Last week Elizabeth Spann-Craig had an excellent post on book promotions. She covered book signings, blog tours, phone calls, and more. When you have a moment, read her post at Mystery Writing is Murder
There’s many little things an author can do to promote his or her work. We’ve all tried new tricks and each of us possesses some unique approach.
One thing I do for speaking events open to the public is mail invitations and announcements. In addition to personal contacts, I send invites to businesses and those in notable positions in the community. This not only draws in more people, it often leads to other opportunities.
So what special trick is up your sleeve? Please share so that others may benefit or be inspired to put their own twist on the idea!
And tune in Wednesday for a special announcement regarding a guest on another site who is near and dear to my heart!
The announcement of my book's release on eighty-plus blogs helped, although Talli did it better with her book. I guess because I just keep active in the community and commenting, readers continue to find me and purchase my book.
ReplyDeleteI like Twitter as my promo tool. The key is to provide real and useful content for writers and *then* tweet your promo links. There's definitely a low-threshold for BSP on Twitter.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the mention, Diane!
Wish I had a magic wand to share, but methinks it's a combination of using everything at your disposal and then thinking of even more. I once rented a booth at a Farmer's Market - sold quite a few books, too - and I think I'll do that again this Spring/Summer. Seems that organic food lovers are also book readers, and they liked the idea of supporting a local artist/author, too.
ReplyDeleteMy two cents, lol. :)
Marvin D Wilson
I've had great success speaking to collegiate chapters and alumni groups of my sorority from college, as well as to women's social and professional networking groups about the hard road to getting my novel published. Everyone likes a feel-good story that inspires them to go for their dreams! :)
ReplyDelete-Maria Murnane, author of Perfect on Paper
www.mariamurnane.com
I wish I had a special trick up my sleeve, but I still just muddle through the whole process of marketing. I like you invite idea, though.
ReplyDeleteEveryone has a unique approach and we certainly haven't tried everything yet!
ReplyDeleteI'm very new to this, but I just had a little success going to a venue that was in line with my book's topic (a dogsled race) and did a book signing. Sold 30 books mostly by telling adventure stories. Advice - talk to people!
ReplyDeleteOn the promo side, I've yet to worry about playing the shameless self promotion card because I don't have anything published. I guess there are benefits to that.
ReplyDeleteSee, the problem with tricks up the sleeves, is you have to have sleeves, and I'm just not sure I can commit to that!
ReplyDeleteI haven't done this yet, but probably, as with a lot of these things, I will be emulating Elizabeth when the time comes...
Haven't found that magic wand--well I really do have one. But I'm reading what everyone is writing and plotting for when my next book comes out! Diane, I like how easy you make it to land on your site.
ReplyDeleteMonti
NotesAlongTheWay
I worry about the promo part - but I'm nowhere near that stage so I have lots of time to learn from you :)
ReplyDeleteIt's good to have some "fans" in the audience if you're doing a public appearance. The support can really help.
ReplyDeleteLee
Tossing It Out
You are so good at the promo stuff, Diane, as are so many other bloggers. When I need to do promo, I will just sit down at your feet and ask you to guide me.
ReplyDeleteI read a good article about facebook advertising. I don't have a link, but it's worth a look. You can target your audience and it was cheap. Video posts are a great way to be a real person online. Promote other people in a genuine way, on twitter, and people remember you also.
ReplyDeleteHart, we'll forgive the lack of sleeves.
ReplyDeleteJemi and Rayna, thanks!!
I'm a ways off from this stage, but it's why I love coming to blog for your awesome tips :) Thanks for the link!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Simon -- mentoring, supporting, and promoting other writers and bloggers is not just a feel-good activity. It also helps us achieve name recognition in this big, big world of publishing and blogging.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great idea to send out invites to notable businesses and people in the community. I hadn't thought of that but it makes perfect sense!
ReplyDeleteJai
I don't have anything to promote yet so I'm just quietly blogging away in preparation for when I do ;)
ReplyDeleteI haven't done anything regarding snail mail. But something to consider. I can think of a number of organiztions who might be interested in an event I participate in.
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