Release Day Mania

Bulletproof - Share the PostEven with the introduction of pre-order publishing across the board, I still think a book’s release day is a really big deal. A song and dance needs to be made on the day your book goes live. You really want as many people to buy your book on the day of release as possible. Your rankings have a better chance of soaring in that first week than at any other time. I mean, yes, you can do a sale later on in the book’s life and pay for advertising – that’s actually a really smart move, but release day rankings are a sweet spot that should be taken advantage of.

So – how do we get the world buying, or noticing, your book on its release day? While there are many different techniques out there, here are a few I’ve used: Continue reading “Release Day Mania”

Roll Up For The Mystery Tour

In this digital age of ours, it is important to grab a share of the vast internet audience of readers who lurk in cyberspace. Of course, we have our regular followers and Facebook friends, yet how can we get out into that big bad internet world, filled with people who haven’t heard of us? What about a book tour? If you feature on blogs where you are not known, and where there are different followers to yours, surely you’ll pick up some new readers?

Last month, I decided to test this theory and took part in my first ever virtual book tour. Up until then, I had had very mixed feelings about them. I’d researched several companies and always decided against them. They seemed to be costly. Some seemed overly pushy. Some of the tour hosts had very few blog followers and, finally, I couldn’t really find any evidence that justified wasting my money on one. Instead, I organised my own book tour, and, although I got onto stacks of blogs, and had plenty of interviews, I exhausted myself. It was a nightmare trying to coordinate posts and promote it all, after all, I was only promoting to people who already knew me. Continue reading “Roll Up For The Mystery Tour”

Blog Touring

So if KDP Select isn’t the cash cow for indies that it used to be, what’s left? One option is to get yourself and your name out there on as many book blogging sites as possible. I’m not talking about asking bloggers to review your work (although you certainly can). What I’m talking about is offering yourself as a guest blogger or interview subject. It will help you gain that all-important name recognition, or so the theory goes, and (eventually) that should translate into book sales. Continue reading “Blog Touring”

Hit the Road, Jack: How to Plan and Execute a Blog Tour

Maybe people have been telling you that a blog tour (or virtual blog tour, or VBT, not to be confused with VPL, an affliction from the ‘70s solved by some very clever but uncomfortable pantyhose) is great way to launch your book. Some would be glad to arrange one for you and charge you for the privilege. But is the marketing budget for your book release a little…what, you don’t have a marketing budget? You spent your marketing budget at the actual market, buying food and uncomfortable pantyhose? No problem. You can pull together a whiz-bang blogging adventure for next to nothing and get yourself a lot of eyeballs and buzz. I did it for my first book. I didn’t rack up gangbuster sales, but I got my name out and met some great people who were happy to help when the next book came out. All it took was a little time and effort. You have some of that, right? Okay, pour yourself a cup of coffee and let’s go. Continue reading “Hit the Road, Jack: How to Plan and Execute a Blog Tour”