No Stress Book Launch #IWSG

Okay, so, last month I said I'd get into more detail on marketing successes and failures with my latest release. I feel kind of strange doing this because I am no marketing expert (as my current Amazon ranking can attest), so please understand that I'm simply sharing my experience in case there's some tidbit you can pick up that helps you. This is NOT hard and fast advice. 

Release Week Strategy

In this month's post, I share the strategy that worked well for me for my book's release week. Bear in mind that my goals are far from lofty. But my strategy was simple and fairly stress free. 

1. Set Release Week Pricing at 99cents & Advertise 

The purpose of 99cent pricing was so that I could advertise the book through cheap reads e-newsletters. Here are links to the six sites I advertised with from August 4-6 (one day per each newsletter spread across the three days). Through past trial and error, I found these six to have good cost/benefit ratios for my genre—chick litty romance with a "steamy" heat rating. They'll wave the minimum review requirement for new releases. 

E-Reader News Today ($65—the most expensive but WELL worth it)
The Fussy Librarian ($20—cost varies by genre. I went with Rom Com)
Love Kissed Book Bargains ($20—for Romance books only)
Book Sends ($25—price varies by genre. I went with Women's Fiction)

For most of the above, try to schedule three weeks to a month in advance. 

I also did a little bit of Facebook advertising, posted on social networks, and sent an email to my list of 300 subscribers, but the impact of these efforts was minimal.

THE RESULT: Hit #19 in two Amazon subcategories and #3,358 overall in Amazon. Barely broke even moneywise (only received 35% of the 99c price), but I got my girl off to a good start.


2. Get Advanced Reader Copies Out & Ask for Release Day Reviews 

The second part of my strategy took a bit more effort with a goal of getting at least a handful of reviews on Amazon on release day. I'll share my review strategy next month. 

What's been a winning strategy for you during release week?


IWSG Optional Question

Albert Camus once said, “The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself.” Flannery O’Conner said, “I write to discover what I know.” Authors across time and distance have had many reasons to write. Why do you write what you write?  

For me, writing is an escape mechanism. It all started because I was overly stressed about new responsibilities in my personal life. I poured my excess energies into weaving my story instead of lying awake all night fretting. Escaping into my stories continues to keep me from wasting too much energy on unproductive worry. 

Get your manuscripts polished and ready for the upcoming IWSG Twitter Pitch



This post is part of the:


Insecure Writer's Support Group (IWSG) Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds. This wonderful group for writers was begun by the one and clonely Alex J. Cavannaugh.

This month's awesome co-hosts are:

Comments

You got it out in front of people and that's great. That will mean more reviews and more sales.
Natalie Aguirre said…
That's great that you have a not-too-stressful release strategy.
Great job on getting the word out and having a not-too-stressful release strategy.
And thanks for your insights on where to advertise.
:)
Sarah Foster said…
Glad your release was fairly stress free.
I've always seen writing as an escape.
Jennifer Lane said…
I love these posts! I'm going to follow your suggestions for Rivals.

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