Thursday, December 22, 2011

Free Stuff!!!

So is everyone sick of reading about me? I know I am. Turns out I’m not the best at pimping myself. I felt embarrassed if I tweeted more than once a day about my book so I didn’t. And reading all the nice things my fellow bloggers have written about this book and my characters has kept me in a perpetual state of blush….

Or that could be all the red wine I’ve been drinking.

So this is not about Got Game? Or my new website… www.stephaniedoyle.net... Or a shameless effort to get people to come to our website by offering free stuff. (Okay it’s a little about that.)

What it’s really about is finding out what works for readers. We all know advertising is a crapshoot. I can tell you my Goodreads Ad to date is a total failure. 66,000 views, only 18 clicks. So maybe the cover is wrong, or the title isn’t interesting, or my “blurb” sucks. Right now those are intangibles I can’t change – but I can learn from.

But in terms of using social networking I am curious if there may be a trend out there. I can tell you I had an experience where I was following an author who tweeted about her book because the price was reduced along with the link to buy it. From one tweet to the “click here to buy” to my Kindle in seconds. I loved that! Anything that makes buying simpler is a good thing. Anyone else buying books directly from Twitter?

And who doesn’t like free stuff? But would rather have a better chance at a small thing? Like a free book or a gift certificate? Or do you want to take your chances in a big contest like the one the Knight Agency ran where you could win an iPad?

Speak people! To this end I’m offering a $20 gift certificate on Amazon.com. I can’t figure out how to give a free eBook away – but a gift card I can do. And since I’m tired of this being all about me – I’ll be pulling randomly from any comments left from today – all the way through the new year to January 5th.

So for folks busy around the holidays who don’t have time to check the blog and leave a comment you’ll have plenty of time to catch up in the new year.

Stop by, read some other blogs completely unrelated to my book, leave a comment and win a chance at a $20 gift card from Amazon. Or B&N if you are a Nooker and would prefer that.

I have learned there is a way to email a gift card… fabulous. Absolutely fabulous.

8 comments:

Eileen said...

It's rare that a book makes it onto my TBR list from just an announcement or an advertisement. It tends to be a review or an interview that will spur me to take action. Unfortunately, those are getting harder and harder to get. :-(

Stephanie Doyle said...

Eileen - I'm with you but I find I'm running out of authors and recommends.

I need to start just trying more stuff.

Fortunately DWT - gives me good recommendations.

Maureen McGowan said...

I might have bought straight from a tweet... but not from an author I'd never heard of... Only from a friend or author I already knew.

Marketing a book is such a daunting thing and I'm in awe of the authors I know who've been really successful doing it all themselves. **bowing down to Stephanie**

Tez Miller said...

Aw, you're so sweet to give a giftcard :-)

Anonymous said...

Hi Stephanie,

I have bought a book based on a tweet, and having a kindle has definitely prompted me to buy more books. What turns me off from a new author is when she clogs my tweet feed or facebook page with updates every second.

I have also bought several books based on a blog post because I thought that author was funny or insightful.

That being said, it all comes down to the writing for me. If I love the book, I'll buy everything she's ever written...even if she's obnoxious on twitter and FB.:)

As far as free stuff, that does not effect my buying power at all.

Just a pre-published/avid reader's opinion.
Best of luck with your new book.

Rogenna Brewer said...

Can't say I've bought a book from a tweet, ever. I'd need a secretary to keep up with all the social media out there.

If the first time I'm hearing of an author is online I'll check out amazon.com first, then the author's website and blog.

Eli Yanti said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Eli Yanti said...

ouch can't use an amazon gift or barner, can the gift change to order book from bookdepository ;)

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