Showing posts with label goodreads. Show all posts
Showing posts with label goodreads. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 8, 2017

#WWoW Building an Author Platform @GingerMonette #MFRWauthor #marketing

Your manuscript is in the hands of your editor, and you've got the big release day circled on your calendar...
What now? Should you start advertising? Tweeting?

It's little early to alert the media, but there are a host of pre-launch “foundations” new authors need to put into place before they release their baby to the world. Let's get right to the checklist.

-Create a new email address to use exclusively for your writing/marketing correspondence. It will keep your emails from bloggers and fans separate from your emails from Aunt Eleanor and Old Navy. With all of your author emails in a separate mailbox, you can see at a glance any unopened correspondence and remind you of emails needing immediate attention.

I suggest using a form of your name or something that identifies your brand. For example, my author email name is SperoBooks. Keep it short, professional, and preferably something that has nothing odd like an underscore. Don't make the mistake of using the title of your book as your email name. It will be passe' when you publish your second book.

-Create a signature line and maybe a ‘one-liner’ that describes in a nutshell what type of romance you write (“Romance with a touch of mystery,” “Broken hearts finding love,” “Romance for the modern girl,” etc). Begin using it on all your emails so your friends, business associates, and writing contacts will know you're an author.

-Research web hosts and build a website. If you're not sure you want to make a long-term financial commitment, choose a free hosting service that has the option to upgrade later. I chose Wix.com as their customer service is pretty good and their site building tools are mostly intuitive.

Before you start designing, look at other authors' websites and take advice from experts like Tim Grahl and Jane Friedman. Make a list of what you like, then make a plan.

-Research which social media platforms will best reach your target audience and start getting active there.

-Develop a bio—a short, middle length, and long one.


-Create an author page on Goodreads and post your bio and headshot there. (When your book goes live, add your bio to your Amazon author pages in ALL the countries where you will be selling.)

-Get a headshot. Add it to your website and to your Amazon and Goodreads author pages. Use it as part of the header of any newsletters as well. Readers are more likely to remember your name if they can attach a face to it.

-Decide if you want to make a video or audio trailer for your book. If so, start working on it. I have one here.

-Will you do a blog tour? If so, research blogs that could be a good fit. Don’t contact yet, just make a spreadsheet that includes blog address, contact email, number of followers, and a few sentences about why it made your list.

-Subscribe to book marketing experts like Nick Stephenson, Tim Grahl, and Chandler Bolt. Take notes from what you read/watch.

-Subscribe to Yahoo groups that focus on marketing for your genre. Two excellent Yahoo groups for romance authors are Marketing for Romance Writers and Indie Romance. (If you simply don't have the time to learn from the experts previously noted, the topics covered on these e-loops will give you an excellent education.)

-Make a list of potential people to be on your launch team who will be willing to leave a review of your book on launch day and share it on their social media. Friends and family are fine if that's all you have, but readers who love your genre are MUCH better.

-Start formulating a long-term (written) marketing plan: Who specifically is your audience? How will you reach them? Will you offer your book for pre-order? What pricing strategies/sales might work well? What book marketing services/promotors look like good fits? What’s your marketing budget? What are good places to advertise?

-Will you need a book cover? If so, what ideas do you have how it should look? Browse stock image sites to find appropriate images. If you are self-publishing, research designers, or choose a service like 99Designs, Upwork.com, Reedsy, or even Fiverr.com if your budget is bare-bones.

-Will you offer some sort of freebie to entice people to sign up for your newsletter or pre-order your book? If so, create it now. For my novel written in an unfamiliar era (WW1), I offer access to an online scrapbook to those who subscribe to my newsletter. (If you have a look, give it a minute or two to load.) Other authors commonly offer a short story, additional chapters, or some other exclusive bonus.

-Will you offer some sort of give-away in conjunction with your book launch? If so, research items that are a good fit (i.e. a tin of Scottish shortbread if you write Scottish Romance)

-Search for images that you could use to create graphic teasers for your book. These sites have free public domain images: Pixabay, Pexels, Unsplash, and Wiki Commons. (Not all Wiki Commons images are licensed for commercial use, but they have oddball stuff you may not find anywhere else.)

-Compile a media kit to have all the necessary advertising elements in one place: Blurb, bio, excerpt, book info, images, etc. Mine is here.

-Choose quotes and excerpts from your book that would make good teasers. Maybe even play around with Canva.com to learn how to make the teasers, Twitter banners, FB headers, etc. (All the graphics in my media kit were created at Canva.com.)

Feeling overwhelmed?
It is a LOT of work, and most of these tasks take an ENORMOUS amount of time. If you have deep pockets, you can hire experts to do many of these tasks for you, but they will still require your input. So start early and give yourself plenty of time. I spent nearly three months just educating myself on current trends in book marketing. (Yeah, I believe in being thorough.) But when I launched my book with a 23-day blog tour, I was able to do it with confidence as I had my marketing foundation firmly in place.

How long did these tasks take you? Did I leave anything out?
I’d love to hear your comments.

THIS POST SUBMITTED BY Ginger Monette
Winner of Charlotte Mecklenburg Library's 2015 “Picture This” grand prize, Ginger currently writes romances set in the era of Downton Abbey and WW1. She lives with her family in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she enjoys dancing on the treadmill, watching period dramas, public speaking, and reading—a full-length novel every Sunday afternoon.

Saturday, May 16, 2015

Author-to-Author: Using Goodreads @HelenaFairfax #MFRWauthor

How to use Goodreads as an Author
Earlier this year Harper Collins and Harlequin held an online Romance Festival (http://romance-festival.com/) in the UK. One of the topics discussed was how to make better use of Goodreads as an author. I already have a Goodreads author page  - CLICK HERE. Feel free to friend or follow me. I list all my books read. I have over a hundred reviews of my books with an average rating of 4.5, which “isn’t too shabby,” as my nephew would say. I also love adding and rating books I’ve read myself, too, and checking out other listings and reviews. Apart from that, though, I don’t connect with people as I should, and I’m sure I could make better use of Goodreads.

During the Romance Festival, Cynthia Shannon, marketing co-ordinator at Goodreads, answered questions live in this post on Facebook - CLICK HERE, and Goodreads librarian, Julie Whitely wrote an excellent post on Understanding Goodreads for the Romance Festival blog.

What I learned from both was invaluable, and I’m determined to start using Goodreads much more productively.

Here are the main facts/tips I came away with:
Goodreads is used by an incredible 25 million readers. That’s a phenomenal audience of people who love books, who are looking for great books to read, and who are discussing and debating new releases.
Goodreads has had a bad press in some quarters for allowing trolling and author bullying.  In my limited experience so far, though, people have reached out to me and been willing to make friends and discuss books. Of course there are the exceptions, unfortunately, but as Julie Whitely points out, “Any site that encourages readers to read more and get involved can’t be all bad.”
Goodreads is a reader site – it’s not there for author promo. But if I want to promote my own book, how do I go about it? One suggestion was to choose a few reader groups, join them, and more or less promote by stealth. I feel quite uncomfortable doing this! I’d sooner just join reader groups and be me – a reader who writes romance novels. So if anyone reading this post has any suggestions for groups I’d enjoy, I’d love to hear from you!
If you do join a group, read the guidelines about promotion. Julie Whitely says “Nearly every single genre specific or discussion group has a folder for book promotions. Find that folder and use it to tell readers about a sale, a promotion, a new release or whatever else you want to share. Post in that folder only.” I hadn’t realised this about the folders. I’ll check this one out, as I feel more comfortable doing this than promoting in front of an actual group. But do people actually read the entries in the folders? I suppose it’s worth a try!
You can link your Facebook author page to Goodreads. I already have a Goodreads tab on my FB page. Whether anyone has ever actually clicked through from the tab to go to Goodreads is another question. You can also add a Goodreads widget to your FB page, but I’ve struggled to understand how to do this. Is it worth the effort of working it out, I wonder?
You can also add Goodreads author widgets to your blog.
You can add your blog feed to your Goodreads author page
You can add an “Ask the Author” box to your Goodreads author page, which is there to invite readers to ask you any questions they like. I have done this a while ago. So far, no one has asked me anything. Please go to my Goodreads page and ask me a question! :) Even what did I have for tea. Just so I can know it was all worthwhile!
There’s also a section called Listopia, which enables you or your fans either to create or add one of your books to a list. That doesn’t mean add your book to a list that says “Best books of the 21st century” – no one likes a braggart – but a list that tells the plain facts is OK.
For example a long while ago I added my novel The Silk Romance to a list of romances set in France/ Belgium/ Luxembourg. Since then – other readers have voted for it! It’s now 1st out of 239 books. I only realised this when I went to check the list right now. So exciting to see it top of the list! But has anyone bought my book because of it, though? This is what I don’t know. But again, it can’t hurt, and it doesn’t require a lot of effort to add your own book to a list.
The most important tip of all I learned was the importance to authors of listing your book in the giveaway program. LEARN HOW HERE.  Authors who host a giveaway of their books can expect to receive on average over 800 readers entering their giveaway.
So from the Festival I’ve picked up quite a few tips – some I knew already, some were news to me. I’ve also learned just how much reach Goodreads has.

Do you use Goodreads as an author? As a reader? If so, which aspects do you use and like? Is there anything you don’t like about it? What other advice would you give?

If you have any questions or comments at all, I’d love to hear from you!
_____________________________________
Contributed by MFRW Author Helena Fairfax
Helena was born in Uganda and came to England as a child. She's grown used to the cold now, and these days she lives in an old Victorian mill town in Yorkshire, in the north of England. After many years working in factories and dark, satanic mills, Helena has become a full-time writer of contemporary romance. Her first novel, The Silk Romance, was a contender for the RNA’s New Writers’ Scheme Award and a runner-up in the Global Ebook Awards 2014. A Way from Heart to Heart is her latest release.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HelenaFairfax
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HelenaFairfax
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/helenafairfax/
Blog: www.helenafairfax.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7082986.Helena_Fairfax

Helena's newest book is A Way from Heart to Heart, a Young Adult Romance, with Accent PressA knock at the door shatters Kate Hemingway’s life when she’s informed of her husband Stuart’s death in Afghanistan. She struggles to care for their young son George with only Stuart’s aloof best friend Paul as emotional support.

Piece by fragile piece, she tries to rebuild her life, realising Paul and her son have formed an unlikely bond. When Paul agrees to accompany Kate and a group of disadvantaged teenagers on a trip to the Yorkshire moors, he finally reveals something he’s kept secret for years. Kate’s own scarred heart begins to open up … but can she risk her son’s happiness as well as her own?

Friday, April 3, 2015

What Social Media Accounts Do New #Authors Need? #MFRWauthor @kayelleallen

Every author needs social media. In 2012, Digital Book Word posted an article showing the potential of social media to sell books. For a great infographic on which site sells the most, click here (Shopify article and image by Mark MacDonald).
MFRW 

Having been published for many years, and after hosting hundreds of authors on my Romance Lives Forever blog, I can offer some good advice on what sorts of social media accounts a new author needs. I included checklists for other things that you'll find handy.

Accounts Checklist

What you need will be different from what other authors need. Adjust and fine tune your account checklist until it fits your current books. Keep in mind your needs may change with each book. Why? Because your core audience may change, depending on the genre you write, and changes in the industry.

These are basic accounts you will need as an author. The top are listed by name:
Facebook profile / author page
Twitter
Pinterest
Goodreads
Google+ (vital -- authors with a Google account rank higher in searches)
Amazon Author Page
Sign up for other social media as needed. I recommend you claim your name on each, even if you don't use the accounts -- you might want to use them later.

Memberships and Business Accounts
PayPal
Bit.ly
Newsletter (MailChimp, iContact, Constant Contact, etc.)
Email list

Items to create for each book
Sample Chapters
Email signature

Website Pages or Info
Blog
Free Reads
Media Kit
Tarthian Empire
Companion 
News / Press Releases

Optional items on a per-book basis
Podcast
Audio clips
Book trailers

Whatever programs, software, and applications you use, keep track of the names and URLs. Record your passwords. As you grow in your profession as an author, you will be in and out of these for years to come. Trust me, it pays to be organized.
---

Kayelle Allen, MFRW Founder
Author of the Tarthian Empire Companion
A World-Building Bible and Guide to Writing a Science Fiction Series
Amazon http://bit.ly/companion-az  Smashwords http://bit.ly/companion-sm
Website http://kayelleallen.mobi Blog http://kayelleallen.com/blog
Twitter http://twitter.com/kayelleallen  Facebook http://facebook.com/kayelleallen.author
Google+ https://plus.google.com/+KayelleAllen/

Sunday, February 15, 2015

The Importance of a Target Audience for Authors #MFRWauthor #mfrwblog



By now, we’ve all heard of the “long tail” in sales, from music to television shows to books. With the advent of the digital age, no longer are we all resigned to watching “Leave it to Beaver” together. Instead, we can download a mermaid ménage story or a YA fantasy romance, as we choose.

But what that means is that our marketing efforts are also more spread out. From genre-specific blogs to niche groups on Goodreads, from Pinterest boards to Youtube channels, there is a marketing avenue for all of us.  The problem, though, is that we all have limited time and resources. So we have to determine where our specific audience hangs out the most.
Where is my target audience?

Broad audience better?


Many of us write our books and hope that they appeal to a broad audience. But in all likelihood, we do have a targeted audience in mind already. For instance, if we write slightly steamier or erotic romance, we are probably not expecting the inspirational crowd to pick up our book, or vice versa.  And, we all know the feeling of having picked up a book that we thought was something else, only to be disappointed by its contents. (Will we ever go read that author again?)

However, if we have defined our audience, then everything from our cover to our taglines will reflect what the reader wants, and our readers will be happy to have their expectations met!  

So here are some ideas for determining our target audience:


Do a survey, either on Facebook, or better yet, through your newsletter subscriptions. Keep it simple – no more than ten questions – and, along with demographics like age and nationality, ask deeper questions about preferences and themes.  Ask what their favorite social media is, too.  

Your ideal readers:


Think hard about the type of person that you would want to read your books.  If you could dream up a reader, what would he or she look like? Define these:

• Personality
• Attitudes
• Values
• Interests/hobbies
• Lifestyles
• Behavior

Once you have those people in mind, it is easier to determine where they hang out, and then, market accordingly.

Ways to Market:


 Search blogs on your topic of interest (even if they are not romance-related), and ask to guest blog. For instance, my latest novels are set in the Paelolithic. I will be heavily targeting all of the Paleo lifestyle sites, too. (And loving that Paleo hashtag!)

Most people would normally recommend, too, that we buy more targeted ads on Goodreads or Facebook, however I still cannot find convincing data that says that these ads generate great sales. As many have said before me, the most important thing an author can do is 1. Write a great book and 2. Engage with readers on a personal level.

So finding your target audience will allow you to find those readers, and then engage with them where they are.  (Of course, like most things, this is easier said than done…)

What about you? What sort of target audience have you defined – or not – for yourself, and how has that helped your sales? Love to hear any and all comments!




About the Author:
Erin writes sensuous paranormal romances set in exotic locales. Her latest book is a sexy minotaur shifter story set in Crete.  A regular blogger for Marketing for Romance Writers as well as Heroes and Heartbreakers, Erin lives in Atlanta with her two little paranormal beings and one unruly husband.

Erin also now offers editing services, including help with bios and queries, on her website.  She's giving away a critique of a first chapter with a subscription to her newsletter

Friday, January 17, 2014

Goodreads: Participate, Navigate & Generate

PARTICIPATE. NAVIGATE. GENERATE.
Authors have different takes on Goodreads. Some dislike it, don't understand it and just aren't willing to use it. Some have discovered its hidden secrets and use it as another source of social networking.

I admit that it took me awhile to navigate the site, find all the different ways to use it and make it a useful tool. But, now that I have, it's become part of my media toolkit. I don't spend a lot of time there but I do visit it a few times weekly.

Even before I was an author, I used Goodreads as a reader. I interacted with some authors I enjoyed reading, especially when I wanted to know more about when another book was being released in their series. I also used it to track books I wanted to read and those I'd read. Putting a rating on Goodreads whenever I read a book was second-nature as I kept my growing "Read" shelf up-to-date. I don't think I was alone in this. Many voracious readers gravitate towards Goodreads. So, shouldn't authors too?

Here are the top 12 ways to utilize goodreads as an author.

1. Participate in the site as a reader, not just as an author.
Authors are readers too. List the books you’ve read and want to read. Write short reviews on your favorite books. Be genuine. Notice I said "favorite books". I urge you to think carefully about whether you’ll post reviews that aren’t positive. I make it a policy to only post the books I've read and enjoyed. It's a way to promote those authors while sharing books with others that I liked - a great way to make connections.

2. Friend lots of readers.
Become friends with as many others as possible in the genres of your interest. But don't use them to spam - there's a book recommendation feature on Goodreads that I recommend you NOT use for your own books. Make friends to see what others are reading and share interests. Reading their reviews and posts will give you information on current readers' interests.

3. Join Groups and be active.
Join groups in the categories you read/ write. The groups are similar to Yahoo groups or Google+ hangouts. There is ongoing discussion between members - often a lot of interaction, particularly in the larger groups. There are hundreds of groups on Goodreads, for all different interests. Don't just join author groups - be sure to join groups with readers. Then remember #1 - participate as a reader, not just as an author!

4. Connect Goodreads to facebook.
You can connect to facebook and find your facebook friends who also use Goodreads. You can also allow Goodreads to post your activity to your facebook profile. It's another nice connection to show what books you enjoy as a reader to those who follow you on facebook.

5. List all your books on Goodreads.
They might already be there but they might not. There are a variety of ways books get put on Goodreads - there's even a group of people "the Librarians" who have extra permissions to edit, etc. Excited readers may add a book by ISBN if they can't find it but to be sure that your books are listed as you want, be sure to list them yourself. Include all pertinent information. The more information you include, the easier it is for a reader.

6. Join the Goodreads Author Program.
Through the Author Program, you can create an author profile and then utilize all the other promotional tools they offer. You can host/ advertise events (launch parties, blog tours, book signings, etc) from your profile as well as be able to upload book trailers, excerpts, and create polls or quizzes for your readers.

* Since the site is for readers, here's a place they are likely to look for you. Having a presence here is important. It’s the perfect place to connect with readers who enjoy the genre of books you write. *

7. Link your blog to Goodreads.
You can host a blog directly on Goodreads, or for those who already have a blog, you can connect it to Goodreads so that your posts show up on your profile (see #6). It sometimes takes a day for them to go live but having that connection will draw more interaction to your blog.

8. Create a Goodreads widget for your website or blog.
Goodreads makes it easy to embed a variety of widgets on your site to attract readers to your Goodreads profile. You will be able to choose to promote a shelf (for instance, your "want to read" shelf) or your profile. The directions are simple to follow and its just a matter of cut and paste.

9. Check your Goodreads inbox.
Sometimes readers will try to connect with you through Goodreads because they give you an inbox. I make it a habit to check it weekly so I don't miss an opportunity to "talk" with a reader.


10. Do giveaways.
This is only available if you have print books. Goodreads “First Reads” giveaway program is widely used and is a effective way of getting your book exposure on Goodreads. Once you set the criteria, Goodreads runs the giveaway and you are only required to supply the book once a winner is selected. Having a giveaway will increase those who place your book on their "want to read" shelves and will also lead to more reviews. This is great because the more reviews a book has, the more visibility it gets.

11. Advertise on Goodreads.
I’ve heard positive stories about the outcome of the Goodreads advertising program though it is a big investment. Advertising starts around $500 a month. Authors who've used it do say that it delivered on sales. NOTE: Since I haven't done it personally though, I can't speak from experience. I mention only as a suggestion to look into.

12. Check the Stats.
I love statistics because it gives real data on success. Goodreads gives us this tool. Since our goal is to get our books in reader's hands (aka, on their shelves), we need to know if what we're doing works. As an author member, Goodreads gives updated stats on how many people have added your books to their shelves, how many have reviewed them, your average ratings, etc. Track that data to determine how well your promotional activities on Goodreads are doing. Then make adjustments.

The key to using Goodreads as an author is to learn to navigate the site, participate in a social format and use those interactions to generate sales.

Are you on Goodreads?

Why? Why Not? Share Your Experience.

Paloma
Paloma Beck is a Romance Author living a life of contradiction... she's a happily married carpooling mom writing erotic romance. It's almost naughty! Paloma writes full-time and has three series in the works with others on the fringes. Her books span both the contemporary and paranormal romance genres. 

CONNECT WITH PALOMA ON GOODREADS.