Back in November I set myself a few marketing targets for my self-publishing venture, and for some time now I’ve been meaning to review them. So, with the summer holidays well and truly underway, I’ve finally found the time and gotten around to doing it.
I’ll take one at a time, and explain where I am with it and why:
1 - Ensure that at least one of my books is featured on an online review website
I didn’t realise it at the time, but this is quiet a toughy. Many review sites just don’t review self-published books, which is a real shame – for everyone concerned – in my opinion. But anyway, I am delighted that the wonderful Author Alliance reviewed Someone Different, and awarded it a fantastic five-star review.
I also came across a lovely review on Chicklish for Someone Different, quite by accident. This is another great site, and well worth a browse.
2 - Notify my local press and convince them my books are worth a mention
Well, unexpectedly, I received an email from Sam Gould, who writes for The Independent’s arts’ blog. Sam interviewed me about my books, and the wider issues they relate to, and produced this superb article which appeared on the The Indepedent’s site in April.
In addition to this national media interest, I did also feature in our local press, and the piece that appeared in The Sheffield Star can be found here.
3 - Be guest blogger for other well-respected literary websites/organisations
As you can tell from the number of blogs on here, blogging is something that often slips down my priority list ... well down, if I’m honest. However, I was incredibly pleased to be guest blogger for the awesome children’s writer Wendy Storer, and I enjoyed producing a piece regarding the dilemma of writing realistic, but optimistic endings.
I was also honoured to have a series of blogs featured on the esteemed Cornerstones Literary Consultancy’s page. Two pieces have appeared so far – How easy is it for a self-published book to make a splash, and From Manuscript to Book. More posts are planned for the near future.
4 - Respond to every review I receive on Amazon
I started off well with this, but admit I need to catch up on some of the more recent ones. I would like to stress though, that I am so, so grateful for every single review I receive. I appreciate readers’ comments more than they will ever know, and cherish every review.
5 - Organise a competition as soon as the books are available in paperback
Tick! Wendy and I gave away an amazing Kindle Fire back in June. The competition, offered through our writing co-operative, Applecore Books, involved people reading through our opening chapters and answering a question. We were thrilled to send out the Kindle Fire to the young winner.
6 - Persuade at least one of my local Waterstones to hold an event
Yep, did that one as well! A huge thanks to Waterstones, (Park Lane, Meadowhall) for hosting my book signing event at the beginning of June, and an even bigger thanks for inviting me back to do another one in the run-up to Christmas. It really was a great experience, and an invaluable opportunity to speak to book buyers.
7 - Triple (minimum) my following on Facebook and Twitter
50/50 on this one. My twitter following (@kate_hanney) has grown organically, and is now approaching 2,000. I’m really grateful to all my followers for their support, and especially to those who have tweeted to say they’ve bought my books and reviewed them.
Facebook; not so much. I don’t push it as much as I should – well, not at all, really – and consequently my author page could really do with some attention. If you would like to give it some, it can be found here. Thanks!
So, to summarise, I’m very happy with how my marketing strategy has progressed so far; very happy indeed. But is it all working, you might well ask. Because you can have all the Twitter followers in the world, articles in national press, blogs on highly-regarded websites, but it don’t amount to a hill of beans if you aren’t selling any books. Well - yes, is the simple answer. In addition to all of the above, I’ve just run a promotion for Watermelon on Amazon, and as we speak, it is the number 1 most popular book in Kindle teenage fiction. Result!
I’ll take one at a time, and explain where I am with it and why:
1 - Ensure that at least one of my books is featured on an online review website
I didn’t realise it at the time, but this is quiet a toughy. Many review sites just don’t review self-published books, which is a real shame – for everyone concerned – in my opinion. But anyway, I am delighted that the wonderful Author Alliance reviewed Someone Different, and awarded it a fantastic five-star review.
I also came across a lovely review on Chicklish for Someone Different, quite by accident. This is another great site, and well worth a browse.
2 - Notify my local press and convince them my books are worth a mention
Well, unexpectedly, I received an email from Sam Gould, who writes for The Independent’s arts’ blog. Sam interviewed me about my books, and the wider issues they relate to, and produced this superb article which appeared on the The Indepedent’s site in April.
In addition to this national media interest, I did also feature in our local press, and the piece that appeared in The Sheffield Star can be found here.
3 - Be guest blogger for other well-respected literary websites/organisations
As you can tell from the number of blogs on here, blogging is something that often slips down my priority list ... well down, if I’m honest. However, I was incredibly pleased to be guest blogger for the awesome children’s writer Wendy Storer, and I enjoyed producing a piece regarding the dilemma of writing realistic, but optimistic endings.
I was also honoured to have a series of blogs featured on the esteemed Cornerstones Literary Consultancy’s page. Two pieces have appeared so far – How easy is it for a self-published book to make a splash, and From Manuscript to Book. More posts are planned for the near future.
4 - Respond to every review I receive on Amazon
I started off well with this, but admit I need to catch up on some of the more recent ones. I would like to stress though, that I am so, so grateful for every single review I receive. I appreciate readers’ comments more than they will ever know, and cherish every review.
5 - Organise a competition as soon as the books are available in paperback
Tick! Wendy and I gave away an amazing Kindle Fire back in June. The competition, offered through our writing co-operative, Applecore Books, involved people reading through our opening chapters and answering a question. We were thrilled to send out the Kindle Fire to the young winner.
6 - Persuade at least one of my local Waterstones to hold an event
Yep, did that one as well! A huge thanks to Waterstones, (Park Lane, Meadowhall) for hosting my book signing event at the beginning of June, and an even bigger thanks for inviting me back to do another one in the run-up to Christmas. It really was a great experience, and an invaluable opportunity to speak to book buyers.
7 - Triple (minimum) my following on Facebook and Twitter
50/50 on this one. My twitter following (@kate_hanney) has grown organically, and is now approaching 2,000. I’m really grateful to all my followers for their support, and especially to those who have tweeted to say they’ve bought my books and reviewed them.
Facebook; not so much. I don’t push it as much as I should – well, not at all, really – and consequently my author page could really do with some attention. If you would like to give it some, it can be found here. Thanks!
So, to summarise, I’m very happy with how my marketing strategy has progressed so far; very happy indeed. But is it all working, you might well ask. Because you can have all the Twitter followers in the world, articles in national press, blogs on highly-regarded websites, but it don’t amount to a hill of beans if you aren’t selling any books. Well - yes, is the simple answer. In addition to all of the above, I’ve just run a promotion for Watermelon on Amazon, and as we speak, it is the number 1 most popular book in Kindle teenage fiction. Result!
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