Editio Self-Publishing discussion

This folder is a great place to ask questions about self-promotion, as well as talk about what is working for you.
* DO NOT USE THIS FOLDER FOR SELF PROMOTION

What are some good results people have had with blogs, do you really think they work?

I have had a blog since I self-published back in May, and to be honest have been disappointed with the results. I post every day and have registered the blog with quite a few Blog Directories but most of my visitors are completely random and arrive at my site after google searching a word combination that happens to occur in a post I have made. For example, I was ranting one day on my post about how my central heating had gone faulty and the post was called 'Old Boilers like it Hot' - and since then my blog stats show that I get 2-3 visits a week from people all over the world looking for a replacement for their Old Boiler! They are definitely not going to buy a Romance from me - and probably dont read the post either.

I think blogs are probably good for non-fiction books - as you can put information on the blog about your subject and people searching on that subject will find you and read your posts and maybe follow you if you are giving them tidbits that help them out - and then they may go on to buy your book.

For fiction I still have not worked out how to provide a blog attractive to potential romance readers who do not know me as an author and have never heard of my book. Maybe I should be reviewing romance books as a service to authors and readers and then could slip in a plug for my own book every couple of posts?

I think I need to think laterally about my blog content (which is more or less a diary of my life as a writer living in between France and UK - and is probably of little interest to a potential romance reader)

The good things about it are that it does make me write every day without fail so is a much needed discipline. Plus, my blog is with Google (Blogger) and the regular daily blog content has improved my search engine rankings and I have a much stronger web presence as a result. So my all-important Author Platform is getting stronger which is an important long term goal.

I would really love to hear opinions and suggestions of any fiction authors who have managed to get a good number of followers and daily page views and of course sales of books from their blog...

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I had a lot more hits on my blog when I was blogging seven days a week (peaked at just over 6000 a month, around 250-300 a day), but I cut it back to four days a week and the hits have dropped accordingly (around 2500 a month). I'm not sure if that's a bad thing, though. I've still got the same core of loyal readers (I promote each post on Twitter) and I still get a lot of comments.

It's a great place to show readers more about me and my books. They each have their own page on the site and thumbnails of the book covers down the right hand side with my soon to be released debut at the top with the release date above it. There are also buttons on the left for people to follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.

I don't know how many people will follow the links to buy my books but I'm happy to wait and find out.

I find my most popular posts are the ones where I really lay myself open and show my heart to people. Emotions are universal and people react to that. I also have my blog linked to my Facebook fan page so that every post gets automatically posted on my fan page and I've had a lot of people view the posts there - a recent post got 70 views via Facebook - Facebook tells you how many "impressions" a page has had. I'm assuming this means people clicking on it to read the whole thing.

I think the key is really to promote it and also, as Emma mentioned above, to treat it not so much like a diary as an introduction to yourself and your writing style. I write my books in much the same way as I write my blog, so people will know what to expect from my books. I didn't plan it that way, that's just how I write!

I also have some silly features, like the Wednesday Word, which is usually a completely made-up word that I give a (made-up) definition for and then invite others to provide their own definitions - people enjoy that and get involved, and that's what you want. People getting involved and having a conversation.

Damn. Huge post. Please note I HAVEN'T included my blog name here - I really don't mean this post to be self-promotional, just an indicator of things I've done that seem to work.

Hope it helps and that it doesn't get deleted!!!

Mhairi wrote: ">>

I had a lot more hits on my blog when I was blogging seven days a week (peaked at just over 6000 a month, around 250-300 a day), but I cut it back to four days a week and the hits have dropped ..."

Don't worry Mhairi, that was a great post. Very helpful for people. I appreciate you taking the time to write such a great post.

I fear that if I blogged every day, I'd get little writing done. I shoot for once a week but I try to make it a meaningful post. I may have this wrong though because I don't get a lot of traffic. I've only had the blog since May and I really don't know how to attract more followers, those who might be interested in reading my stories that is.

Emma wrote: "I have had a blog since I self-published back in May, and to be honest have been disappointed with the results. I post every day and have registered the blog with quite a few Blog Directories but ..."

Emma- I think you hit the nail on the head when you said you thought your blog had nothing to do with romance writing. Everyone does a blog about their daily life. Post people want a blog that has to do with what they are interested in; I think your idea of reviewing romance books is perfect. That way when someone who loves Romance novels, searches on a certain author, they will come up with your page and then read your review and then see that you also write and give you a chance.
I am going to be writing an Article for Editio soon on this subject but this is basically what I am going to talk about, reciprocity. You need to give to your public in order to make them want to give you their money. If you start to do some great reviews and maybe put a link to where they can buy the book, people will start to trust you and then they will be curious about what you write, keep your prices low and they will give you a shot.
I am going to piggyback onto what Mhairi said here for a moment. She said she does something fun and different. She puts up an imaginary word, that sounds fun and now I want to go to her site and see it. Its creative and something that gets people coming back to see what she does next. I have over 1,400 followers on my Facebook and half of them come every day because I put up what I call "Your Daily Dose of Beauty", it's just a picture I put up every day to help inspire. People love it and it's unique.
So start thinking, and like I said keep checking back with Editioselfpublishing.com because there will be an article up in the next week or so.
I wish you the best of luck!

This is an interesting topic and I appreciate everyone's comments on blogging. I try to blog weekly and it seems I either get tons of spam or very little response. I keep at it for discipline and writing exercise, but I don't believe it has any effect on book sales. It seems one of many things you have to do that may or may not be helpful in marketing one's book.

It's like that old adage about advertising: Only 50% of advertising works. Unfortunately, we don't know which 50%.

I think the same holds true for any promotional effort, including book sales. You need to just take every approach you can and do it to the best of your ability.

Twitter is an EXCELLENT tool. Promote your blog posts on it, but also use it to reach out to people. All kinds of people. It's a great way to show who you are, what kind of person you are and helping other people and cheering them on is the absolute best way to get them to cheer you on.

Try to keep blog posts to around 500 words or less and aim for an emotional response. If you're a romance writer, write about things linked to romance. Hot guys, what makes a passionate kiss, what does a broken heart feel like, why are even overcast days brighter when you're in love. Roni Loren does a boyfriend of the week post, which is hilarious and well worth checking out.

The thing with a blog is that it's there for people to find out about you, the person. So you want to show people your heart, maybe stories that they can relate to on an emotional level. Basically, you want to show them that you're just like them, as weak, feeble, scared, stressed, joyful, passionate and ballsy as they are, were or want to be and fear they never will be.

Oops. I wrote another essay. *headdesk*

IF NOT PUBLISHED WITH AMAZON, SKIP THIS AS IT WON’T MAKE SENSE
I e-published with Amazon and subscribed to their Author Central but its pretty much a wasteland and Amazon doesn’t even seem to monitor it. I won’t recommend it for self-promo………except:
One of the threads mentioned changing tags on the Amazon website. As you may not know, Amazon recently changed ‘Book details’ so you are limited to seven tags. If you had fifteen, don’t change the book details or you become subject to the new guidelines.
However, on your point of sale page, way way at the bottom, there is a place to add tags and a cloud link that shows you the most used tags. You might consider changing the tags there and it doesn’t seem to have a limitation in number. I changed tags there to the most popular. After all the idea is get found, right. If anyone has any success with this or has more detail, please post raht cheer.

Has anyone else tried a book trailer? If so, I'd be interested to know how it worked for you.

When to start promoting? I just self-published via Smashwords a mystery that I wrote about fifteen years ago and left languishing in a drawer ever since. I'm eager to start telling people to go buy it, but it hasn't yet made it into the Smashwords Premium Catalog that distributes it to Amazon, Barnes & Noble etc. Should I wait till I can show an Amazon link and so on? I think some people might feel more comfortable buying ebooks from Amazon and B&N if they're not familiar with Smashwords. Thoughts, opinions?

Joyce-
Wasn't aware Smashwords posted on Amazon. You should go ahead and do that site yourself. As for the waiting for premium, it does take a few days. Best of Luck with your book!
Kelly

Kelly, it was my understanding that once your book is accepted into the Premium Catalog at Smashwords, it's automatically distro'd to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc. I'm still pending the catalog so will wait to see if that gets me into Amazon.

Joyce wrote: "Kelly, it was my understanding that once your book is accepted into the Premium Catalog at Smashwords, it's automatically distro'd to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc. I'm still pending the catalog so..."

So how would that work with the KDP Select? You would have to withdraw the e-copy from SW or be in violation. I'm also following a thread in the author's community where a Brit storefront wants to list/promote books for free. Once a person decides to buy the link goes back to Amazon. I can't, even after inquiring with Amazon, whether this would be a KDP violation.

As for the trailers, a couple friends have tried it and have had them up for about 3 months. It appears to be kind of a friends and family audience. I'm going to see if I can find some authors in the same genre and offer (on a reciprocal basis) to include some samples at the end of my books, kind of 'if you liked this, then...'

Has anyone listed their book before publication on Netgalley? If so, was the result worth the listing fee?

Hi, everyone,

If you're looking for some (free) exposure and promotion for your books, I found a great site that's offering both:

Here is the blogger's post:

"I am looking for good books/ebooks to join lots of others in the Book Junkies library:

http://pinterest.com/BookJunkies/

Please leave the purchase link to your book, and it's genre below: i.e.

A Proper Charlie: http://www.amazon.co.uk/A-Proper-Char...

chicklit

NB: Anything under 180 words goes under novella.

I'm shocked (and delighted) at how many books are being "repinned" by random people browsing the boards.

If you join in, please share the Book Junkies addy on your social media sites. Thanks"


Note that it's a UK site, so be sure to include the UK Amazon link to your book.

Hi, I'm Liza and have just joined the group. I'm a co-founding member of the author collective, Triskele Books and we've just updated an edition of our eBook The Triskele Trail A Pathway to Independent Publishing. To celebrate, we're running a giveaway on our blog, so where would be the best place to post details about the giveaway? Thanks a lot and I look forward to chatting with everyone here.