It's been six months since I joined the IWSG. And since that time, the pages of my blog have been graced by some of the nicest writers on this side of the blogosphere. So thank you Alex, once again (I'm sure you must be tired of hearing this by now), for starting the group, and to all its members, who share their insecurities and words of encouragement every month.
My sole regret is not being able to visit everyone on the blog hop, due to some serious device limitations on my end. I do most of my browsing on a mobile phone, and my present one doesn't even allow me to leave comments on the few blogs I do manage to visit. *sigh*
Today, I'd like to pose a question to the members of the group. I know a lot of you have books on Amazon and other online retailers, be it traditionally published, self-published, or published by a small press. The one thing all three paths to publication have in common is the need to market those books. So my question is this:
How do you go about marketing your books?
I've been self-publishing my books a few days shy of one year now. So far, my marketing strategy (if you could call it that) includes posting about new releases on this blog, and running KDP Select free promotions (just three thus far). And that's it. No ads, no leveraging of social media, which probably explains the reason behind my relatively modest sales.
The reason why I am posing this question at this time is because, two weeks from now, I'll be releasing the final book of my Christian/dark/epic fantasy series, Guardians & The Lost Paradise. I've been working on these books for six years now, and I feel I need to give them the fighting chance they deserve, in a market dominated by big name writers and publishers.
So once again, the question: how do you go about marketing your books?
Hey pretty cool on the touch screen support! I'm guessing that's a mousedown (detect position), mouseup (detect position), if mouseup is a certain distance left/right of mousedown then transition left/right?
ReplyDeleteIt would be cool to do a part-transition to make the click/drag more obvious (slightly left if dragged slightly left), but I doubt that I made it very easy to do that in the template!
yeah. precisely. i found a nifty plugin that could do just that.
Deletethe part-transition would be cool, like you said, and far from easy to implement, like you also said. :)
Never tire of hearing it, because it means the group is effective.
ReplyDeleteHave you thought about doing a blog tour next year?
Indeed, I have, Alex. I'm thinking maybe next year, timed to coincide with the release of the paperback omnibus.
DeleteI think just putting yourself out there with this blog has been a marketing tool, Michael. The more awareness you have, the more exposure your books get, and if people like you, they're more likely to give your books a chance, especially if you make them sound compelling, which you've done.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tony. I'll take your word for it, and keep the blog up and running.
DeleteYeah, I was going to suggest a blog tour like Alex. I've never done it, but I hear it can be a great tool for promotion.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lauren. A blog tour it is then. Would start gearing up for it.
DeleteNice to meet you Michael.
ReplyDeleteMarketing... gah... I offered the first in one series for free. That seems to fuel sales for the other books in the series.
The second one I did a launch for, but it hasn't found it's grip yet. I'm getting a new cover for it and will probably lower the price. Before I release the second in the series, I'll reduce the price, probably to free, for at least a year.
Nice to meet you too, M Pax. I also plan on offering the first in my series for free. In fact, it was free a few week backs, before reverting back to $0.99 for some reason. Thanks for the advice, and good luck with your series.
DeleteI'm the same way on visiting blogs over the phone Michael. it's the most convenient way to do it. A shame a lot of blogs aren't mobile-enabled. It's tough being a writer I understand. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Maurice. Good to know I'm not alone. :)
DeleteHi Michael. It's nice to meet you. I was going to suggest a blog tour. If you're on Goodreads you can also do a giveaway.
ReplyDeleteGoodread restricts their giveaways to paperbacks only, which is just as well, since I won't be touring until the book is out in paperback and other online retailers.
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