Last month I mentioned marketing your book for free on social media. This is one area where I really fell off the bus, or missed the boat, whichever way you want to look at it. And, I’m not talking about paid ads, as that is a whole new discussion altogether. Today I am going to concentrate on Facebook, which is the biggest platform. Or is it?
Why didn’t it work for me? Because I think it is my Afrikaner mentality shining through. We grew up with the belief that you should not brag about yourself. That is why self-promotion is so difficult for me.
I joined hundreds of groups over the last three years where you can market your book for free. And I NEVER post. NEVER. I don’t even know why I am on these groups. But, it doesn’t mean they don’t work because I know of authors who swear by it.
Samantha A. Cole posted on 19 May this year in Alessandra TorreInk’s group about this exact same thing, mentioning how she left many of the groups as they became dump and run places. In my humble opinion, these are not the places where you will find your readers and you need to look for other places to promote your books. It is mostly indie authors posting in these groups and nobody likes or share or comment. That is exactly what I experienced it too.
Samantha’s advice is the following: “… before you spend an hour (or more) repeatedly posting your promo in FB groups, scroll down the feed of each group. Did anyone comment or like the first dozen or so posts? Are the same five or six authors the main ones posting in the group? Have even the admins stopped posting and commenting? If the answers to those questions are yes, then that group is a waste of your precious time. Leave the group, so you don't get flooded with the posts on your feed.”
I guess that's what I'm going to do in quarantine!
GROUPS
Having said that it doesn’t work for me (because it’s on me, not the groups), I’ve compiled a list of groups I could find. Some allows you to post your ad. Read the rules of the group. Most often you are only allowed to post one post a day. I’m going to go through them and see if it is worthwhile for me to stay on them anymore (since I anyway never post!). Some provide other services like Facebook parties, or cover reveals, etc which might be worthwhile, so check them out:
BOOK BLOGGERS
Do you know where to find book bloggers? No? Neither did I, until I found this group: The Book Blogger list.
Some bloggers also have Facebook pages. Authors often get the opportunity to copy their ads and paste it in the commentary of the post when the blogger allows a Pimp Post. The post often have a theme like series, fantasy, freebies, etc. It is important to read the rules before you post. Most of these bloggers use the comments and schedule it for a new post later in the week, especially for those who react first. Of course, bloggers get many requests for reviews, so you have to approach them well in advance. The safest option is to send the book directly to their kindle or through one of the sites like Bookfunnel, etc, I’ve mentioned in my previous marketing blog.
Amuse Me Books (net reviewer)
Hot Books & Sassy Girls Book Blog (net reviewer)
PROMO GROUPS
There are several groups doing different types of promotions and some you have to pay for, but those sometimes are more worthwhile. Often you can build your social media following or your newsletter subscribers. These are apart from the ones I mentioned last month.
Check out these pages too:
The list here is by no means completed. There are several others. Often when you join one group, Facebook will suggest similar groups. This is also not to say you shouldn’t join these groups. What works for you might not work for another person.
My advice is, however, that should you post in these groups, don’t post in ten groups at the same time. Your friends’ news feeds will be blocked with your posts and they may get irritated and decide to unfollow you. Keep your posts to 3 or 5 a day at different times. And you need to be active on the groups, otherwise you are wasting your and everyone else’s time. (Don’t be like me.)
Keep a spreadsheet or something where you can keep track of where you’ve posted and on what day. Check out the group’s rules. Some allow Fridays, for example, to share your book or promo and others allow a different day.
And that’s it from me. Hopefully next month I have better advice. And if anyone have better experience or knows how to do it better (again not like me), please let me know. Because this post is not to slag the groups, as they have the best intentions, it’s probably me begging for advice!
Until next time
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