Doing all the things you hear to do to get your book seen can be overwhelming and become very frustrated. I know the list and the time (Especially the TIME) to do all this marketing is the pits!
However, there may be a way that you can market your book but not feel like you have another job doing it!
I mentioned back in November 2012 that I was testing out some marketing stuff for my book. Well, I think I found out that it works!
I’ve decided to go to websites and be a part of communities that I actually enjoy being a part of. For me, unfortunately, being a part of Goodreads, LibraryThing and Shelfari, as well as constantly posting on blogs and Facebook and Twitter, hasn’t been for me. I don’t have time to read, and I don’t have time to do all the blogging and twittering, so none of that socializing works for me. I don’t write enough for Wattpad and nor have the time to read other’s work. However, other things that I’m interested in DO work for me.
Yahoo! Answers
On my Blogger website that I have for my readers, and which I use as another marketing tool to gain readers, I like to talk a lot about feelings and the matters of the heart and life. I do love to talk about those things, and so what I started testing was Yahoo! Answers. It’s a community where people post questions on what’s on their hearts and minds and people respond with their answers. I found that it’s similar, to me, like Dear Abby where I can be Abby! And I’m actually pretty good at it. I get a lot of 10 points for being accepted as the Best Answer, and that makes me feel good to help someone else out.
I have a steady buy of three (3) books a month, and I found while being on Yahoo! Answers, that keeps that going because I see that the books are being bought much earlier in the month than so slowly throughout the month when I get a lot of Best Answers.
Criticker
The other place that I enjoy is Criticker. I found this website when Netflix, for some reason, stopped allowing people to post their reviews on movies. I needed an outlet to put my 2 cents and my opinion on the films I enjoyed. Netflix now allows people to post reviews again, but I’ve gotten so use to Criticker that I mainly post there now, as well as my ratings of the movies I’ve seen that week on Netflix.
Though I don’t think I get any readers from Criticker, I still enjoy being there, especially being a part of the forums every blue moon. I’ve even got an answer of a movie title I was looking for but I just couldn’t remember what it was, and someone answered it for me! Now that was just a great relief.
FanForum
A third site I would go to frequently but it’s forum just loads WAY too slow for me–FanForum. It’s the best place to subsidize my Criticker site, which is for films only, so that I can talk about TV series I enjoy to my heart’s content. I also lurk to find out all the side information and people’s opinions on my favorite TV series. My only problem is that I watch my series so late, so I can’t join in with the current conversations, but I can participate when I catch up.
In all these places, I don’t post, “Hey! I’m a Writer! Buy my Book!” Plus, you really don’t want to do that. You don’t want to be a Spammer nor a Bug-A-Boo. What you should do is just be your witty and special self, and people will take a look at your profile where you have your website for them to take a looksie.
I’m quite enjoying these sites and, what’s importantly, it’s not like I’m working to market. I’m doing something that I already enjoy doing. Though these places aren’t really after my target audience, I do get an ongoing, steady, buy of my three books a month and sometimes four! LOL!! I know that sounds like chump change but it’s great numbers for me since I don’t put the time in to do much marketing at all, and this goes WAY beyond just family and friends, which is your ultimate goal.
Bottom line, go out there and participate in things that you already enjoy. Because you’ll never know who’s interest you might peek.
Until Next Time!!
