Back in the beginning of January, Michael Allen provided us with an intense post about Facebook pages. If you missed it, you can read it here.
Today we welcome Michael back with the second installment of his “Power of Facebook for Writers” post. We’re going to pick up where he left off, after you’ve created your page…
Now, you want to promote your book page. One very effective strategy is to have a giveaway. Let rafflecopter.com handle that for you. Start a giveaway and make it worth someone’s time.
I’d say an autographed copy of your book would make a great first prize. But, you can have other gifts as well. Cafepress.com makes it easy for you to offer coffee cups, tee shirts, hats, bags and much more. Putting your book’s cover on a coffee cup or a tee shirt makes a handy gift for a giveaway.
Once you’ve decided what you want to give away, create your contest and make Liking your Facebook book page a requirement. Only people who like your book page will be entered in the giveaway. Then, write a blog post about your giveaway. Put a mention of your giveaway in every profile that you are active on the internet. It’s very important that you don’t spam! Placing a mention in your profile is not spam. Getting into a discussion and mentioning your giveaway can be considered spam. You have to learn the difference and learn how to use these resources effectively to achieve your goals.
Get the word out and let people promote you as they are Liking your page. Who knows how many people will join, but there is power in a giveaway. Send the gifts off to the people who win and watch how many book sales you get from the people who don’t.
There are so many ways to use Facebook. With the numbers strongly approaching a billion users on Facebook, it’s worth it to get in there and learn how to use it effectively. All of the big companies are on it, so it’s worth it to check them out and see what they’re doing that is so effective. Check out the big authors and see what’s so different about their sites. You could use Facebook passively and never get one sale. But, you can get aggressive in all your online campaigns and watch your books literally fly off the shelves.
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Michael Allen is the author of When You Miss Me and A Danger to Society. When You Miss Me is a children’s book to help children who are going through a divorce. Young readers learn how to magically turn those times they spend apart into times they spend together. A Danger to Society is a novel about a man who unfortunately is the victim of a bad case of mistaken identity. He has to fight on his own to clear his name and make things right! Both are on Kindle as well as in print. You can learn more about Michael at his website.
If you missed The Power of Facebook Part One – you can read it here.
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Rafflecopter looks good Michael, but how does this coordinate with kindle or createspace? Do I need to do anything there to participate? Or do they take care of it all? I would love to try it but am nervous about committing to something I don't fully understand.
Use the giveaway as a way of getting Likes on Facebook. The dynamic of Facebook makes good potential for growth, when Likes go on a wall in feeds and everyone that person knows can see it. So, the way it connects to sales is indirectly. Put the giveaway together to create interest and let sales take place organically from the buzz. Your Facebook page should have a link to your book on Amazon, so readers will follow that as interest grows.
Thanks Michael. That answers part of my question. But what I really need to know is how do I make sure the book is actually free. Do they interact with the amazon site directly to make sure the person ordering does not pay. And if so, do I pay? Because amazon will not even allow me to put a 0.00 price on my ebook. I tried and got an answer from them to say they don't do that. I understand the benefits of a giveaway to facebook and getting my name out. I just need to know the mechanics of doing that. Sorry if I seem dense.
No. Leave Amazon alone. Buy the books and other gifts yourself. When the winner is announced, send them off yourself to the winners.
Thanks. I think I am beginning to 'get it'.
Hi Michael!!!! Wondered where you were, and here you are.
Listen to this guy, people. Pay no attention to the awful photo.
Michael – I fully intend to sit down with this and goive it the attention it warrants, soon. Too much on my plate right now. From what I've seen, it needs my full noggin.
Michael – I fully intend to sit down with this and give it the attention it warrants, soon. Too much on my plate right now. From what I've seen, it needs my full noggin.