Promo planning

And I don't even have a burn-out excuse because I haven't had a release in months.

So, listen. I got an ebook coming out in October. It's pretty last minute but....what do I do about promo?

With dozens of titles coming out every week, the ebook world is flooded. So much of the promo I'm seeing looks sort of desperate or maybe there's some projection going on here.

So far:

--RT has a copy. They'll give it three stars. They always give Summer three stars. Kate gets 4.5 and RT Top Pick and Best First Historical and hugs and kisses. Summer gets three stars but good quotes.

--someone's updating/redoing Summer's page.

--ummm. Maybe I'll guest-blog at a couple of places?

--I think I'm getting one of those week of romance excerpt things because I won it in an auction. I should check on that now that Tara Green's moved on. I haven't gotten any for any books lately, so I hope they're still doing them.

Ah, this is such a far cry from my ambitions. Maybe I should buy a couple of banners places. Cat Brown at Romance Junkies does gorgeous banners. So does Laurie at Laurie likes books. If I had an idea that this book was amazing, I'd push it and spend more than my usual budget, but I never know about my own stuff. This probably isn't hot enough.

Any suggestions? This is an Ebook. For print, I have a whole lot of ideas. Mostly of these ideas are entirely useless for the ebookly world.

I love contests, but there are SO MANY.
I love sending around books for people to read, but the books get ignored because there are SO MANY.
I don't mind jumping on tables in bars and saying heeeeeyyyyyeeeee look at meeeee, but that doesn't seem to sell books. And when you do it in blogs, it might even lose readers.

I think I might do a contest but only because, dude, they're fun--not because they sell books. I don't think they do, actually.

Comments

  1. Anonymous7:56 PM

    Hi there! I run the podcast Talechasing.com for urban fantasy writers and readers. I'm currently doing an ebook recording for Holly Lisle. I would be happy to talk to you about ideas for a promo and getting your promo played. Feel free to email me at kimi@talechasing.com and we'll find a way to chat. :)

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  2. I think guest blogging can be very effective, especially if you put in the extra effort to make your posts super engaging and different. The more you're out there, the more name recognition you get, and I believe that people are more likely to buy from authors whose names sound familiar.

    Have a contest where they have to leave their email. An email list to let people know that books are coming out is really valuable, especially for ebooks, since you can write scintillating copy in your email, then put the link to buy immediately after it, when they're white hot on the idea.

    Good luck! It is hard.

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  3. Yo, Kimi, that's intriguing. I'll email you.

    And thanks Esri Rose...good ideas.

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  4. I had a really different promo come in last week for the bookstores, a girl had sent CD's with her book trailers on them. I don't know how much they ran her, but I can tell you they are different enough that it has caught the attention of the customers. Also, you probably wouldn't believe how many booksellers and fans keep their eyes posted to your facebook/myspace, always a great way for you to promote your own titles. Easy access for booksellers by having a poster, bookmarks or even business cards on your website is also a great way to "self" promote upcoming releases. Something they can download and print at the store that can be hung up (or placed out) immediately. I don't know about other book shops, but I make sure to let my customers know what their fav author has coming up whether it's paper and ink or ebook. Just some thoughts from a bookseller POV. ;)

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  5. Anonymous12:13 PM

    I love your contests. They're always so creative.

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  6. Thanks hula! Hope you're doing fabulously?

    I like my contests too--because I make people work to entertain me. Dance, people, dance!

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  7. annette--Nearly every bookseller I know hates bookmarks. loathes them and the clutter they create. (Maybe I know the wrong booksellers?)

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