C.R. Misty's Blog, page 3

September 8, 2015

Using Goodreads Paid Advertising

C.R.Misty, the author of the International Boundaries Series | Book 1: Simple Affair and Book 2: Deeply Bound, writes about using Goodreads paid advertising.

This summer I published my first romance novel, Simple Affair. I worked on this blog, my social media channels, and contacted my personal networks to get the news out that this book had been published. Working on the above was the start to my own marketing campaign, and now that I have completed that, what’s next?
Well starting this week I will begin to run my first paid online advertisement. I have never ever paid for my own marketing because I am a do it yourself kind of girl and working on a tight budget. I have been an author for a few years and after observing the efforts of others and seeing what works and what doesn’t, I decided to take my first step with paid advertising thru Goodreads.
The reason that I picked the Goodreads platform to go with first is because it is a social media site that focuses on readers and books. They reach the exact online users that I want (users that love to read) and they have tools that allow me to focus marketing efforts on specific users, for example, people who love to read romance.
This week: My advertisement will go live on Goodreads. I am starting with a small amount to see how the tool works and be able to monitor the activity on the ad.
I have included a few screen shots of what the campaign set up looks like on Goodreads.
The first image shows you the selection for setting your budget and on the right side of the screen you can see what my ad will look like once it goes live on Goodreads.





The second image shows the targeting that I can do. I have checked off specific genres that relate to the novel, so my ad will focus on readers who like reading those genres.

The Update: My Goodreads campaign has been live for ten months now and this is what I love about it. I love that every day Goodreads will email me an analytic's report on how many views, clicks and the cost per click that the advertisement has produced. I love the fact that investing money towards the ad is quick and easy. I also love how I have the ability to go in an edit the advertisement at any time and I have done this a few times with adjustments to the wording, changing my targeted audiences as well as changing the URL link that the ad will direct too. It also has a feature to pause the ad if needed which I had used in order to give myself time to adjust marketing strategies.

The only challenge I see with this kind of ad is that I am paying for a small space on the Goodreads website. The advertisement typically posts on the right side of the page and partway down so its not immediately visible in comparison to a banner that features at the top of the page.

The Results: My ad trends at between 300 and 500 views daily, however the click ratio is under 1%. I think it is amazing that I am receiving all of the views and the challenge is converting the views to clicks and what I have done to try to improve the percentage is to make changes to the ad, publish it and monitor the results by reviewing the analytic's.

If you are also on Goodreads be sure to check out my profile here and say hello.

About the Author: C.R. Misty is currently writing a romance trilogy. Her first book, Simple Affair is available online at Kindle, Nook, Kobo, ibook, inktera, OverDrive, Amazon& Createspace

Pre-order her second book, "Deeply Bound" now on Amazon and this title will be auto-delivered to your Kindle on June 23, 2016!
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Published on September 08, 2015 07:18

The Campaigning Continues: Using Goodreads Paid Advertising

Hey guys so we are in September. Boo! Wow, I love summer and hate to see it come to an end but with every end comes a new beginning and I am doing my own personal first.
This summer I published my first romance novel, SimpleAffair. I worked on this blog, my social media channels, and contacted my personal networks to get the news out that this book had been published. Working on the above was the start to my own marketing campaign, and now that I have completed that what’s next?
Well starting this week I will begin to run my first paid online advertisement. I have never ever paid for my own marketing because I am a do it yourself kind of girl. I have been an author for 3 years and after observing the efforts of others and seeing what works and what doesn’t, I decided to take my first step with paid advertising thru Goodreads.
The reason that I picked the Goodreads platform to go with first is because it is a social media site that focuses on readers and books. They reach the exact online users that I want (users that love to read) and they have tools that allow me to focus marketing efforts on specific users, for example, people who love to read romance.
This week my advertisement will go live on Goodreads. I am starting with a small amount to see how the tool works and be able to monitor the activity on the ad.
I have included a few screen shots of what the campaign set up looks like on Goodreads.
The first image shows you the selection for setting your budget and on the right side of the screen you can see what my ad will look like once it goes live on Goodreads.
The second image shows the targeting that I can do. I have checked off specific genres that relate to the novel, so my ad will focus on readers who like reading those genres.

That’s it for now. If you are also on Goodreads be sure to check out my profile here and say hello.


About the Author: C.R. Misty is currently writing a romance trilogy. Her first book, Simple Affair is available online at Kindle, Nook, Kobo, ibook, inktera, OverDrive, Amazon& Createspace

Pre-order her second book, "Deeply Bound" now on Amazon and this title will be auto-delivered to your Kindle on June 23, 2016!
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Published on September 08, 2015 07:18

August 30, 2015

Will This Coupon Work?

Will this coupon work? Will people use it? Will they want to? Will they trust that I am only trying to promote my book? Will they think I am selling crap by giving away a coupon? Will they care? Will this coupon work?
I have a coupon, a Smashwords coupon, it’s nothing and everything. No cost to the curious, it is nothing for them to take a chance because I have a coupon and they don’t need to spend money. It is everything to me to give away my book for free and hope that they will be compelled to write a review.
I am an unknown author. I have my will power, my drive, my motivation, myself. I have a story to tell, to share. I have hope that someone will read it, like it and share it.
I have a coupon and here it is, coupon: BQ45A. Use it on Smashwords.
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Published on August 30, 2015 06:27

June 14, 2015

How to Add a Twitter Feed to a Blogger Blog in 4 Steps


C.R.Misty, the author of the International Boundaries Series | Book 1: Simple Affair and Book 2: Deeply Bound, writes about how she added her twitter feed to a blog.

I added my own twitter feed to my blog (Blogger) and wanted to provide my steps taken because the instruction that I had used had a few steps missing, likely because it was outdated. (The most recent Instruction was from March 2014)





Step 1: Log into twitter then click settings then click widgets, click create new. From this view you can configure what you want your widget to look like and there is a preview pan to show the appearance. For mine I used the tab "User timeline" I checked options "Exclude replies" and "Auto-expand photos" I chose the default height "600px" and my theme is "Dark" I left the color link as Default blue.



Step 2: Once you are happy with the appearance of the widget click "Create widget" and this will create some code that you use to copy and paste into your blog.


Step 3: Now leave that twitter page open for the moment and open a new window and log into your blog.


Step 4: Log into your blog then click Design then click layout, click Add a Gadget. Ensure you are on the Basics tab and scroll down until you see HTML/JavaScript and click the plus (+) sign. from this view you will see a title box and content box and what you do is go back to that twitter page that you kept open and select the code, copy it and then go back to you blog page and paste the code into the content box.--> Click Save and you are done!



Thank you for visiting this blog


About the Author: C.R. Misty is currently writing a romance trilogy. Her first book, Simple Affair is available online at Kindle, Nook, Kobo, ibook, inktera, OverDrive, Amazon& Createspace

Pre-order her second book, "Deeply Bound" now on Amazon and this title will be auto-delivered to your Kindle on June 23, 2016!
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Published on June 14, 2015 07:32

4 Steps on How to Add a Twitter Feed to a Blogger Blog


C.R.Misty, the author of the International Boundaries Series | Book 1: Simple Affair writes about how she added her twitter feed to a blog.
I added my own twitter feed to my blog (Blogger) and wanted to provide my steps taken because the instruction that I had used had a few steps missing, likely because it was outdated. (The most recent Instruction was from March 2014)





Step 1: Log into twitter then click settings then click widgets, click create new. From this view you can configure what you want your widget to look like and there is a preview pan to show the appearance. For mine I used the tab "User timeline" I checked options "Exclude replies" and "Auto-expand photos" I chose the default height "600px" and my theme is "Dark" I left the color link as Default blue.


Step 2: Once you are happy with the appearance of the widget click "Create widget" and this will create some code that you use to copy and paste into your blog.


Step 3: Now leave that twitter page open for the moment and open a new window and log into your blog.


Step 4: Log into your blog then click Design then click layout, click Add a Gadget. Ensure you are on the Basics tab and scroll down until you see HTML/JavaScript and click the plus (+) sign. from this view you will see a title box and content box and what you do is go back to that twitter page that you kept open and select the code, copy it and then go back to you blog page and paste the code into the content box.--> Click Save and you are done!



Thank you for visiting this blog


About the Author: C.R. Misty is currently writing a romance trilogy. Her first book, Simple Affair is available online at Kindle, Nook, Kobo, ibook, inktera, OverDrive, Amazon& Createspace

Pre-order her second book, "Deeply Bound" now on Amazon and this title will be auto-delivered to your Kindle on June 23, 2016!
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Published on June 14, 2015 07:32

How to Add a Twitter Feed to a blog


C.R.Misty, the author of the soon to be published series, International Boundaries | Book 1: Simple Affair writes about how she added her twitter feed to a blog.


I added my own twitter feed to my blog (Blogger) and wanted to provide my steps taken because the instruction that I had used had a few steps missing, likely because it was outdated. (The most recent Instruction was from March 2014)

Log into twitter then click settings then click widgets, click create new

From this view you can configure what you want your widget to look like and there is a preview pan to show the appearance. For mine I used the tab "User timeline" I checked options "Exclude replies" and "Auto-expand photos" I chose the default height "600px" and my theme is "Dark" I left the color link as Default blue.




Once you are happy with the appearance of the widget click "Create widget" and this will create some code that you use to copy and paste into your blog.

Now leave that twitter page open for the moment and open a new window and log into your blog.

Log into your blog then click Design then click layout, click Add a Gadget. Ensure you are on the Basics tab and scroll down until you see HTML/JavaScript and click the plus (+) sign. from this view you will see a title box and content box and what you do is go back to that twitter page that you kept open and select the code, copy it and then go back to you blog page and paste the code into the content box.--> Click Save and you are done!

 
If you enjoyed this article, I invite you to subscribe to this blog by submitting your email address at the top left of this page.


Thank you for visiting this blog
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Published on June 14, 2015 07:32

Why Authors Love Votes On Their Books

C.R.Misty, the author of the series, International Boundaries | Book 1: Simple Affair and Book 2: Deeply Bound, writes about why she thinks authors love votes and why they are important for their books.

You are either a writer that has stumbled upon this post or a reader or even someone with a marketing background looking to find a snippet of what's being done to promote. Authors love votes because online websites where books can be published have voting systems built in for readers to vote for books that they like. Some of the sites that do this are KindleScout, Wattpad, and Avon Romance. More votes will increase a books visibility and on some sites could even help the author in gaining a publishing deal.



Avon Romance is a site that also operates under is HarperCollins. This site is a voting one geared specifically to the romance genre. The writer can post their work, either as draft or a complete novel and if a reader likes the story they vote by giving a heart.



Wattpad is a site that is geared for users to write, read and share stories. Readers can vote and comment on the author's work.



Kindlescout is a site geared for kindle users that is from Amazon. It is a voting site just as the others only this one allows writers to submit their books to the site, a sample is made available on the KindleScout website and readers can vote if they like the book. The book sample has 30 days to obtain as many votes as possible and the books that have the most votes when their voting period is over has the chance of gaining a publishing deal through KindleScout.

I encourage you to try out these sites to see what works best for you as a reader and a writer. I also want to mention that these sites also have other perks, some have forums, some have their own news page and some have tools to help authors in gaining specific feedback on their stories. Have a look and explore.

Happy Reading & Writing <3

About the Author: C.R. Misty is currently writing a romance trilogy. Her first book, Simple Affair is available online at Kindle, Nook, Kobo, ibook, inktera, OverDrive, Amazon & Createspace

Pre-order her second book, "Deeply Bound" now on Amazon and this title will be auto-delivered to your Kindle on June 23, 2016!
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Published on June 14, 2015 07:06

Why Authors Love Votes & Why They are Important for Their Books

C.R.Misty, the author of the soon to be published series, International Boundaries | Book 1: Simple Affair writes about why she thinks authors love votes and why they are important for their books.


You are either a writer that has stumbled upon this post or a reader or even someone with a marketing background looking to find a snippet of what's being done to promote. Authors love votes because online websites where books can be published have voting systems built in for readers to vote for books that they like. Some of the sites that do this are KindleScout, Wattpad, and Avon Romance. More votes will increase a books visibility and on some sites could even help the author in gaining a publishing deal.





Avon Romance  is a site that also operates under is HarperCollins. This site is a voting one geared specifically to the romance genre. The writer can post their work, either as draft or a complete novel and if a reader likes the story they vote by giving a heart.








Wattpad is a site that is geared for users to write, read and share stories. Readers can vote and comment on the author's work.







Kindlescout is a site geared for kindle users that is from Amazon. It is a voting site just as the others only this one allows writers to submit their books to the site, a sample is made available on the KindleScout website and readers can vote if they like the book. The book sample has 30 days to obtain as many votes as possible and the books that have the most votes when their voting period is over has the chance of gaining a publishing deal through KindleScout.



I encourage you to try out these sites to see what works best for you as a reader and a writer. I also want to mention that these sites also have other perks, some have forums, some have their own news page and some have tools to help authors in gaining specific feedback on their stories. Have a look and explore.



Happy Reading & Writing <3
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Published on June 14, 2015 07:06

Why authors love votes & why they are important for their books

C.R.Misty, the author of the soon to be published series, International Boundaries | Book 1: Simple Affair writes about why she thinks authors love votes and why they are important for their books.

You are either a writer that has stumbled upon this post or a reader or even someone with a marketing background looking to find a snippet of what's being done to promote. Authors love votes because online websites where books can be published have voting systems built in for readers to vote for books that they like. Some of the sites that do this are KindleScout, Wattpad, Avon Romance, and Authomony. More votes will increase a books visibility and on some sites could even help the author in gaining a publishing deal.

Authomony is a site from HarperCollins. It allows writers to post their writing to the site and it doesn't matter if it is a book that is currently being written of if it is complete. Users of the site can vote for a book by rating it through giving it a star review. Users can also give feedback to the writer.



Avon Romance  is a site that also operates under is HarperCollins. This site is a voting one geared specifically to the romance genre. The writer can post their work, either as draft or a complete novel and if a reader likes the story they vote by giving a heart.


Wattpad is a site that is geared for users to write, read and share stories. Readers can vote and comment on the author's work.


Kindlescout is a site geared for kindle users that is from Amazon. It is a voting site just as the others only this one allows writers to submit their books to the site, a sample is made available on the KindleScout website and readers can vote if they like the book. The book sample has 30 days to obtain as many votes as possible and the books that have the most votes when their voting period is over has the chance of gaining a publishing deal through KindleScout.


I encourage you to try out these sites to see what works best for you as a reader and a writer. I also want to mention that these sites also have other perks, some have forums, some have their own news page and some have tools to help authors in gaining specific feedback on their stories. Have a look and explore.

To follow posts from this blog please subscribe by email at the top left of this page.

Happy Reading & Writing <3
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Published on June 14, 2015 07:06

June 12, 2015

How to Make Advertisements with a $0.00 Budget


C.R.Misty, the author of the soon to be published series, International Boundaries | Book 1: Simple Affair, and Book 2: Deeply Bound, writes about creating image advertisements.

I save money where I can. Expenses can quickly add up when you are trying to market a product. You are passionate about what you are selling and you want the best you can give to allow your product the most visibility as possible. Are you with me?

Okay! So this is what I did :-)

I wanted to create image advertisements to use on various social media sites and I needed to do this with a small budget. I could have used a stock image site to purchase some stock images but the only thing with that besides costing a bit of money is that those images are re-sold, so the chances of it being used elsewhere is likely. It was important to me to have images that were unique, so what do you think I did? I got creative and did it myself.

I sense some rolling of the eyes, that obvious. Let me elaborate. ^.^


I created adds to promote my new Romance Novel that was featured on Kindlescout for the month of March. You can still view the submission on KindleScout.

The images that I would have loved to have had would have been a sexy male & female model locked in a heat of the moment scene. Sure, I could have used a stock image but again I wanted the advertisements to be unique. So in recognizing that I had limitations I got creative and recognized what I did have to work with.



I have a camera, I have a computer with photo software and I have a home full of things. In working with little to no budget this is what I mean, get creative, figure out and focus on what you have. Maybe you don't have a camera, but do you have a smartphone? Maybe the objects in your home weren't what you had in mind and you really wanted sexy models, then I urge you to think hard! Maybe you have sexy neighbors?



Well in case you don't have sexy neighbors who would agree to a photo shoot there are other ways to get sexy. Take that book turned movie, “50 Shades of Grey”. Do you remember the book covers? A grey tie on one, handcuffs on another and a fancy mask :-)

I knew I couldn't get the sexy neighbors, err I mean models, so I looked around my home for things. I didn't have handcuffs either and besides with the 50 Shades movie just come out, I didn't want to be a copy cat.

I took a picture of my dirty vacuum for one image, I took pictures of my travel luggage and camping gear for another and I also snapped a few images of my dog, doesn't sound sexy does it? Well, I attached words to my adds to help make sense of why an image was being used. In some instances these phrases could be perceived as double meanings. My humor isn't for everyone and that's okay, the other thing that was important to me is I made adds that I was happy with and for me these adds are silly hints at sexy.



The trick is that whether you are making advertisements for romance novels or for selling tacos or car tires, you have yourself as the creative energy, the objects around you and words! Words can be used to covey a simple message or used for double meanings or humor or maybe even to get your audience to think. My advice is to take advantage of the amazing resources that you have and have fun!

Good luck and I hope that I was able to get your creative juices flowing and p.s. I shared the adds that were mentioned in this post.

If you enjoyed this post please be sure to subscribe by email (top left of page)



C.R. Misty’s new book was featured on KindleScout for the month of March and the revised book with new title and cover can be viewed on Wattpad. If you enjoy her work please show your support by voting for the chapters on Wattpad.

About the Author: C.R. Misty is currently writing a romance trilogy. Her first book, Simple Affair is available online at Kindle, Nook, Kobo, ibook, inktera, OverDrive, Amazon & Createspace

Pre-order her second book, "Deeply Bound" now on Amazon and this title will be auto-delivered to your Kindle on June 23, 2016!
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Published on June 12, 2015 19:39