By a bit of good timing, there was a blogfest on Monday called the Online Marketing Symposium. Lots of different writers gave their two cents about what works and what doesn't. Although I knew some of these tips already (like Goodreads ads being worthless while being a part of Goodreads itself is valuable) these dedicated bloggers gave me much food for thought.
Roland Yeomans made the good point that you have to identify your audience and target them. Not only does this make for more efficient marketing, but it gives you insights into what your audience wants. I've been hanging around on various post-apocalyptic reading groups, both on Goodreads and other places, and I've noticed there's a hunger for PA books that don't involve zombies or aliens. That might stand me in good stead because in Radio Hope, the survivors are dealing with very human mistakes and consequences.
Master blogger Alex Cavanaugh has some good tips about virtual book tours. He's said it all before, but good advice bears repeating.
Sandra Almazan has an interesting post on price pulsing--temporarily lowering the price of your book and advertising the hell out of it. Her post is well worth reading in its entirety.
The Insecure Writers Support Group was one of the few blogs to mention conventions. In this Internet marketing age many writers forget how valuable face-to-face marketing can be. Luckily for me, Worldcon is in London this year so I'm attending! I'll be on some panels and will be sure to have plenty of my books on hand.
Another important piece of advice that most bloggers gave--write the next novel! If your readers like one of your books, make sure there's something else of yours for them to read.
So, my blogging friends, what do you think I should do to market Radio Hope? I'm participating in a bunch of post-apocalyptic boards, doing a virtual book tour, will do the usual Twitter/Facebook/rally-my-friends stuff, and am busy writing the next in the Toxic World series. Any suggestions would be highly appreciated!
