March 2020: Using Twitter to advertise

Last year I ran an advertising campaign for my novels on Twitter, which proved surprisingly popular. The premise was simple. Every second week I’d feature one book each day, a single tweet consisting of a quote from a reader’s review (without listing the book title or author), a non-preview link to where it could be purchased, and the book cover. The USP (or unique selling point) was that the quotes used would never be repeated. Every second week brought an entirely fresh batch, and the campaign ran for many, many months. Earlier this year, however, the inevitable happened. I ran out of juicy quotes.

This was not my only campaign however. You may be aware that each month I offer one of my books to download for free. These ads, which I pin to the top of my timeline and only seldom retweet, start with a brief bit of blurb, include a snippet from a review if space allows, explain that the download is free, and end with a preview-type link that shows a bit of the cover as well as just about listing the title. They are notoriously difficult to write. I have only 280 characters to work with, a good portion of which will be taken up with the link; the blurb needs to reflect what the book is about and draw readers in; the quote needs to make sense grammatically when used out of context while still fairly representing the overall tone of the reviewer and the review. It’s a big ask of anyone, and I am quietly proud of what I regularly achieve.

So what of the future? I recently ran a poll on Twitter, asking if I should start my quote-led campaign over again. The results were not entirely unanimous, but I’m pleased to report that 92% were in favour. At some point this year I shall definitely run it again. In the meantime, I’m giving a lot of thought to a suggestion by Mark Rogers: make use of the historical elements in the novels. Quite how this would look and how it would work I have yet to figure out (given that I like my campaigns to have uniformity), but it’s certainly an intriguing prospect and one that I shall certainly explore.

Which brings me to this month’s giveaway, as March sees the start of Gooseberry’s rotation of books. It’s a set of cozy historical whodunnits set in the 1850s, featuring characters who first appeared in Wilkie Collins’s The Moonstone, most notably Octavius Guy (Gooseberry), a 14-year-old reformed pickpocket who fancies himself a detective. There are now four books in the series: The Case of the Thieving Maharajah, The Case of the Throttled Tragedienne, The Case of the Mendacious Medium, and The Case of the Quibbling Cleric—known respectively as Gooseberry, Octopus, Big Bona Ogles, Boy!, and Oh, No, Octavius! If this sounds like your cup of tea, now is the perfect time to give the series a try. While you’re at it, why not follow Octavius on Twitter @sendforOctavius. Read his daily musings from 1853!

Gooseberry: Octavius Guy & The Case of the Thieving Maharajah (#1). Fourteen-year-old Gooseberry once helped solve the mystery of the Moonstone. Now fate is about to throw him a new case, sending him sleuthing round the Victorian capital once more. Offer ends on March 31st 2020. You’ll find links and details on my website.

“I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and can't wait to read another of Mr. Gallagher’s mysteries. Forget Sherlock Holmes, send for Octavius Guy!”—Brittney L. Divine, author, Smashwords Reviewer (5 stars)


Happy reading!

Michael


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