Welcome Jori Sams, author of several independent books with an article about ebook marketing.
One night I was lying in bed some months after I returned from six months traveling in Europe. Some of the colorful people I had met were dancing across the recesses of my imagination. In a dream-like state I imagined a little girl full of wide eyes and wonder, taking in all she had seen while traveling. This overwhelm stretched beyond the recent explorations into her past.
I thought I would bring her to life there. What was born was Li’l Lingo. She likes adventure, music and rhyme. To date there are four books in the making, with dozens more waiting to come to life. What is needed is time. While promoting one book, I have not the time to create another.
In the meanwhile, I have given myself a strategy in eBook marketing that I would like to share. One of the most important things is to spend the right amount of time in each venue and after around six months of the big push, let it go and get back to writing.
I am right about in the middle. After creating the English-only version of Li’l Lingo, I had to update all of the media files and graphics and upload the eBooks to the vendors like Amazon, Barnes and Noble and my own website.
I keep updating my website, too, by advertising all that is going on and keeping my subscribers and social network friends abreast. Each week I post up at least two new blogs, to keep my site fresh. I share those pieces with the aforementioned. I post my events in Goodreads. I post pics up to Pinterest.
Once my social networking is done, I check in with my writers forums and look for any current topics that interest me and keep up with my chats. These are great avenues to get the skinny on what’s hot or ask for expert advice. You don’t have to spend hours doing each of these, but it is certainly possible! If you are budgeted for time, then set realistic goals. Reach for a post a day on each social network or forum. Or give yourself a time limit of 1-2 hours a day doing these things, etc. You must first decide what your time budget allows.
Marketing eBooks is not easy. It is not fast. It is a time investment and a never-ending process. You will gain savvy as you go, and a feel for where is the best place to spend your time. It is good practice to keep searching for friends, but it will actually save time to choose your friends wisely and find your niche market.
This is going to require surfing around and reading page after page until you find the market you are looking for. Most writers will confess how tedious self-promotion is, and how often they struggle with the feeling of overwhelm or defeat. Those who have self-published eBooks will tell you it is very, very hard to sell books. Today there are around 1,000,000 eBooks being self-published every year, and the market is growing.
If you are trying to get reviews, be patient! Reviewers are bogged down with piles of offers. Many are rejecting eBooks because of their low quality. Make yours shine above the rest. Find yourself at least a good copy editor before uploading. Offer some giveaways or connect with those blogs that will push a giveaway for you. Don’t be in a hurry. And above all else, keep your chin up and enjoy your journey. The first step is the hardest.
