I know Irish Rising has only been out for two weeks but I have to say the sales have been less than stellar. I had hoped a contemporary novel would have more appeal than my sci-fi erotic romance but it doesn't seem to right now.
So what do you do to drum up more book sales? This is what I've done.
1. I promote on Facebook.
2. I promote on Twitter.
3. I blog.
4. I participate in blog hops.
5. My friends very nicely buy my book and put it on their blogs. Amber Skyze and Linda Kage, I am talking about the two of you. I would reciprocate, except the two of you are really the only people who regularly read and comment on my blog. I appreciate everything you do, including reading my books.
So what is there left? I don't know, maybe you do. (Amber, Linda, any advice?)
Peace out,
MRD
LOL! I've been pondering this question myself, wondering what the heck to do, I even moan about it tomorrow on my blog. Definite promo burnout going on here!!
ReplyDeleteMy latest attempts are to troll the reviews of stories similar to mine on Goodreads and Amazon to find serious book reviewers with review blogs who write those long, drawn-out reviews.
Once I find a reader review site, I check out their blog. If they have lots of followers and people commenting on their posts, and their reviews are well thought out, I check out their review policies to see if my book falls under their preferences.
Then I email them, see if I can give them my book to review, or if I can offer to do a guest post, or interview, or giveaway on their blog.
Perks of this technique: Even if I'm giving away free books, it gets my name out there to a totally different group of people instead of the same-old, same-old.
Risk factor: When they say they give honest reviews, they MEAN it, so it's possible you won't get such positive results from them and actually lose momentum.
But then again, if you don't try at all, then you certainly won't get more sales.
Don't know if I should do this or not, but I also friend a bunch of people I don't know (people I know have review blogs or fellow authors) on facebook, and twitter and goodreads. I don't bombard complete strangers with "hey my book is coming out" stuff, of course, but sometimes just having your profile picture in their friend list can be like a subliminal message.
Oh, and if you see some of these complete strangers talking about their good news, you can "like" it or congratulate them to get your name out there. Yeesh, that sounds kind of cold-blooded doesn't it? But I've actually met some really awesome people (kind of like you!) by doing that.
Oh, and you can check out Manic Readers and The Romance Reviews to set yourself up as an author page with a bio and all your book information.
STILL...I've noticed my paranormal stuff sells lots better than my contemporary. So sometimes it doesn't matter WHAT you do, the market of reader interest will buy what it currently prefers.
I'm far and away from bestselling so my advice isn't from top authority or anything, but heck, every little bit might help count, right?!
Good luck.