#LetsTalk – #Marketing

/ Marcia Meara

Happy Moon’s Day, Everybody! Hope your day is going well, and that at least some of you are in the mood to talk a bit about marketing today.

Confession time: I have never marketed my books anywhere but on my blog or at my local wildlife talks, and I think it’s way past time to change that. The question I’m posing today is, what inexpensive marketing have you tried, and how did it work for you?

I’m not in a position to do something as costly as Book Bub, though I’ve heard it’s well worth every penny, but there are quite a few smaller, less expensive alternatives out there that would likely be far better than not doing any at all. (Fussy Librarian comes to mind, but I know there are other affordable options around, too.)

Have you used any? Were they worth the effort? What did you like/dislike about them? I really need some help in deciding which ones I should try first, and I thank you for any suggestions you can offer. Any and all comments would be appreciated.

LET’S TALK!

 

 

 

44 thoughts on “#LetsTalk – #Marketing”

    • Thanks so much for sharing that, Jeanne. I’m going to check it out shortly. I do hope there are a few folks out there who might have had experiences they can share, too, for the benefit of all of us. I’m in a quandary about what to try first, and would sure appreciate the input.

      Again, thanks for sharing the link to your post. I appreciate it very much, and will be heading over in a few minutes. Have a great day today, and a wonderful 4th of July tomorrow! 😀 ❤

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  2. I’ve done a lot of it and every one of them lost money. I try to shore myself up with the idea of exposure, but it’s kind of a false hope. There are some that sold books, but not to the point of covering the expense of the promotion. One required me to make the book free during the promo, but while I gave away a lot of books, the alleged afterglow period did not sell many.

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    • I’ve heard some folks say this, Craig. I’m sorry it hasn’t worked for you (yet). And I’m not all that big on large numbers of free books, either, so I don’t think I’ll try that route. I might do some small giveaways on my blog, but that would be about it where free is concerned.

      Thanks for sharing your experiences today! I appreciate it! 😊

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  3. I’m not good at marketing, but I am going to try an inexpensive promo for my next release. (Not sure what it will be.) I’m weary of blog tours. I don’t mind doing a guest spot here and there, but that’s it. Whatever I decide, I’ll let you know how it goes.

    Off to check out Jeanne’s post.

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    • Thanks, Joan. I’ll be very interested in what you decide to try and how it works for you. I’ve never done a blog tour, and don’t think I’d enjoy anything that extensive, though, like you, I enjoy being a guest now and then. That’s always fun, even if it doesn’t result in immediate sales. (It often produces some over the days following the post, though, so there’s that.)

      Thanks so much for giving us your thoughts on this issue, and here’s to us ALL finding ways to do better at this. 😀 ❤

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    • Thanks so much for such a lovely compliment, Nancy! I’m so glad you feel that way, and I’m thinking of doing a giveaway on my blog soon. Probably Book 1 of each series, eventually, to see if readers might get hooked and check out the rest. You’ve given me a bit of courage to give that a try.

      Thanks for stopping by today and taking a moment to comment! 😀 ❤

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    • I think you are exactly right on that, John. Good thing I’m not looking for a silver bullet. I’d just like to see my monthly sales increase, even a little bit. Now that Mark is retired and we are on a fixed income, it would be very helpful to have a bit more coming in each month. I’m going to do some experimenting soon, and will probably post my results for you guys to consider. (Debby Lush has kept excellent records of her promo results, and I’ve saved links to those posts to refer to, as well.)

      Thanks for stopping by today, and here’s to a wonderful 4th of July! 😀 ❤

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  6. Funny that you should mention this now!

    But I get ahead of myself.

    Since you did your “10 Things You May Not Know” (https://marciamearawrites.com/2021/11/24/tenthingsyoumaynotknow-about-w-d-kilpack/) on me, it generated some other opportunities for me that I greatly appreciate, and I always try to give back. So! I get to my point: I recently created a Shop page on my Web site (www.Kilpack.net and click on Shop) and, at the bottom, of the page, I have a spot that’s “My Friends’ Books.” You might want to take a peek!

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    • Oooh, how exciting! First, I’m glad doing a #TenThings post generated some opportunities for you, and second, I’m heading over to see why I need to take a peek at your “My Friends’ Books” section. Thanks for the heads up! 😀

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      • Just checked out your link (got interrupted for a couple of hours) and I was SO tickled to see I was included in your My Friends’ Books selection! And ALL of my books, too! Wow, that was fun, and I thank you SO much for sharing my work, along with the other goodies on the page. Super nice of you, Bill!! 😊😊😊

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        • Like I said, you helped me, I try to help back. I can’t promise that it will set the world on fire, but I’m trying to do good by those who did good by me.

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          • I, for one, really appreciate that attitude, Bill, and love how you’ve set up books from your friends, so others can find them, too. Great idea, and very much appreciated! Happy Independence Day! 😀

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    • Woohoo! Thanks for sharing that, Debby, and for your kind comments about my books, too. I do have some of your posts bookmarked and they are going to be studied very closely, soon. I will also check out this link you shared, as well.

      Again, my thanks for sharing that today, and for your posts about your various experiences, too. Everyone would do well to check them out. 😀 ❤

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    • My comment was going to be, I am as bad as most of us when it comes to marketing, but blog promos seem to be the preferred for many of us, and then I was going to tell you that Deb Jay would have the best info. ❤

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      • My blog has been the ONLY way I’ve ever promoted my books, “DGK,” and for a long time, it did pretty well for me, but as expected, sales begin to slow down after time, because no new eyes are finding my work. Now, I’d like to try at least a bit of marketing, just to see what happens. And you are right about Debby Lush, for sure. She’s posted some very helpful and valuable information about her experiences. I’m gathering as much input as I can to go along with it, before I make up my mind what I want to try. And I’ll definitely share my experiences here, once I give paid marketing a go.

        Thanks for stopping by to share your thoughts, Debby! Have a great day! 😀 ❤

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    • See Debby’s comment above, Denise. She has shared a link that could be useful to many of us, plus, she has posted about her own experiences on her blog, and if you haven’t already read them, you might want to give them a look, too.

      Also, I’m hoping we’ll get some useful tips here as folks find a few minutes to share their experiences with us.

      Thanks so much for stopping by today, and good luck finding a marketing idea or two that will work for you. 😀 ❤

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  9. I can think of two I haven’t seen in the comments. Seek out a nearby writing group and make friends. Then offer to do a workshop free with the stipulation that you can bring some books to sell. (Of course, this means BUYing your own books first.)

    Secondly, offer a weekly writing column to the local newspaper. You get to put your byline on it w/something like, “title-you-want-to-promote is available on Amazon.” You are effectively buying this ad, too, with your time and effort, but at least w/o spending money.

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    • Two very good ideas, Vera. I think I’ve probably already saturated the local market, myself, after giving two wildlife talks per month for nine years, and having a book signing table set up each time. It was a wonderful way to sell books in person, and I highly recommend finding something similar to folks who’ve never tried it before. But at this point, most of my audiences have already bought and read all my books, plus I’m not sure I’m going to be physically up to giving talks any more. I’m still on “house arrest” until my cardiologist decides what I should or shouldn’t do.

      As for writing a weekly column for a local paper, that could be a lot of fun. I’ll have to give that some consideration, if I think I can handle it.

      But I do think lots of folks should consider both of those ideas, and I thank you for sharing them with us. 😀 ❤

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  10. I’ve tried different routes but none of them worked. Maybe I was doing something wrong. What I find has worked the best was putting my books out on my blog. Still, not enough to generate any kind of revenue to brag about! 🙂 Good luck, Marcia, finding the perfect marketing for you. 🙂

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    • Marketing via my blog and networking with other writers/bloggers has been the only marketing I’ve done, and for years, it worked pretty well. (Better than I ever expected when I wrote my first book.) I also sold a LOT of books locally at my wildlife talks, etc, but I’ve now reached a point where I need to put my books in front of more folks, if I want to continue to sell, so I decided to ask what others have found that worked. I’ve already gotten a few new ideas from today’s post, and hopefully, there will be more coming in over the days ahead.

      Thanks for stopping by, and hope some of the comments will give you some new ideas, too. 😀 ❤

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  11. Pingback: Tips for Moving with Animals by Traci Kenworth – Where Genres Collide Traci Kenworth YA Author

  12. I wish I could add something useful to this, Marcia, but my marketing is shocking! Sally Cronin’s Smorgasbord and Diana Wallace Peach’s blog do bring sales and reviews. Other people buy my books but I think most of them are my generation and they don’t leave reviews. I did give my first talk to a group a few weeks ago and 2/3rds of them bought books afterwards. Perhaps there are other groups near you that would welcome an entertaining talk on any subject and would be introduced to your lovely books that way. You have an excellent sense of humour and there are bored people out there just waiting to have their mood lifted.
    ❤ 🙂 ❤

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    • I agree that meeting people fact to face while giving talks of one sort or another is a great way to sell books and build friendships. I sold a LOT of books by doing my wildlie talks twice a month for nine years. I’m just not allowed to do that right now, and it’s possible I won’t be able to get back to them going forward.

      In the meantime, I’ve about topped out with using only my blog, and do think I’m going to have to do some paid marketing in order to bump sales up again. I don’t mind doing it, I just have no clue which I should start with. But I’m getting some interesting feedback from this post, so stay tuned. You might find a few good ideas that would work for you, too.

      Thanks so much fors topping by today, Trish, and taking a moment to share your thoughts. Maybe before this is over, we’ll both have some new ideas to play with.
      😀 ❤

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  13. I have found that marketing takes constant effort. If I run a promotion, such as a price drop on Amazon, or promote my books on social media, it generates a small flurry of interest, but for a day at the most.
    I’m not a fan of giving away free books willy nilly. People will always grab a freebie, but might never get around to reading it, since it has no value in their mind. I have a kindle full of freebies that I’ve not quite got around to…
    The most effective promotion I have found for my memoirs is the Facebook group We Love Memoirs (WLM), which is very well run. There is no self promotion, but unlike most book gorups, it is populated by readers as well as authors, so it isn’t just lots of authors shouting ‘buy my book. buy my book’ into a readerless void.
    WLM runs featured author days, party days where authors can have one chance to promote their ooks, and most importantly, it shares members’ book reviews. If you could find a group like this for your genre, it will be priceless.
    Like most of the commenters on this thread, I don’t do enough marketing, and results are sketchy. I’m from a sales and marketing background, and honestly, a 2% response from a marketing campaign is considered stellar. The most important thing is to put yourself out there in a targeted way. If you can find where your readers hang out and promote yourself there, you’ve hit marketing gold! Plus, it’s best not to shout ‘buy my book. buy my book’ – not that you do, I know. Engaging with people and awakening their interest in what you have to say will always work better than blatant ‘in your face’ selling. As do recommendations from others, so I always share reviews on my socials plus Amazon, Book Bub and Goodreads.
    Sally Cronin did a series of excellent marketing articles on her Smorgasbord blog.
    I would advise trying one thing at once and giving it a good go. Marketing is a long game and it may take months to see results. Plus, you don’t want to spread yourself too thinly.
    Best of luck!
    And thanks to the other commentors for their useful advice too. I need to try harder!

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    • My friend Maximilian Sam is a former PR professional who has won awards for his children’s books It’s A Stray Dog’s Life. He set out some of the tools he used in this blog, including Book Zoid, a free tool which fires out book tweets automatically.
      I have set up my books on Book Zoid, but couldn’t tell you if it’s effective as it has no analysis tools. Nevertheless, once it’s set up, it keeps going, and I figured it can’t do any harm! I do know that the tweets occasionally get looked at and shared!
      https://www.maximiliansam.com/post/a-guide-to-the-tools-i-ve-used-to-create-it-s-a-stray-dog-s-life-2

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      • Thank you for both of these thoughtful comments, Jackie! I’m saving your advice, and definitely taking a look at the link you shared. I know there’s no “magic button” that will give fantastic results overnight, but I do need to start getting my books in front of more potential readers, so everything everyone has shared here is helpful to me.

        Thanks so much for stopping by and taking the time to share all of the above. It’s very much appreciated! Have a great day! 😀 ❤

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  14. Here’s an idea for you Marcia: Brian Cohen’s free Amazon Ads 5-day challenge. I’ve done it a couple of times and learn new stuff about Amazon ads each time. He takes you through everything from the very start, and I now have a few ads running all the time which bring in a steady trickle of sales each month. I don’t pursue it with ever-increasing ad spend the way some people do, but that’s up to you.
    Here’s the link for the next one – they run quite often so if you don’t want to join this time, just sign up and get put on the mailing list for future challenges.
    https://learn.bestpageforward.net/jul23/

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  15. I’m in the same boat as many here. I’ve tried various things over the past 10 years, and while they might spur a teeny bit of interest for the briefest of time, the “shock value” never holds for long. The best way I’ve found (to sell my books) is doing events – sell in person, one book at a time.

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    • I agree that selling in person works great. Until my recent health issues, I gave wildlife talks twice a month at two different venues, and always had a book signing table set up for afterwards. I sold a LOT of books, but eventually, the local market has become saturated, and right now, my health is keeping me from giving any more talks, anyway. Don’t know how that will work out going forward, but I have gotten some input from a few folks who’ve done well with paid ads. I’m still pondering if I want to give one or two a go, and if I do, I’ll definitely report back afterward.

      Thanks for stopping by and sharing your experiences with us, Sue. I really appreciate it. Have a great rest of the week! 😀 ❤

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