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Publishing a book is exciting, whether you’re a self-publishing or traditional publishing author. We all want to connect with our readers. We all want to make sales. We all want to become successful, one way or another. But, there are right ways and wrong ways to promote your book online.
I’m not here as a writer, although I am one. I’m here as a reader, as a lover of books, as someone who loves to find a good book to read. I’m here as someone who wants to find books without having them rammed down my throat at inappropriate times.
When I’m hunting for a novel or a new author to read, I rely on a lot of sources to hook me up. I love word of mouth advertising, and will often check out a book my friends like before others. If that doesn’t pan out for me, I start browsing the internet. I have things I look for when I’m hunting for a new book. I also have things which immediately turn me off from a potential new book.
The Wrong Way to Promote Your Book Online
When I follow someone on various social media outlets, whether it is their blog, their twitter account, or their facebook, I am doing so because I’m interested in them and their books. I either want to know about them, or I care about their books. I’m watching them, and I’m eager for new announcements, new things going on in their lives, or new things about their novels and writing.
Let me draw your attention to the new part. One promotional post about a novel? Great! Excellent. I’m all over that. I want to see this book. I’ll have a look. I’ll click through. I’ll hoo, hum, and consider buying it, if the story interests me.
If I see that same post about that same book over, and over, and over again, you’ve lost my attention as a reader. I don’t think I’m abnormal when I say I’m interested in new things. That’s why I buy books, after all. I want to experience something new.
A standard repeat of the same old book promotion is the wrong way to approach spreading word about your novel online, especially when you’re parroting to the same audience over, and over, and over again. It isn’t any fun for me as a reader or a fan. I expect an author to comment about a project more than once. But, if that’s all you’re doing, you’re doing it wrong.
As a reader, I want to learn new things about your book, about your writing, and about you, not the same piecemeal advertisements over and over.
While I understand the lure of sharing the reviews you receive, this is something that I feel should be done infrequently. Why? You already have my attention as a reader. Give me something different from you, not something others have said about you.
The Right Way to Promote Your Book Online
Originality is what I respond to as a reader. I can see a mention of the same book over and over, if every time I do, something new about you, as the author, or about your characters, floats to the surface. This can be a mini or flash story about your characters. It can be something new about how you wrote your novel.
The important thing is that your announcement of your book doesn’t come across as yet another blatant self-promotional post. There are lots of ways you can promote your book online without falling into that trap. You can…
- Run a raffle or giveaway on your website or on goodreads
- Write blog posts talking about the novel, including links to your book(s)
- Write short side stories involving the characters of your novels with links to their books
- Participate in book interviews and guest posts
In short, the right way to promote your new book isn’t to repeat yourself over and over again – engage your readers and fans. Make connections with them. Most importantly, offer them something new and interesting each time you talk about your books.
Buy Now @ Amazon
Genre - Fantasy
Rating – PG - 13
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