That's all or nothing. I know. It's hard to read. It's hard to say and even harder to do. Why do I say go big or go home? Relaunching a book rarely works. Not launching a book doesn't work.
How do I know?
Well, since you asked, I refused to market Decree of Hope when it originally launched as Finding Hope. Yep. I did nothing. I did a blog tour. That's it. Because I was convinced marketing didn't help anyway. Guess what? It didn't sell. I expected to sell about the same as my other books sell. How do my other books sell? More copies than some people's books and not as many as others. Yeah. It didn't sell as well as my other books. I mean it probably did sell more than some people's books, but wow. It didn't sell like my other books. Marketing matters. I learned my lesson. I understood it didn't do as well as my other books because I didn't do the things I usually did.
The moral of the story is launch big the first time. Contact bloggers months before you plan to release and request reviews. And if the blogger can't commit to a review ask if they would host a guest post. Put together some kind of contest and consider Bookbub, ENT or a Fiverr ad.
What things have you found helpful during a launch?
I'd love if you had tips for marketing. Busy as you are, but it would be so fascinating to hear it from someone whose got the experience especially without a big five publisher backing you.
ReplyDeleteAlso what if you're shy? Is there a way to bust through marketing fear if you're afraid to approach bloggers for guest posts and/or reviews?
This is something I struggle with. Believe it or not, I'm very shy, and I'm much cooler online. But I don't like pushing my books on people and my dream is to write a book so good it sells itself. The thing that I've found most helpful is having a free novella that ties into a product. It takes your time and your out the expense of editing and a cover, but it has been more effective than anything else. BKnights on fiverr is also good. I've heard Bookbub and ENT can be really effective but I've yet to be accepted!
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