I’m Promoting My Book — Where’s My Sales Spike?

book sales graph-841606_960_720 (003)If you’re a regular reader of IU, you know that writing a book is only part of the recipe for success. You’ve taken all the advice about punctuation, plot, characters, and story arc to heart, you’ve written the best book you could, gotten first-class editing, paid for an eye-catching cover and now your book is up on the web just waiting for the orders to roll in.

But they’re not.

Okay… you’ve sent out an announcement to your email list, you’ve posted on Facebook and Instagram, tweeted on Twitter, touted your book on LinkedIn. You’ve sent press releases to the local media and to any distant locations that might be interested (i.e. the setting for your book, your old home town, etc.).

Still no sales spike. What’s up with that? Continue reading “I’m Promoting My Book — Where’s My Sales Spike?”

Secrets I Learned from Running a Book Promotion Site

book promotion secrets courtesy pixabay girl-1076998_960_720I’m sixty days into my new position as top dog at an eBook promotion site. It’s been a ton of fun and along the way I’ve had several mini-epiphanies. I want to share them with you because I think as writers and marketers, the things I’ve learned might help you. And, if you’re like me, you might find some of this truly surprising.

1.       Readers are really, really grateful that the service is there.

I thought the whole world knew about Bookbub and ENT and whatever other book promotion site is currently flavor of the month. This is incorrect. Either they know about those other services and they want more choices, or they haven’t heard of them. I’ve received multiple emails thanking me for the service. Right after the “thank you”, the one sentence I hear over and over is “I love your books”. Continue reading “Secrets I Learned from Running a Book Promotion Site”

Book Promotions: What Type to Use When

book promotion zeppelin-1817476_960_720 3As indie authors, we have a wealth of types of marketing and promotional opportunities available to us. However, some types aren’t as effective as others, and some are more effective when you’re farther along in your career. As a newbie, where should you concentrate your efforts? As a more seasoned indie, what will boost you to the next level of visibility and sales?

Here’s one list, together with our recommendations for when best to employ each type. Some are free; some, not so much. I’ve included a $ next to the ones that will cost you money. Continue reading “Book Promotions: What Type to Use When”

Turning Losing into Winning: The Kindle Scout Experience

FindingTravis3D-2-medWhen I finished my latest book, Finding Travis, a time travel story, I sent it out to beta readers and prepared to self-publish as I always do. But then a friend began broadcasting the news that she had entered her latest book in the Kindle Scout program and was looking for nominations. I remembered that another friend had entered his book in the program months ago, and had won the coveted publishing contract with Amazon. Because I really, really liked this new book of mine, and because I had built up quite a decent fan base, I decided to try Kindle Scout for myself. Continue reading “Turning Losing into Winning: The Kindle Scout Experience”