I published my novel (Of Dreams and Shadow: Forget Me Not) at the end of September, 2013. Since that time, I have promoted my book with three virtual book tours and I have been pleased with the exposure. In March, I decided to try something a little different. Instead of a virtual book tour - I choose to use a three prong approach.
First, I did a little research. There are a lot of sites that promote books. I looked for sites that I felt were a good fit for my novel and then went to Alexa to check their ranking. I considered the number of visitors to each site as well as the cost of their promotion packages.
I chose:
1. eBook Soda
2. StoryFinds
I set the date to begin my attack: Thursday, March 27, 2014
I lowered the price of my book to 99 cents (Thursday - Sunday)
I asked my family and friends to help me get the word out by sharing links on facebook, etc.
The morning of the 27th arrived. I went to my Author Central page and checked my ranking; it was humbling to say the least. My novel was ranked 250,914 among all ebooks and 26,785 among teen ebooks.
StoryFinds listed my book on their daily specials. (This cost me $20.00)
At Young Adult Promo Central, I was the featured author. I shared a post, book trailer, book blurb, etc. (I purchased their Gold Promotion - $25.00. The normal price of this promo was $50 but they are running a sale.)
eBook Soda featured my book on the email list. (This was free.)
I shared the links to StoryFinds and YA Promo Central as well as eBook Soda on twitter, Facebook and Google+ communities.
By Friday morning, my novel had moved up in ranking. Among all ebooks, mine was now ranked at 30,293 and among teen ebooks - it was ranked 1,551. At lunch time, my book had peaked at just over 1,300 in teen ebooks.
On Monday morning, I checked my Author Central page again. My novel was ranked at 22,893 in all ebooks and 2,323 in teen ebooks.
Now, I will be honest - I don't know which site generated the most sales but I do know that people visiting YA Promo Central were actively engaged due to the stats I saw on my blog. I also think some sales came from people who saw the "shares" of my family and friends.
Total Cost of the Promotion: $45.00
I wish I could say that this was the marketing effort that sent me to Amazon's top 100. But even though it didn't, I was pleased with the results.
Beginning: all ebooks 250,914 teens: 26,785
Ending: all ebooks 22,893 teens: 2,323
I would think this approach would work with a variety of sites and genres. It is important to find sites that are a good fit for your novel. But you can't stop there - you have to enlist the help of others to spread the word. I hope this is helpful. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Marketing!
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