Like most "indies," I work a full time job, have a family, etc. I had to consider how much time I could devote to a tour. I had to consider my budget. I wish I could say that my novel is on Amazon's best sellers list and that my budget was unlimited, but that's not my reality. I decided to schedule several one week tours - one per month.
There are a variety of blog tours from which to choose. My novel is Young Adult Paranormal. I say that - but I will admit that most of my readers have been adults. I looked at tours that seemed to target some of the groups I felt would enjoy my book.
The first tour I selected was Reading Addiction Virtual Book Tours. I scheduled the tour for November 18-22, 2013. (I know - right before the holidays... maybe not the best timing!) For $40.00, I was guaranteed five stops and a review at each stop. The owner was very helpful. She answered my questions in a timely manner and coordinated a rafflecopter giveaway.
When I first published my novel, I set the price for the e-book at $3.99. As time went on, my sales slowed. I decided to lower the price of my novel to $2.99 just before the tour.
The results are as follows:
As promised, I received five reviews - most of which not only posted their reviews to their blogs but also to Amazon and Goodreads.
I choose to giveaway a $25 Amazon Card and a signed copy of my novel. 406 people registered to win - so I figure 406 people were exposed to my marketing attempt.
I picked up 8 new likes on my Facebook Author Page and approximately 50 new followers on Twitter.
15 people added it to their To Be Read List on Goodreads
My total sales for the week of the tour and the week following: 0 sales
If sales were the only thing I measured the success of my tour - than I'd have thought this one a failure. However, my reviews were good - most being 4 and 5 stars (I did have one 3 but honestly, it was the nicest 3 star review I've ever read) My social media sites increased in followers. Overall, I thought the tour was a positive experience.
Have others had better luck as far as sales go? I don't know. I did wonder if offering a copy of my book in the rafflecopter giveaway was a mistake. Afterall, who wants to buy what they might win for free? With that in mind, I changed up my "prize" for the December tour but that tour is the subject of another post!
On a side note: While my novel was priced at $2.99, I had no sales. I reduced the price to $0.99 for a 2 day sale on December 4 & 5. No sales. Friday, December 6 - my novel went back to its original price of $3.99 and BAM! Sales again! Who would have thunk it?!
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