Now that my latest book is complete I can focus my energies
on marketing and promotion. In the coming days my books are going to be
featured on numerous websites, blogs, and book listings. I’ve taken out paid
promotional spots on some of the top reader’s sites. I’m curious to see how
this affects sales.
In the past I have not been a big proponent of paying
websites to advertise my books. I was relying mostly on my own developed
platform and word-of-mouth. This worked for a number of years and my sales had
always been relatively consistent; not enough to quit my day job but enough to
buy a few nice things for myself and my wife. Times have changed.
No one would argue that the ebook market is now flooded with
unseasoned writers pumping out many sub-par books. I don’t blame that causality
for my dwindling sales however I believe I may have exhausted my own channels.
To gain new readership I must be available to be discovered. New readers aren’t
likely to stumble upon my blog or books without something garnering their
attention. I’ve come to believe that paid promotion is necessary in my
circumstance.
Before sending your hard earned money to the flashiest,
newest, hipster, and seemingly most promising sites, I advise you check the
Alexa ranking. Anything below 50,000 is pretty darned good and probably worthy
of a paid ad. However, I advise spending no more than $100 on sites other than
the really big hitters like Bookbub, you mostly likely will not see a return on
investment.
I fully understand that earning a living as a writer is a
marathon venture and not a sprint and that any promotion gives exposure. I also
understand that brief exposure means nothing if the book isn’t bought and the
author is forgotten a day later. My World Wide Web promotional sweep begins
tomorrow with several sponsorships going at once. My online writer’s group
Enovel Authors at Work is also sending out its newsletter with my latest as a
feature. As sales stats begin to roll in I will chronicle my results on this blog. Thanks to all who are interested.
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