One Indie Author’s Techno-Terror and Promo-Phobia

anxious author at work laptop-868501__340It is an accepted truism that those of us with high artistic aptitudes often lack business aptitude and vice-versa. Many writers bemoan the necessity of and time spent on promotion. We want to write. Most of us do not enjoy the aspects of our craft that involve promotion, marketing and the non-creative side of our profession.

Let’s say that I am the poster-child for this problem. I have a website. When it was set up, (and I needed someone to do that for me) I promised myself I would post regularly on it. I don’t. We are told by those who know that we need an email list and a newsletter to let fans, friends and followers know what’s new, what’s coming and generally stay in friendly contact. In spite of repeated self-flagellation, I have not done so. Continue reading “One Indie Author’s Techno-Terror and Promo-Phobia”

Managing ARC Reviewers

Chris leippi headshotGuest Post
by Chris Leippi

There comes a point in every self-pubber’s journey to the bestseller charts when they realize it’s time to launch their books with some reviews already in place. Those reviews will help boost sales by instilling confidence in readers that your book is worthy of their money and time. On top of that, many major book promotion websites require a minimum number of reviews in order for them to consider featuring it. If you want to start booking these, you’ll need those reviews!

But, how do bestselling authors go about managing all of those reviewers? Are they sending out hundreds of copies, hoping that a small percentage of them will follow through and review? Or, are they keeping track of each individual who requests a copy and following up with them until they write their review? Continue reading “Managing ARC Reviewers”

Mailing Lists and Advanced Readers and Bookfunnel, Oh My!

author email list building tipsIn my years as an Indie publisher, there have been a number of schools of thought as to what it took to be successful. In the salad days of 2012, the advice was, “Do a free run, then sit down and wait for the Brinks truck to back up with your money.” Those were good days, almost certainly too good to last. Since then, the advice has ranged from “write in a series and make the first book free” to “drive sales through Facebook ads,” to “use keywords and sharpened metadata to drive traffic.” Through it all, though, one thing has been constant: you need a mailing list.

The reason why is simple: You control how and when you access a mailing list, as opposed to investing everything into working the Amazon or social media algorithms. The problem with algorithms is, they change. What might be golden today can turn to lead tomorrow. A mailing list is yours forever, though, or at least until someone unsubscribes.

The key frustration I hear from most writers, though, is that it is awfully difficult to build a list into any kind of size that will deliver results. I feel your pain. Let’s look at the various ways to build a mailing list. Continue reading “Mailing Lists and Advanced Readers and Bookfunnel, Oh My!”