One answer came to my mind - Bloggers!
I read an article recently (and can't remember where or by whom) questioning whether bloggers can make a difference in book releases. The article basically stated that bloggers really don't have any pull or power when it comes to helping books succeed. That the success was more due to the money put into advertising and the money from publishers.
I RESPECTFULLY AND WHOLWHEARTEDLY DISAGREE!
I have seen the power of bloggers first hand in all the online fundraising that goes on. The online auction for Bridget Zinn, the word of mouth on the Nashville auction, the success of Write on Con. Not to mention, the political arena loves bloggers in fundraising and companies love bloggers to push their products.
So, why not publishing??
Amanda Hocking - bestselling ebook writer contributes her success to ---you got it ---bloggers. She had no platform or experience in the industry, no agent and no publisher and sold 500,000 books within her first 10 months. Now granted, those numbers spanned the 9 books she released during that time and her working her tail off getting 4 hours of sleep a night.
That article got me thinking because I believe bloggers hold more power than everyone thinks they (we) do.
So who wants to test this with me and find out??? I was going to wait until next week to talk about bloggers but I think it will take some organizing to pull off so I pushed it up.
Mission: Launching with Bloggers
I am looking for about 50 bloggers who are interested in reading my book for free.
Now, disclaimer - I have NO clue or stats that show if this idea will work - AT ALL. This is an experiment. So I could be wrong but it's just a hunch I have.
First read the summary on Goodreads to see if you are interested in the book. (Again wilderness thriller and hot boys with a kicka$$ heroine.)
- You will get a free ebook of my book, Untraceable.
- In exchange for the free copy, all I ask is that you commit to actually reviewing the book (WHETHER NEGATIVE OR POSITIVE) somewhere - on their blog and on at least one other review site on the internet. (Example: Goodreads, Amazon B&N etc.)
- Again, the reviews DO NOT HAVE TO BE POSITIVE. I only ask that the reviews are honest, respectful, and constructive.
- If I get more than 50 bloggers sign up, I will choose them in a random generator tool. I don't want to give any favoritism because I appreciate anything anyone is willing to do.
Now, I am NOT going to police this process. It is on word of honor alone.
Also, I have gotten email questions about interviews. I would be happy to do any interview about the marketing process, ebooking, or author marketing in general for the month of Nov and Dec. You can email me at sjohannes@bilaninc.com if you are interested.
So if you would like to read the book, please fill out this form. There is no follower limit or secret formula for your blog to be included. You can be published, unpublished, self published, agented. Just your passion is required :)
So guys, what do you think? Do you think bloggers have power and why? Why questions do you have about online marketing?
11 comments:
I'm currently launching my book and I couldn't imagine doing it without the help of my blogger friends! Truly, I'd feel like a tadpole in the ocean without them to help me get word out.
Genius, Shelli. While I filled out the form, I was iffy on the guest blogging only because my blog is so eclectic. I'm not sure whether you'd even want to be a guest.
Bloggers most certainly do hold power! A recent survey by Mark from Smashwords proved that.I'm paraphrasing here but basically, he asked people on the mobile reads forum how they discovered books. A vast majority stated they learned about new books by outlets like blogs!
That is not to say they are the only way to get the word out about your book, but they are certainly a great place to start! Kudos to you on your marketing platform and offering your book free to bloggers. I think you'll find some good success going that route!
Katie Salidas
Well, I'd be happy to do it. Of course I'll read your book anyway. :) Congratulations, by the way. I've been away for a while and had no idea it was coming out. This is exciting!
I think bloggers can make a huge difference in the success of a book launch! No question. :-)
Well, I sure hope bloggers have power because they are pretty much all I've got. :)
I wholly support you in what you' doing Shelli! I'm IN!
You said the magic words. Wilderness thriller. Hot boys. Kickass heroine. What more could I want. :)
I know I've bought dozens of books because of blogs and bloggers so I absolutely agree! And I'm in! :)
I think bloggers definitely hold a lot of power. I've sent my ebook to a few bloggers and have done some guest posts and interviews. I've noticed that there is always at least one comment from someone saying they had seen the book on Amazon and had passed it over before but were now interested after reading the blogger's review. Blog readers put a lot of trust into their favorite bloggers and I think reviews from them could be more effective in getting people to notice a book than a generic ad might be.
I study young adults and children because I'm in process of getting my masters in library science specializing in youth services and I can tell you from the many research articles and textbooks I've had to read that the number one way that children and young adults share information is through word of mouth and their friends. Over half the books I read in high school was because my friend recommend it to me. When a blogger loves a book, they are likely to recommend that book to their friends and that is indeed very powerful.
So glad I found you at the perfect time--I'm contemplating doing an e-book also and your posts about the decision making process are AWESOME.
I don't really like writing book reviews--my editor hat goes on heavily when I'm not reading strictly for pleasure and all the fun is sucked right out. LOL.
I will probably e-mail you about an interview, though. I love having guests!
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