Self-Publishing Marketing Guide for all Indie Authors by BookRix .com (best book reader txt) 📕

All authors should ask themselves the following question: Is it worth it to send the reviewer a free copy of my book? There is a strong temptation to offer your book to any book blog, because you want to be mentioned within the reading community as often as possible. HOWEVER, we recommend approaching “larger” blogs first.

Here are a few things an author has to consider:

Which genre is the blog owner reviewing? If you do your research, you should be able to find a large variety of bloggers who are interested in your genre and they will appreciate the fact that you read and understood their Review Policy before you contacted them. Find bloggers who write about similar content. They can be writers, avid readers, teachers, book lovers, library enthusiasts, etc. Don’t limit yourself to one category – the key here is diversity.

How many readers does the blog have? You should be able to find a counter with this information on the blog (often at the bottom or to the side), however, if you are unable to find out, you can always contact the blogger.

What do the previous reviews look like? For example if an author criticizes vampire novels in a negative way, as they are obsolete in his/her view, you should not offer your vampire novel for writing a review. Find reviewers who enjoy reading books that are similar to yours.

Does the blog owner blog regularly? If the blogger is regular with their postings, it probably means they have regular readers who expect new material consistently. If the blogger is consistent, then the readers will come back in search of more and find your book’s review.

Do the reviews also appear on Amazon, Kobo, etc.? Adding a review and rating to your book in the shops takes very little time and after having read your book, they might as well help you out by sharing their opinions in the shops where other potential buyers can view it.

If these questions have been answered to your satisfaction, you can then approach the blog owner. It is important not to appear as an “enthusiastic fan,” but to say clearly that you are a new author and you believe the blog owner would like your work. THEN ask about writing a review. Of course you will need to provide a reading sample (in ePub format) for free.

It is recommended to send the blurb and the cover image as well as a link to the reading sample. It is not recommended to send the whole book as an ePub via email as this might be intrusive. Also, the blogger will then have the opportunity to read the whole book, even if they don’t want to review it.

There are a few other options when it comes to blogs. Many bloggers are interested in having authors write guest blogs for their site. This is a great way to get your name out there as a writer and as an active member of the book community. It’s also a great way to make connections with other bloggers (you can then invite them to do the same on your blog/website). You can create a promotional banner for your book so that they can embed it into their blog. If a blogger likes you (and/or your book) they will most likely offer this service for free. It’s like having a miniature ad campaign. Another great way to entice bloggers to work with you is to offer free material for their blog. They can create a giveaway that will keep their readers happy and draw new readers in – and you can give away a free copy of your book to gain more fans!

If you can connect with several bloggers, there is one last option for promotion – you can organize a blog tour for your book(s). First of all, you email all your blog contacts, asking them if they will be part of your tour. Next, you set up a schedule for when each blogger will be involved. Now you decide which blogger will feature a book review, an author interview, a giveaway, etc. If you have 14 bloggers willing to help, that’s two straight weeks of promoting your book (or one month spread out if you don’t want to overdo your self-promotion). Each blog will have readers that will follow your book to each new stop on the tour. They will be interested in new content, so make sure there is very little repetition. You will need to respond to comments at each stop to show your readers that you care about them. If you are having giveaways (which we highly recommend) then you can offer your own books, but it can also be older sale books, short stories, exclusives, or even books by fellow authors if you are willing to help out your fellow indie writers (with their permission of course). The most effective blog tours often have a “Faithful Follower Award” to give out at the end of the tour to the reader who visits and comments on the most stops (readers love book gift cards). This will encourage readers to follow your tour and will also attract new fans (People love free stuff!).

This is one of the more creative methods available for self-promotion. YouTube is popular for a reason: People enjoy watching videos. So fire up your webcam and get inspired! An effective book trailer for your book (on YouTube) is a fun way to offer readers a free preview of your book, especially if your weakness is writing a blurb. You can use images and music to create emotional intrigue and leave your readers wanting more. If you’re not sure how to make a book trailer, there are plenty of BookRix members who are willing to help – just ask in the “Art Writers” group. You can also use online videos to showcase a book reading. Fans love to see their favorite authors reading their books aloud. It’s personal and it’s fun! If you find that your readers are sending you a lot of questions, you can also use video to answer commonly asked questions. Readers will get to see your face and therefore feel closer to you and see that you care enough to take the time to respond. Fans love being recognized, so use this opportunity to give them a shout out. Example “Rebecca in Munich and Gen in San Francisco want to know if the characters in my book are based on people I know“, etc. Just remember to speak slowly and clearly so your listeners can hear you.

Publication Date: 02-06-2013

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