Alex's awesome co-hosts for the March 4 posting of the IWSG are PJ Colando, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, and Natalie Aguirre!
March 4 question - What elements do you include in your book launch? Or what do you have in mind for your future book launch? Or what advice do you have to offer to others planning to launch a book?
Good question since I recently launched my newest novel, Ruthless Kingdom. Universal Link: Bit.ly/RuthlessKingdom
In the past, I had book tours and blog tours through Xpresso Tours, AXP for Authors, Book Match (which is no longer an option) and various sites. These can get pricey, and for this reason, I did nothing spectacular for this release. AXP for Authors is good, and has many options to sell books, including reviewers. However, like all sites, not all reviewers that I've sent Epub's or PDF's have opted to write a review. I'm still waiting....LOL!
I've had a few of my books reviewed by Reader's Favorite, and that's where I began. I received a nice 5 Star review. Although, I doubt it helps sell my book. Ruthless Kingdom is self-published and priced at $4.99. Unfortunately, I've found the only possible way to sell books is to pay for ads. Facebook and Instagram. And, dropping the price to $1.99 and even better $.99 cents, you'll make sales. But for me, it barely covers the cost of the ads.
I have a TikTok account (if you care to follow me) I never thought I'd be using this venue, because I'm a social media introvert, and putting my face out there bothers me very much. I've been working on it, and with this release, I uploaded a few videos. Again, there's $$ involved to get them noticed. Through TikTok, I believe I had the most people using their KindleUnlimited to read Ruthless Kingdom.
I'm curious to learn about how other authors managed their release days!
Crazy how much book selling has changed over the last few years. I hope yours does well!
ReplyDelete"What I say is, a town isn't a town without a bookstore." — Neil Gaiman
J (he/him 👨🏽 or 🧑🏽 they/them) @JLenniDorner ~ Speculative Fiction & Reference Author and Co-host of the April Blogging #AtoZChallenge international blog hop
I've never put much money into the launch of my books but since it's been awhile I know the online world is changing. Never heard of AXP - thanks!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your book release! I think when you have a little extra money, going on a blog tour can help you reach new readers, especially if you use a company so you attract readers who don't know you.
ReplyDeleteSherry Ellis always uses Reader's Favorites and gets great reviews while bringing in new readers. I think blog tours are effective still but not if you have to pay for them.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your new book!
I've heard great things about BookTok. Way to put yourself out there! It's unfortunate that there really isn't such a thing as going viral anymore these days. Not without five+ years to build a following. They've figured out how to stem all the natural methods so they can make money. It's crazy how things have evolved, eh?
ReplyDeleteI like how you've tried TikTok (BookTok, too?) and asked us readers to follow you. My sales & marketing husband taught me to always ask... for, if you don't, the answer is no and, if you do, the answer might be yes! Venture forth!
ReplyDeleteHelpful suggestion! Especially because I don't always ask!!!! Thank you.
DeleteThat is a reaaly great way to find readers. A bit expensive, jk. I don't have a tik tok but I do have instagram. If you're there, I'll definitely fllw you.
ReplyDeleteCngrts on that book release!!!
Ads can be effective.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on Ruthless Kingdom! And way to go with Tik Tok!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your release! That's awesome that you've found success with TikTok. Definitely something I'd like to explore when I have a book to publish.
ReplyDeleteYep, I'm an introvert like you . . . and I appreciate your summary of what's working for you (and the cost). I've seen sales go up after such ads, but I'm still not sure that's the best way to go. Supporting other writers is another way too, and I'm looking forward to checking out your new release. Congratulations! Kindle Unlimited is also my way to thank future and past readers.
ReplyDeleteI almost forgot. Dropping your price to .99 for a select few days (5?) and then alerting readers by newsletter/posts on blog/alerts on social media is another lower cost way to reach potential readers. :)
DeleteI stopped doing those sorts of things for a book release too. Now I tend to just announce it to my newsletter and leave it at that.
ReplyDelete