My current plans are facebook (which i guess is a given), blog and blog tours, and website with excerpts (as soon i get the okay from Harlequin's marketing dept.). <br /><br />I haven't been much help here (sorry), but i would like you all to know about an awesome flash website creation tool that's free and super easy to use. I'm still working on mine but you can see what i have so far at http://www.wix.com/jkduvall/knights-curse Visit wix.com to check out the awesome templates you can use as a base for your own site. It's so cool!Karen Duvallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01839711547501582977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1268238247379169028.post-76710403620981383812011-06-15T21:41:28.826-07:002011-06-15T21:41:28.826-07:00Hi Marie,
I've done a lot of book promotion o...Hi Marie,<br /><br />I've done a lot of book promotion over the years, and can't say that just one thing has been the catalyst for additional sales.<br /><br />I use a lot of different methods (with the latest 'test' being Goodreads), and I do feel that everything combined is what gets results.<br /><br />I don't often pay for promotions, but do have membership to a couple of promotional sites for authors - I probably spent $150 absolute max per year on promo ops, but that really is a max. The lower, the better, I say.<br /><br />This same topic was discussed on my blog recently, and your readers may pick up some extra tips there:<br /><br />http://writer2writer.com/blog/2011/03/12/how-do-you-promote-your-books/Cheryl Wrighthttp://www.cheryl-wright.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1268238247379169028.post-63390725882553659262011-06-15T19:21:22.494-07:002011-06-15T19:21:22.494-07:00Thanks for coming by ladies! Lots of great tips an...Thanks for coming by ladies! Lots of great tips and ideas. I know for myself as a reader, I'm not that likely to pick up paper swag unless there is something AMAZING about it.Marie Andreashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11422636765580836358noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1268238247379169028.post-71469020856133798272011-06-15T16:49:39.170-07:002011-06-15T16:49:39.170-07:00I enjoy doing blog tours...I've met so many gr...I enjoy doing blog tours...I've met so many great folks by getting out of my head and into other corners of cyberspace. <br /><br />And I echo Cathy...get ready to send out copies of your books for review. Get familiar with who reviews your genre and make contact. Build a contact list to send your future books to. If reviewers enjoyed your first book, they often agree to review subsequent ones. <br /><br />I also suggest that authors learn a bit of html or learn to use a website building program in order to update your own website - frequent updates can get expensive in a hurry if you pay someone to do them.<br /><br />And don't forget your international readers in contests and giveaways. The Book Depository is a good place to ship books internationally for contests or reviewers - free international shipping.Laura Bicklehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02498043274943334697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1268238247379169028.post-48438394890162615332011-06-15T16:33:11.768-07:002011-06-15T16:33:11.768-07:00Promo's a topic near & dear to my heart. :...Promo's a topic near & dear to my heart. :D I think that, if done well, you'll connect with people who genuinely appreciate you and what you have to offer (your stories.) I'm also lucky enough to be a publicist at Entangled Publishing, pretty much a dream job. I think at the early stage, the key is to get noticed among your readers (in a good way, by contributing to conversations and NOT TELLING THEM ABOUT YOUR BOOK, at least not until you've hung around for a few months, being supportive and giving helpful and insightful comments) and then making sure you get review copies out to every book blog that makes sense if your publisher isn't already. Guest blog & host giveaways, especially where entry is based on tweeting or posting a FB status about the contest. I'd blog weekly, things related to what your readers are interested in. Do a newsletter every month to every quarter. Personally, I'd hold off on swag unless you've got a plan of what you're going to do with it: if you're going to a conference or you're filling goody bags. I'd also make sure the stuff is both memorable/different and something people will want to hang on to. Pens, yes... pamphlets, not so much. Just my opinion, but that's what I'd do. :DCathy Yardleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00811698668659248395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1268238247379169028.post-31780679989610356762011-06-15T11:59:08.701-07:002011-06-15T11:59:08.701-07:00Newsletters--I give a free weekly read. Also, I bl...Newsletters--I give a free weekly read. Also, I blog on several blogs, daily, yes, work full time at a day job, post covers on Facebook, and tweet about book giveaways. One of my self-published books, THE DARK FAE, really took off, selling over a hundred copies a day--so I'm working on a sequel. Offering more books definitely helps to promote older books already out.Terry Spearhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14788961423817944896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1268238247379169028.post-46403870700623416722011-06-15T10:57:55.872-07:002011-06-15T10:57:55.872-07:00I'm still pre-pubbed and with my cover about t...I'm still pre-pubbed and with my cover about to be finalized, I'm trying to decide what to do as far as swag goes. I know my publisher will do some ads and is planning a launch party/signing, but beyond that and distributing ARCs, not sure what I can realistically expect from them. So I blog. A lot. I do the Twitter thing. I haven't done anything with Facebook. I hope to do a few cons next year but it will depend on what I can afford, so I'm going to have to choose carefully. The cost of doing Comic Con for big studios like that is a drop in the bucket, so I'm surprised they're scrimping on it. I'd be interested in knowing what kind of swag is worthwhile at cons--what do people want? Excerpt booklets? Are bookmarks passe? Post-its? Posters?Suzanne Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14180604715572075576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1268238247379169028.post-89059622157816426472011-06-15T10:45:47.875-07:002011-06-15T10:45:47.875-07:00I write under two names and have to figure where a...I write under two names and have to figure where and how I can afford promoting. Can't aford big bucks in an ad, but if get one for a super price and i have that money at the time, I will do ith for my current book. <br />First an author should have a website, even one not published yet. it's tax deductible if you pay something to the place to have this website. Just make sure on it is nothing but about you the writer, etc--a business site, in other words. Facebook is free and so is twitter, though Twitter does not consider itself a social media site (something I learned). Plus you can blog. <br /><br />I do conventions, as a writer guest, and noticed certain books and eBooks of mine go up in sales on Amazon (where I can tell). So putting down Comic-Con (I grew up in S. D. (mostly El Cajon), so yes, I know all about it and used to go to it until 1984--I knew when it was a small con) may not be smart of those studios. But like authors who pick and choose what they can afford to do for promoting, same goes for those studios.<br /><br />I try to think outside the box and sometimes it works well. Regular ways have worked for me too. I try to find out if anything I tried works. It's not always easy to find out, but sometimes you can.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1268238247379169028.post-6536330419424644002011-06-15T09:42:03.248-07:002011-06-15T09:42:03.248-07:00I just sold my first book and am yet to learn all ...I just sold my first book and am yet to learn all about promotion. As luck will have it I'm moderating an FFnP class on Promotion and althought I can't ask instructor any questions, I got access to the lessons and I'm actually learining a lot on the blog creation and what not. But there's got to be lots more to it. How to get the word out you have a book out there? And from what I can gather so far, it all comes donw to networking. Read other peoples' blogs, leave a comment, reply, respoond and you'll get noticed.Firetuliphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10657031771377559033noreply@blogger.com