The ID of Promoting Oneself: The Strange and Confusing Road to Getting Published Part 4 by Keri Kruspe

The fourth in a series on the Strange and Confusing Road to Getting Published series by Keri Kruspe: “The ID of Promoting Oneself.” Enjoy!

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I don’t know about you but promoting and marketing (in the words of my generation) is not my thing. All I want to do is write! Waah….

Okay, okay. The real reason I was hesitant about doing promotions is…it scares me. I’m not someone who likes to talk or bring attention to myself. The very idea of putting everything out there to promote something as personal as a story I’ve written is quite unnerving.

Good thing I have Beth here to help me work through it.

Not doing it doing… not doing enough…

I feel like I’m not doing enough, or not doing it right, to begin my campaign to promote my work. I was more worried about getting things done right and comparing myself to what others expected me to. I’m afraid I was losing sight of the overall goal.

Beth asked me it if I had ever seen any other authors launch a book.

I hadn’t.

“This is the challenge you are having. Since you haven’t observed other authors launching, you don’t really have anything to match this up. You have no experience to draw on to compare to anybody else’s.”

Beth shared that she’d seen lots of authors launch long before she ever did. She asked me, “How do you find out about a new book as a reader?”

I admitted to her I usually had only one of two ways:

• Brick and Mortar stores: I used to love going into a brick-and-mortar bookstore and browse the titles. Unfortunately, I’m not able to do this, especially since I live in a rural area and a large bookstore isn’t an option anymore.
• Amazon: The only other way I find books now is on Amazon. I will look at the “also boughts” at the bottom or click on recommendations. Sometimes I will type in a keyword to do my own search.

Beth then asked me if I subscribed to any book promotion newsletters.

I don’t.

She recommended that I subscribe to BookBub and see what other book promotion newsletters are out there.

Beth said she subscribes to them because occasionally she places ads in them. Some are tailored to romance writers because that’s the biggest buying audience.

She admitted she’s not an expert when it comes to ads. She recommends I might want to do some research on ad stacking, which means you can buy a bunch of cheap ads.

Why not consider doing a soft launch?

Beth suggested I do a quiet launch, also known as a “soft launch.”

“If your book is ready, why not upload it to Amazon and the other vendors before the Facebook party on the 27^th? If you’re going to do that, I would suggest you put your book up on Amazon directly, and then have Draft2Digital.com put it up on the other vendors. Make the price for $.99 for a short time only.”

Beth encouraged me to start promoting with my friends and family. Once my book is up and ready to be downloaded, she recommends I send an email blast to them saying the book is available for the $.99. She suggested I say something like, “Hey, it’s only a buck and please leave me a review and help me start my new career.”

Next, she recommended I contact my colleagues who write science fiction romance who are also fans. They can help support and promote me.

With authors, it’s one big happy circle. You talk about their books on your website and, in turn others will help to promote you.

An Idea

Another idea, Beth said, is to consider is making a consistent blog, especially if I’m going to promote on Facebook. There’s a good reason why an author would want to maintain a blog. The ongoing content gives search engines the ability to associate your name with your book and to find you. If I get your name linked with science fiction romance, maybe in six months if a reader hears about me and types in my name, my website will be part of what they see on the first page of those search engines.

Q: What’s the difference between a blog and a newsletter?

A: “Let’s take a look at my author site. Here I’ve written a short article about coffee and posted it to this blog page. I then took the exact same information and put it in my newsletter that I send out to my mailing list. I write my newsletter on Saturday and it releases on Sunday morning. I usually make a new banner every week, depending on the theme but I always have the same tagline embedded in whatever the images. Sometimes it’s my book cover or in this case, it’s just a cup of coffee. As always when I send out my newsletter. I make sure to include my web address. I also invite folks to ask questions or to make comments on what I’ve written.”

Last-minute Advice Before I Launch?

Yes!

“Remember, you have no control over people buying your book or leaving reviews. You only have control over your ability to invite people to do those things. The best way for you to do that is to have a social media platform, post on your blog, and get in front of your audience on other people’s blogs and newsletters.

Wrap-up:

So, what do I walk away with this session from Beth? Well I know I can’t compare myself to how others launch their careers…there is no “right” or “wrong” way to do it. I have an opportunity to create something brand new…something unique only to me. There is no one standing behind me to whack me with a ruler if I’m doing something they frown on.

I’m the one who owns that ruler. The only measurement I have to worry about is my own.

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Editor’s Note: Keri Kruspe’s debut novel is available now: An Alien Exchange (An Alien Exchange Trilogy Book 1)

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Keri Kruspe has been an author since the age of twelve and has always been fascinated with otherworldly stories that end in Happily Ever After. Her current works, An Alien Exchange trilogy will have its first release by Winter 2018. The trilogy conclusions — D’zia’s Dilemma and Ki’s Redemption — will soon follow by the first quarter of 2019.

As a native Nevadan, Keri now resides with her family in the wilds of Northwestern Michigan. An avid reader, Keri enjoys good wine, good food, and watching action/adventure movies. You can find her most days immersed in her fantasy world of writing or traveling with her hubby in their RV, discovering intelligent life here on Earth. Don’t forget to visit her website at www.kerikruspe.com. Leave your feedback and sign up for her newsletter!