 |
| Source |
Happy Independence Day to those of you
who are from America! Here’s hoping you enjoy the holiday.
For a while now, I’ve been hemming and
hawing about doing a Facebook ad. Still haven’t done it. What I have done is a
Goodreads ad, which isn’t showing any returns as yet. If nothing happens this
week, I’ll have to reword the blurb I’ve used. The way their system works is
that you decide on the amount you want to spend up front and the ad runs until
the clicks amount to your spending limit.
More on that later when I see what progress happens this week. The
Facebook ad is still on the table.
Before Distraction came out, I spent
some time reading about book tours and thinking
about my options. I could have
someone plan it for me or I could do it myself. Taking my limited budget into consideration
means that I have only one choice.
The more I thought about it, the more exhausting
a book tour sounded and I wondered whether it was worth the effort. Two things
convinced me. A fellow writer at Little Prince Publishing was strongly in
favour of doing it, having just come off a tour of her YA novel. A couple of articles
I read at Toby
Neal’s blog also helped convince me. I went into brainstorming mode and
think I’ve hit on several ideas that will make my book promo tour different and
interesting, something I think is key to a successful tour. More on that later.
By the time I’m ready to take
Distraction through its paces, I will have gotten a varied sampling of reviews.
A blogging buddy of mine finished the book last week and featured it today in the
INDIEpendence Day Blog Hop, sponsored by The Indelibles.
The one thing I’ve discovered since
2010 is that the promo thrust never ends and that when you’re published, finding
time to write becomes a challenge. There’s always something else demanding
attention, but striking a balance is important. I’m striving to do that in between
juggling marketing and promo and all that comes in between. Isn’t it amazing how much time passes before
you realize you haven’t written a word in your next WiP?
I'm looking forward to learning what you plan for a possible book tour. By the way the link to the review of Distraction isn't working for me.
ReplyDeleteHey, Bish, I do want to do something different from the usual tour. Thanks, I fixed the link.
ReplyDeleteI've done a Goodreads ad, too. The nice thing is, I have money left to switch to the next project. A friend of mine did Google ads, too.
ReplyDeleteFor right now,I'm getting a lot of views and no clicks, so of course, I've still got my money - technically. :) Hadn't thought about it carrying over to the next thing, but I guess that's a plus.
DeleteI'm excited to hear the results of the ads. If they turn out well, I might do it. I'm glad there are people reviewing your book.
ReplyDeleteIll keep you posted on how the Goodread ads go.
DeletePromotion never ends, does it? I hope your ads bear some good results!
ReplyDeleteNutschell
www.thewritingnut.com
Thanks, Nutschell,
DeleteI'm persistent, so I'll see if something works.
I did a goodreads ad and it's disappointing. They said to change the wording on the blurb. Maybe I'll do that someday. But as for now I just did a dollar pay per click and since no one is really clicking, it gets shown quite a few times. I figure maybe the picture will stick in someone's memory here and there.
ReplyDeleteMike, I'm to cheap to go as high as a dollar. :) But, yeah, people are still seeing the ads. That's the good part. Now to see if the rule of 7 works.
DeleteCongratulations on Distraction! I'm heading to Amazon now to add it to my Kindle and will look forward to your book tour. And, good luck with your ads. It's interesting to learn about these different options for promotions, I didn't even know the goodreads ads were available.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Julie. I'm yet to hit something that's magic, but then I knew that before I started this journey. :) Glad to share some knowledge.
DeleteI did a goodreads ad too - it got all the clicks until the money ran out and around 30 people added it to the tbr lists, but I can't see that in sales figures! Also I couldn't figure out where the ad actually appeared. Oh blog tours! I've just done one, but I didn't research properly and made a bit of a mess up (my horror novel was appearing on YA blogs!). So do research them first. To be frank, there are so many "author interviews" that I tend to skip over them :-(
ReplyDeleteAh, that's the challenging part, knowing when the ads are converting to sales.
DeleteThanks for the advice on the tour. I've mainly stuck to people I know and even then I hesitate to ask those who write Sci-Fi as I'll be wasting my time in a die-hard Sci-Fi joint.
I'm trying to avoid interviews. Out of 15 stops, I only have one of those and that was at the blogger's request. I'm wrapping my head around not doing the usual. We'll see.
I'm trying to find a balance and preserve writing time...and I'm not even doing promo yet. I bow to you!
ReplyDeleteRula, it's gotten to the point where I seem to write only under pressure and those are usually self-imposed and unrealistic. But that's what happens when I let time slide by before I start writing again.
DeleteOkay, this may sound super dumb, but have you considered running an ad at a movie theater? We've had a few authors do it at ours and their sales increased exponentially. Small theaters are pretty cheap but they get the word out. Don't know if it's an option for you.
ReplyDeleteThat's a pretty cool idea, but where I live that can be very expensive. I've neglected the local side of my promotion, but that happens because less than 1/10 of the population owns e-readers. It's something to look into though. You never know until you ask. Thanks.
DeleteI haven't written in weeks. But I hope to remedy that problem by the middle of the month. Wish me luck. Please.
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy you're doing this series on promotion. I'm learning a lot.
Tell me about it. I know how that goes. I've committed to doing something shortly, which is why I'm writing again. I'm sure when things settle down again, you'll get back on track. Promoting does take a LOT of time. I'm finding out things all the time to from doing all this digging around. Found another interesting book about selling on Amazon. Will share on that if I think it's worth it.
ReplyDeleteHi
ReplyDeleteI always thought writing was the hard-part. But after being acquainted with a few Indie authors, becoming friends with a few others, and of course through blogs, I realise how hard marketing is. Wishing you good luck.
I think a book tour sounds like a great idea! Put a linky list together and I'll bet you get a ton of people to sign up! :)
ReplyDeleteThat includes me too! :)
ReplyDeleteMina,
DeleteActually, I did think of asking you, but wondered whether it would be smart since I'm assuming many of your readers are into Paranormal stuff and this book has none of those elements. I didn't want to make it unmanageable so I went with asking people on an individual basis. Now for a book blast, a linky list that features something special and different would be a good way to go. Thinking...
Wow, I find it hard enough to strike a balance as it is without adding promotion into the equation! I hope you find the perfect formula. I second Mina, I'd be happy to host you as part of a blog tour. :)
ReplyDeleteNick, taking on something like this definitely isn't for the faint of heart, but then I don't know when to quit when it comes to stretching myself. :) I'll email you about the tour and you can tell me if you're game. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThat is so true. If it weren't for my huge backlist of books I'd written in the past, I'd have nothing to publish today. I think it's been at least three months since I've written anything new in my wip. Promo is so much work. I hope you have good returns from your ad.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Susan. We're in the same boat. Lots of stuff to edit and the other stuff that's demanding to be written.
DeleteYeah I know what it's like realizing you haven't started in on the W.I.P. I'm glad you have decided to do a book tour. My debut novel for late August is an ebook called Sacrifice Her about a teen fleeing from becoming a human sacrifice. But for November I plan to release both a kindle and paperback version of Snow. The novel is set in Jamaica and takes the story of Snow White in a new direction with the daughter hating the father for driving away her mother with mistaken accusations of infidelity.
ReplyDeleteThank you for commenting on my blog. I hardly meet local writers through blogs and my ongoing blogging friends (mainly writers bother traditional and indie) are all from abroad. I love them but it's nice to be visited by a fellow Jamaican. Thanks and I'm a big fan of Contraband. Haven't bought it yet, stores keep running out when I have the cash to buy. Once when I was browsing I saw it again but didn't have the money to buy it. *Sigh* Best of luck with your book tour and ads. I think trying facebook is a good idea. I looked at their options earlier this year and plan to use it in the near future. I love the blurb I read for Distractions and the cover is quite intriguing with the three women.
Hi, Sheena,
DeleteI’ve read the premise for Snow and it sounds interesting, DNA aspect and all.
It is a rare thing to meet a Jamaican blogger, so of course, I had to comment once I realized that you’re from the Rock.
As to marketing, I did use Facebook for Contraband, but didn’t watch things closely enough to see if it helped improve sales. Thanks for your good wishes. I’ll let you know how things go. There’s another blogger who’s become a good buddy and she’s originally from Jamaica. She’s Peaches Ledwidge at Conceive Writing (She's in the list of bloggers on my sidebar). Make sure you drop in on her. She’s a peach, like her name. :)
Joy, so nice of you to mention my name. I came to leave a comment and saw that you mentioned my blog. I bought Distraction and will certainly write a review that--I hope--will distract others from what they have to do to make them read your Distraction.
ReplyDeleteHey, Peaches,
DeleteNo problem at all on the mention. Thanks for the buy, but I thought I'd sent you a copy. Doing too much, I guess. :)
You're so right. It's all about juggling and never really coming to an end. Here's to success no matter what you decide to do re: the promo.
ReplyDeleteI tried to join the Indelibles blog hop, but the linky wouldn't take my URL. Must have been something I said! :-)
Thanks so much, Lee, for your good wishes. Dunno what could have gone wrong with the linky list.
DeleteI'm just happy that I've gotten faster at writing. I'm not even published yet, but I've already started the promoting (because I talked to a lot of authors who suggested doing so) and it has just been crazy trying to balance everything already!
ReplyDeleteE.R.,
DeleteI suppose the earlier you get into the habit of balancing writing with all the other stuff, the more manageable things will be for you.
Thanks for sharing your process - I hadn't even known we could do targeted ads on Goodreads or FB.
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to share whatever I learn, Deniz. Now if I could find that pot of gold...
DeleteI really enjoy your posts on promotion. You're so right: Finding time to write does become a challenge when you are also hip-high in promotion. There are not enough hours in each day. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteOh, yeah. I find that I have to set writing targets, otherwise I have nothing tangible to show for sitting before the computer. Glad your enjoying the posts. So much for us to learn on this journey.
DeleteHi there. So happy to see a Jamaican author ... I have Jamaican heritage, so this is really important to me. New follower of your blog here!
ReplyDeleteSiobhan,
DeleteIt is so nice to 'meet' you! I've been in the blogosphere for a while now and it is rare to find Jamaicans or people with connections to the island. Wearing a might big smile here.Thanks for dropping in.
Thanks for telling me about the Goodreads ad. I was wondering how that worked.
ReplyDeletePromoting and actual writing needs to be balanced. Many writers tell me that when they focus on one they can't on the other. I've had the same problem.
Have a great weekend.
No problem, Medeia. I too find it hard to balance promoting and writing. When I'm at one, it's hard to remember to spend time on the other. I lift my hat to those people who can balance both properly. Enjoy your weekend!
ReplyDeleteYep, it's easy to fall into all the marketing and such and let the actual writing slide. My sanity soon suffers though so I'm forced to get back to writing again.
ReplyDeleteLynda, most often, I get guilted into writing again. :)
Delete