Below are two screen shots of my checklist for organizing an Advanced Reader Copy Campaign.
I would only add one final suggestion -- which I learned the hard way:
Be sure to put a disclaimer in the beginning of the book and right at the end if this is an advanced copy. I say this because if you offer the book early and then fix a few additional typos or anything else, the readers can forget that the book they just read was an advanced reader copy. Some readers can get a bit snotty in their reviews if they find these typos that get through! I think by having a little disclaimer that this is an early copy and not the final published copy, it may be a gentle reminder to the readers that whatever typos they saw were probably corrected in the final copy.
I know it's hard to see the details on these pictures. There is a download link at the end of the page, after the next video. Sign up, download a 8.5 x 11 pdf of this two page instructional and cheat sheet.
Now that you have a generic marketing calendar, it's time to assemble your toolbox. These are the things you will want to have close by when it's time to dedicate an hour or two to marketing.
First into the toolbox is a graphics program. I used to use Photoshop, but since I retired from work, I now use Gimp because it's free. I try to do everything as free as I can because I devote all monies spent on producing my books on an editor and paid book ads that work. I say 'ads that work' because many of them don't. More on that in the next few blog posts.
I used to use Hootsuite, but it got too expensive and I couldn't see enough in their desktop area. I switched to using a Microsoft Excel sheet. This allows me to continue to just Right-click and add a row above, so it is easy to build out the calendar. Within 6 months, I had about 4 to 6 daily marketing ads to post everyday. I find this the easiest.
Along with the 72 dpi book cover, you will need short blurbs about your book or books. Starting at about 150 words, keep whittling the blurb down until you have several blurbs with the last one being about one sentence (for Amazon ads).
Copy and paste any and all purchase links for your book. Be sure to keep track of which merchant each link belongs to. Besides the purchase links, you may want to keep the paperback and hardcover links handy -- you never know!
Most younger people know what hashtags are. If you're a boomer like me (hee hee), you may need to brush up on what hashtags are. Go to YouTube and search out videos explaining hashtags. Someone will explain them to you.
When I self-published my first novel, I finished it and uploaded it and waited. That's when I learned how important marketing the book is. I also learned through the next several books how important it is to take advantage of each tiny phase of a book launch for marketing. That's what this blog post is about.
It all begins when you get the book back from the editor. Make all the changes in the eBook within two to three days after receiving it from the editor.
After the edits are done, its now time to list it as a pre-order on Amazon and/or as an ARC copy.
Don’t get impatient and offer the eBook before the last edit. I was told to do this and make "use" of the time the editor had the book. However, I paid the price for this, and it's a tall price, one that follows me forever.
Recruiting ARC readers can also be a marketing strategy because who doesn’t like freebies & giveaways? Giveaways and Freebies have a way of capturing everyone’s attention. With a great eye-catching graphic, this can create interest and general buzz about your upcoming book.
It all sounds good. How do I do it?
My website and millions of other websites are built on WordPress. WordPress is a platform and many coders release what are called plug-ins. They give different functionalities to the website.
Go to bookfunnel.com and sign up for an account. Here is a screen shot from the first page. I've fiddled with it to show the actual address and the logo, but it will look similar to this picture here.
The Books Tab keeps track of the eBooks you have uploaded and how many downloads there have been. There are drop-down links (in the orange boxes) to edit your books information and also to reupload copies.
Do you want to be a published author and work with a leading publisher? Or do you want the freedom of self-publishing? Either way, you will need to learn to do at least some book marketing.
Don't worry if you are camera shy or introverted. The type of book marketing I'm suggesting here is for introverts. People who have these big boisterous personalities don't need anyone to help them gain a readership. Social media was designed for the extroverts -- even the narcissists!
It's important to be clear that when building an email list, that email list is your readership following. You may have free book searches who get on your list, and they may unsubscribe after a month or two. But the readers who like your books and look forward to hearing from you will remain loyal to you. You are cultivating a following. You need to see marketing as a slow and steady way to build this readership and maintain a monthly or bi-monthly contact with them.
I used Photoshop in the past, which is a great tool. They have a subscription where you get to use the latest tools in their whole suite of products, but the price starts at $50 a month. When I was doing web design, that was fine. But now I'm retired and I'm on a fixed income; so now $50 a month is no longer okay!
As a self-published author, all marketing for my books falls to me. I can outsource it, but that costs money too. I have figured out, after publishing 11 novels, where my money is best spent. The answer is on line-editing, which costs between $400 to $500 or more depending upon how long your book is.
Two of the most popular websites to give away or sell your book is through bookfunnel.com and siteoriginapp.com. These two companies offer the opportunity to join other authors in featuring your book. Everyone has a 'share date' and they share the promotion with their newsletter list and also with their social media following. It's a win/win for everyone.
Log into your KDP account at Amazon and click on the tab for Marketing. Your first choice will be to choose between a sponsored ad or a lock screen ad.
Once I finished my first Novel, Groomed for Marriage, I launched it on BookFunell to give it away in order to build a reader list. My expectations were low; I would have been happy to have given away 50 copies. Well, to my astonishment, I wound up giving away over 600 copies of the book. These are people who chose to sign up to down the full book for free.