Promotion is something all authors have to do. Many of us write for publishers who promote us, but they still expect us to get involved in the process.
Frankly, I'd just like to ask everyone to buy my books and leave it at that. But unfortunately, that doesn't work very well.
So...we ask for reviews. We beg you to share our promotional memes on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and Instagram. (Still not sure what Instagram is and I have no idea how TikTok works.) We have blogs, like this one. Sometimes we do Facebook parties. If that doesn't give an author a nervous breakdown, nothing will. Yikes!
I'm blessed to have an assistant who drags me kicking and screaming...(Okay, it's not really that bad. Let's just say he firmly pushes me) into book release promotions that include giving away gifts as bribes to read my books. (He doesn't call them bribes, by the way, but that's what they are.)
So, here's my question for all of you. What kind of promotion do you enjoy by your favorite authors? Do you think promotions make a difference? What promotions cause you to respond? What kind of promotions do you dislike? And what about authors you haven't read? What makes you try out a new author?
Does begging help? (Just kidding here. But not really...)
Nancy Mehl
I think promotions do help. I guess any type of "freebie" is a draw for me - like I'm winning a contest! For an author I am not familiar with, receiving either a print or ebook helps me to "try out" her books without paying a "book price". That is how I've discovered several of my now favorite authors!! Oh, and I think editing would be my least favorite part of writing too.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Debbie. It is a great way to discover new writers!
DeleteI love give-aways! Every so often I win a book and get all excited about it. I'm much more likely to read an author who is new to me if I didn't have to buy the first book. I share books with my friends, so more people will be exposed to the author/book that way. And, I love to write reviews!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing books, Susie. Others may order our books after you expose them to us. That is a great reason to do promotions!
DeleteI love giveaways and have entered many! Won a few too. And I enjoy spreading the word about new books that are written by authors I've enjoyed in the past. So make the memes, send out the word and I will share!
ReplyDeleteGlad you brought up sharing our promotions, Anne. That is so helpful. Sharing online may cause someone else to buy books written by writers they haven't been exposed to before.
DeleteI love giveaways, too, and have won several over the years! My favorite giveaways are signed books and Amazon (or CBD ) gift certificates.
ReplyDeleteI like signed books too. Sometimes I send winners a book straight from Amazon. Anyone who received a book from me that I haven't signed can contact me for a signed bookplate!
DeleteI have found new authors through other authors promoting them. I think promotion is necessary to get a book out to a wider range of people. And I think giveaways (or bribes) are fun!
ReplyDeleteeclitton at gmail dot com
LOL! Yeah, I think there's even a scripture about bribes working. Oh, well. ;)
DeleteI always enter giveaways. I do understand promoting would be hard. My hubby is an author of non fiction and he does not like promoting either! Thanks for the chance to win!
ReplyDeletefaithdcreech at gmail dot com
So you understand. :) And you're welcome.
Deletepromotions can help readers and authors
ReplyDeletebn100candg at hotmail dot com
Thanks for the comment.
DeleteWhen it comes to promotion it is better to use a mixture of approaches. This has the dual advantage of allowing your book to be seen many times giving the advantage of familiarity and also allows for the ways in which different people will react. Not everyone will be attracted to any particular marketing approach. Therefore it becomes more targeted.
ReplyDeleteGreat comment, Wendy. Thanks.
DeleteYou sent me a couple of your books, and now I feel like I know you better and want to share your books. You might have considered it more a gift than promotion, but I really appreciated it. <3
ReplyDeleteIt was an honor. And yes, it was a gift, not promotion.
Delete:)
I think promotion does help, I love quotes from books with picture of book in background or something that fits that quote. I also love to hear the author talk about it or do mini giveaways for it. It's also great to see other authors promoting books especially when it's an author you love to read and they tell you about a new author, then you are more likely to give that other author a try as well.
ReplyDeleteForgot it's paralegal7 at hotmail dot com
DeleteGreat point, Lela. Thanks.
DeleteI like promotions & opportunities to win books. I do NOT like jumping through hoops to watch you tube videos and comment on 20 different authors' pages just to be entered in a contest! Thanks for an opportunity to win badawson16 at aol dot com
ReplyDeleteYikes! Not sure I've seen that kind of promotion. I agree, it should be easy. My assistant sometimes adds different ways to enter a contest, but it don't think we've ever done anything quite like that. Thanks for your comment, Barb.
ReplyDeleteI’ve enjoyed FB parties, giveaways, and interviews as part of promotions. I also love how authors and their books are feathered on different blogs.
ReplyDeletemindyhoung AT msn DOT com
Thanks for the comment, Mindy!
DeleteI purchase books for our church library. I tend not to enter many contests, although I may if it is super easy to do. I look for publisher promos for new authors and check reviews online before purchasing a new author's work. Reviews are the most important "promo" for me. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThanks. I know I read reviews before buying a book - unless it's someone I've read before and trust.
ReplyDeleteWith my limited income free print books are what draws me. I have discovered new authors that I really like and some that I would not spend money on their books. My least favorite thing is live Facebook parties. You probably know that I am an Introvert so I am a little hampered with the social stuff. But I think the best way to get the word out is with your launch team talking it up on social media.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy promoting books. I love giveaways but would rather have a single entry contest versus the multiple entries most use.
ReplyDeletetumcsec(at)gmail(dot)com
I love to share amazing books with my friends. I enjoy celebrating an author's release in a Facebook party.
ReplyDeletepsalm103and138atgmaildotcom
I am always looking for new authors to read. You write the kinds of books I enjoy reading.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway
jwisley(at)aol(dot)com
Here is what I use.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQauagVT7B8
Would love to win a print copy of "Dead End"! Thanks for the opportunity to enter an exciting giveaway! Lual Krautter Email: krautter62520AToutlookDOTcom
ReplyDeleteI do a beautiful day in a park. Beautiful table set up of your books. Meet and greet.i love to come and meet you and love the book.
ReplyDeleteGiveaways are a great way to promote.
ReplyDeletemarypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
I like Facebook parties, blog interviews and book giveaways. I review every book I read on Goodreads. I would try a new author based on other book blogger or author interviews. I like a book as part of a promotion and a little less extra stuff.
ReplyDeletemarypopmom (at) yahoo (dot) com
Maryann
I love winning a signed book and have discovered several new to me authors that way.
ReplyDeleteI love giveaways. I enjoy FB and book club parties! And I love to read and books are expensive. If I can read a discounted, free, KU or win a promotion or giveaway it's all the better! I'm leery of spending my limited retirement money on authors I'm not familiar with. Once I've discovered a new author I love I'm pretty loyal and will spend money on their other books!
ReplyDeletexercisebug61(at)gmail(dot)com
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI like giveaways and have entered quite a few of them. I'm not registered on neither Twitter nor Instagram. I rarely read book reviews because they're always based on a person's opinion. What one person likes, another person may not like and vice versa. When I buy a book, I usually read the blurb or synopsis (and also any excerpts if available) to see if the book interests me. Your book does interest me.
ReplyDeletedianah7272@gmail.com
Please count me in, would love to win a copy thanks!
ReplyDeleteMy email is twinzndogs@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway! email is chendryx(at)nctv(dot)com
ReplyDeleteI like giveaways! The more I hear about a book by a new author, there is probably a bigger chance I want to read it jarning67@hotmail(dot)com
ReplyDeleteBook cover and title are the first draw for me- if I don't care for either I may or may not pick up the book/read about it.
ReplyDeleteAuthor isn't really second, but I've discovered new-to-me authors based on the cover/title and taking a closer look then read and enjoy the book. Obviously if the author is one with whom I'm already familiar and whose work I enjoy, then I'm likely to snap up the book just based on the name.
Give-aways are really nice as it isn't always possible to get a book when they first come out.
I've enjoyed your books, Nancy. Thank you for sharing them.
Take care, s-
If I keep hearing about an author that I haven't read, then I will try them, especially if it is the suspense genre. A good price, interesting blurb, and cover help too.
ReplyDeleteFree paperbacks are my favorite, regardless if it's an author I'm familiar with or not. My LEAST favorite is a multi-author giveaway with endless entries that drag on for weeks. Thanks Nancy! RW620 AT aol DOT com
ReplyDeleteI like giveaways for free books! I always post reviews for books I win. Sometimes I do the Facebook parties but they seem to take too much of my time --I could be reading! jarning67@hotmail(dot)com
ReplyDeleteYes... I, too, enjoy giveaways but I also enjoy getting to “know” an author a bit through a Facebook party. I feel your pain about promoting, though! :-/ Honest to goodness, I currently have Dead End checked out from the library... just haven’t started it yet! Love your books!
ReplyDeletecyndilou83(at)gmail(dot)com.
I enjoy the opportunity to win a book from an author that I am not familiar with. I also like to read blogs about what motivates an author to write and what sparks their ideas.
ReplyDeleteoops,forgot to leave my email - debwinsit@gmail.com As for authors that I am familiar with, the promotions that I enjoy are for signed bookmarks or bookplates, autographed books, etc. Promotions that I do not enjoy are blog hops due to the time involved.
DeleteI really wish I could afford to go out and buy all of the books that look good to me. But fixed income doesn't allow for that. So, I like free books and I love to try to win books. I find new authors that way. Once I start following an author, I usually stay with them. Sometimes, I even get lucky.
ReplyDeletelkish77123 at gmail dot com