The idea for the first Round Robin of 2024 caught me short-footed during a deep freeze. I am taking care of two houses while the owner is on vacation, and in the one where I live, the water froze, so my mind was not exactly on any writing project.
When asked to share
some ideas on giveaways as a marketing tool, my initial thought was that the
only giveaway I had ever initiated via Goodreads a long time ago wasn’t too
successful. However, with much patience and slightly improved temperatures, the
water and my thoughts began to flow.
I tend to write books
in series of three, as in The Berkeley Square Series, Books 1 – 3, and Those
Regency Belles, Books 1 - 3. The Buxton Chronicles come in one volume of three novellas,
and I have just completed Book 3 in my Western Collection of contemporary
Western romances.
Several years ago, I
ran a giveaway on my author’s FaceBook page, asking a question to which anyone
who had read Book 1 of The Berkeley Square Series would know the answer, and
offered Book 2 to the first reader to get it right. I had lots of likes for
that post, but no responses, correct or otherwise. At the time, I had already
moved on to writing Book 3 in that series, so I didn’t pursue that idea. It
might be time to try again.
I have never offered ‘swag’
at conferences and workshops as I have seen too many bookmarks and other advertising
materials unceremoniously dumped before the day or weekend was over. Yes, spending
money to make money is possible, but I don’t believe in throwing good money around.
Most authors have a budget for advertising, and I admit that mine is minimal
for various reasons.
Another idea I had was to invite my followers to name a character or become a character, bearing in mind the genre of the book. The winner of that particular venture appeared as the housekeeper in Those Regency Belles, Book 3. That was quite good fun, and I think I might try that again with my next book.
The most I spend on
advertising is for my business cards, which I leave wherever possible. I also
use them as bookmarks by punching a hole in one corner and attaching a beaded
ribbon or lengths of fancy string. Dollar and thrift stores are an excellent
resource for these types of materials. My other go-to is postcards. I can get
three books and their blurb on a postcard, and when I make up bundles, I will
place a postcard advertising The Berkeley Square Series with Those Regency
Belles, and vice versa.
I see the most positive
results when I give a book away. I usually make a note for myself of which book
I gave and when I gave it, and then when I get my sales report from my publisher,
I check to see what, if any, result came from it. It’s been noticeable that
after a book giveaway, I often notice an uptick in sales of my other books, so
that method seems to work best for me.
Like many authors, I prefer
the writing process to the necessary one of self-promotion and advertising. My
virtual assistant monitors my FaceBook page and posts when sales are on various
platforms, or a new book is released. I’d struggle without her, so I appreciate
all she does for me.
So now I will visit
these authors and see what tricks and tips they offer.
Dr.
Bob Rich https://wp.me/p3Xihq-36L
Connie
Vines http://mizging.blogspot.com/
Skye
Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea
