eBook Promoters ~ The Best & The WorstWRITTEN BY: JACKIE WEGER - MAY• 03•15
eHow to choose a book promoterYou have done everything right for your book. You wrote it, you had it edited and proofed, the cover is sensational. Now you have to sell it, or at the very least, drum up some exposure and get it in front readers.
Here at eNovel Authors at Work we rate promoters.
eNovel keeps a Preferred List and on the Preferred List, we have Above the Fold and Below the Fold. On Above the Fold are promoters to whom we always submit. Below the Fold are promoters we like and trust, but sometimes do not deliver as well as hoped. If a single author reports dreadful results with a promoter, we note it. However, at least three or more authors have to report less than stellar results for a promoter to drop below the fold. When that happens, we look at everything: Weather. Was the Northeast blanketed in snow and sleet? Events. Was there a disaster somewhere in the world that kept everybody glued to their televisions? What about the book description? Did it capture the essence of the book? Did the author promote the book in the wrong category? We also evaluate author expectation. A best-selling author may see 800 downloads with a particular promoter. A newish indie author with only one or two books and no following may only see 80 downloads. Also, the BS author may have bought the featured slot. The new indie author may be on a tight budget. Placement is everything. You cannot fault the promoter for that.
What makes a good promoter?
The single most important caveat eNovel insists upon is knowing who we are doing business with. If a promoter won’t tell us his or her name, we
Nothing but facts
#eNovAaW
don’t do business with them. We check Alexa. You can go right here and put the analytic on your toolbar for free. Every time you visit a site, tick the Alexa Logo on your toolbar. If a promoter only has a newsletter Alexa won’t rank it. That is when you contact the site administrator and ask if the subscribers are organic? How many subscribers are authors? Readers? What is the newsletter’s click through rate. The site owner knows.
Here is the type of promoter that does NOT get on eNovel’s Preferred list:
Fake button on a book. Actual Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,537,537
At **** we are proud to be one of the most popular book marketers. Our background is in the book industry, so we have a real love of books and a knowledge of what authors and readers want. Our social media promotions, newsletters and book trailers can help to drive sales and generate buzz for a book or eBook. We have a combined audience of over 130,000 people but we have kept our promotions affordable as we know that many authors don’t have a large marketing budget. Twitter followers 136K.
Sounds great. But is it, really?
Let me check. Whoa! Neither of the two books the site is promoting and are in the newsletter have an Amazon sales rank. Oops. Not a single sale. One title is 21 pages long, priced at 2.99. The other, 77 pages priced at 4.99. And that “we are proud”line. Who the heck is “we?” because they ain’t saying. The Facebook banner features two best selling books, but those authors are NOT clients of the site. And the site is NOT among the most popular book marketers. That is pure hype. Second, it is Bait and Switch to lure a less than savvy indie author to part with $$$. The Alexa rank is awful and books page has only 19 sites linking in. Compare that to eNovel: 167 sites linking in. And we don’t sell anything on this site. We share information. That is it. Notice that the audience is ‘people’ NOT readers. NOT subscribers. Twitter follower lists can be bought.
Here are just a few Above the Fold promoters on our Preferred List: We know them. We talk to them. They work with us to help us reach our goals.
Choosy Bookworm. The Fussy Librarian. Free & Bargain Booksy. People Reads.eBook Soda. Butterfly. Readfree.ly. Bookstastik. fkbt.
You will find more listings on our Useful Links pages. eNovel will name more of our Preferred promoters next time. And, share more ehow so you can decide if a promoter is right for you and your book. Also next time: What we have learned about Goodreads and Amazon Campaigns so that you can do two things:
Way Out-house
Plus 344 crossover sales on the author’s other titles. Figures to April 30. If you browse our author pages, very often in comments you will see promotion results. Here is one on a KCD.
Founder, eNovel Authors at Work
I’m Jackie Weger. I don’t know it all, but I know what I know. I learn something new every day.
I don’t have wisdom. I own something better: Perseverance. Lest you think I jest, I once outwitted
a bushmaster curled up in an outhouse. I did not move for two hours. Not an eyelash. Moving on. I never like to leave you without encouraging indie authors to install this little gem RIGHT after THE END in your book:
Thank you for taking the time to read [title]. If you enjoyed it, please consider telling your friends or posting a short review. Word of mouth is an author’s best friend and much appreciated. Thank you, [author name].
Does it work? Yep. Readers posted above 1000 reviews on my titles in 2014, my first full year of indie authorship.
Comments Welcome. Be nice. If you cannot be nice, be articulate. That works for me.
eHow to choose a book promoterYou have done everything right for your book. You wrote it, you had it edited and proofed, the cover is sensational. Now you have to sell it, or at the very least, drum up some exposure and get it in front readers.
Here at eNovel Authors at Work we rate promoters.
eNovel keeps a Preferred List and on the Preferred List, we have Above the Fold and Below the Fold. On Above the Fold are promoters to whom we always submit. Below the Fold are promoters we like and trust, but sometimes do not deliver as well as hoped. If a single author reports dreadful results with a promoter, we note it. However, at least three or more authors have to report less than stellar results for a promoter to drop below the fold. When that happens, we look at everything: Weather. Was the Northeast blanketed in snow and sleet? Events. Was there a disaster somewhere in the world that kept everybody glued to their televisions? What about the book description? Did it capture the essence of the book? Did the author promote the book in the wrong category? We also evaluate author expectation. A best-selling author may see 800 downloads with a particular promoter. A newish indie author with only one or two books and no following may only see 80 downloads. Also, the BS author may have bought the featured slot. The new indie author may be on a tight budget. Placement is everything. You cannot fault the promoter for that.
What makes a good promoter?
The single most important caveat eNovel insists upon is knowing who we are doing business with. If a promoter won’t tell us his or her name, we
Nothing but facts
#eNovAaW
don’t do business with them. We check Alexa. You can go right here and put the analytic on your toolbar for free. Every time you visit a site, tick the Alexa Logo on your toolbar. If a promoter only has a newsletter Alexa won’t rank it. That is when you contact the site administrator and ask if the subscribers are organic? How many subscribers are authors? Readers? What is the newsletter’s click through rate. The site owner knows.
Here is the type of promoter that does NOT get on eNovel’s Preferred list:
Fake button on a book. Actual Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,537,537
At **** we are proud to be one of the most popular book marketers. Our background is in the book industry, so we have a real love of books and a knowledge of what authors and readers want. Our social media promotions, newsletters and book trailers can help to drive sales and generate buzz for a book or eBook. We have a combined audience of over 130,000 people but we have kept our promotions affordable as we know that many authors don’t have a large marketing budget. Twitter followers 136K.
Sounds great. But is it, really?
Let me check. Whoa! Neither of the two books the site is promoting and are in the newsletter have an Amazon sales rank. Oops. Not a single sale. One title is 21 pages long, priced at 2.99. The other, 77 pages priced at 4.99. And that “we are proud”line. Who the heck is “we?” because they ain’t saying. The Facebook banner features two best selling books, but those authors are NOT clients of the site. And the site is NOT among the most popular book marketers. That is pure hype. Second, it is Bait and Switch to lure a less than savvy indie author to part with $$$. The Alexa rank is awful and books page has only 19 sites linking in. Compare that to eNovel: 167 sites linking in. And we don’t sell anything on this site. We share information. That is it. Notice that the audience is ‘people’ NOT readers. NOT subscribers. Twitter follower lists can be bought.
Here are just a few Above the Fold promoters on our Preferred List: We know them. We talk to them. They work with us to help us reach our goals.
Choosy Bookworm. The Fussy Librarian. Free & Bargain Booksy. People Reads.eBook Soda. Butterfly. Readfree.ly. Bookstastik. fkbt.
You will find more listings on our Useful Links pages. eNovel will name more of our Preferred promoters next time. And, share more ehow so you can decide if a promoter is right for you and your book. Also next time: What we have learned about Goodreads and Amazon Campaigns so that you can do two things:
- Make the best possible decisions for your books.
- Get the best results for your promotion budget $$$.
Way Out-house
Plus 344 crossover sales on the author’s other titles. Figures to April 30. If you browse our author pages, very often in comments you will see promotion results. Here is one on a KCD.
Founder, eNovel Authors at Work
I’m Jackie Weger. I don’t know it all, but I know what I know. I learn something new every day.
I don’t have wisdom. I own something better: Perseverance. Lest you think I jest, I once outwitted
a bushmaster curled up in an outhouse. I did not move for two hours. Not an eyelash. Moving on. I never like to leave you without encouraging indie authors to install this little gem RIGHT after THE END in your book:
Thank you for taking the time to read [title]. If you enjoyed it, please consider telling your friends or posting a short review. Word of mouth is an author’s best friend and much appreciated. Thank you, [author name].
Does it work? Yep. Readers posted above 1000 reviews on my titles in 2014, my first full year of indie authorship.
Comments Welcome. Be nice. If you cannot be nice, be articulate. That works for me.