musing for fun – caeblogs

It has been just over six months since I launched my first e-book (gasp! already?) and during that time I have learnt a lot of invaluable marketing lessons in what feels like a very short time. If you thought clicking publish was the end of the saga, think again! Be prepared for many hours of promoting your work and even more hours of self-doubt when it feels like all your hard work might go unnoticed in the large sea of published work out there. I thought I should share some tips I’ve learnt with anyone who comes across this site (only online marketing tips, sorry). As I always say, every little helps.

1. Nobody knows who you are yet so stop hitting refresh on your sales screen and wondering why the figures are not going up. Get the word out there by creating an online presence or a following in your local area.
2. Goodreads/Twitter/Facebook are your best friends. So are all other social networking sites where you can publicise your work (e.g. Kindleboards, Mobileread, Librarything, Shelfari…though I tend not to use them so much). Don’t forget to engage in other forms of activities on these sites (e.g. commenting on topics not related to your book) as heavy marketing alone will be sniffed out and frowned upon.
3. Giveaways will generate reviews but you must remember to curtail your expectations. There are people who just want free stuff and people who will actually review your work. Patience is key to prevent enraged hysteria at the fact that your 1000 giveaways have yielded 5 reviews. Also don’t expect to get reviews within one day or your giveaway, a few weeks to a few months is normal waiting time.
4. Use your friends. People are more generous than we give them credit for. Twitter, BBM, Facebook postings from one friend will reach hundreds of other people you don’t know. As unbelievable as I thought it was, I made a few sales from friends putting up display pictures of my book on their BBM.  
5. Your masterpiece might not be your bestseller. Accept this and you won’t feel so bad when that book you spent five years slaving over doesn’t do as well as the one you spent six months on. One of my books is outselling the others at a ratio of 7 to 1 and it is certainly not the one I thought would be doing so well. Continue reading →