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An Easy Way to Promote Your Book: Goodreads Giveaways
Posted by Mimi on November 1, 2019Whether you want to break out your debut book, keep the momentum going with your latest release, or rekindle interest in an older title, Goodreads Giveaways is here to help. Authors and publishers use Goodreads Giveaways as a creative way to promote their books to potentially millions of readers, add an element of excitement to their marketing, and help readers introduce their books to friends.
We designed Goodreads Giveaways to deliver several marketing benefits to authors:
Help build your audience and discovery of your book:
- Giveaways are shown in the popular Giveaways section of Goodreads, where readers can discover new books.
- Your giveaway is prominently displayed on your book page on Goodreads to help your title gain more entries to your giveaway and keep building the audience for your book.
- Your followers on Goodreads and anyone who has already added the book to their Want-to-Read list automatically get notified about your giveaway.
- Everyone who enters your giveaway automatically has the book added to their Want-to-Read list on Goodreads. This builds an audience of people interested in your book on Goodreads and provides opportunities to engage with them in the future, e.g. when the book goes on sale, if you share Kindle notes and highlights about your book, etc.
Help drive reader-to-reader discovery:
- Learning about a book through a friend is one of the most powerful forms of discovery. Every time a Goodreads member enters your giveaway and your book is added to their Want-to-Read list, an update is shared in the newsfeed of that person’s friends and followers, introducing your book to even more people.
- About eight weeks after your Giveaway ends, winners receive an email from Goodreads to remind them to rate and review your book. This will help other readers discover and decide to read your book too.
Choice of format - print or Kindle ebooks:
- You can offer up to 100 copies (either print book or Kindle ebook) in a Goodreads giveaway.
- Print books are often preferred by winners who like to post a photo of the book in social media. You are also able to include a personal note and signature in your print book for additional excitement around your giveaway. Authors and publishers are responsible for the cost of the books and mailing them to winners.
- With our Kindle Ebook Giveaways option, you no longer have to spend time and money mailing books to winners as Goodreads handles the distribution for you. Another benefit is that winners immediately receive the book upon winning the giveaway, allowing them to start reading (and talking about) the book much sooner. This option requires a Kindle Direct Publishing account.
- PRO TIP: The Kindle ebooks are included in the giveaways listing price (there is no additional cost to you) so you may want to choose 100 copies to get the book into the hands of as many readers as possible.
All of the above benefits are included in the Standard package which costs $119 (either Kindle ebook or print book). The Goodreads Giveaways program is open to your choice of U.S. and/or Canada residents.
EXTRA BENEFITS IN OUR PREMIUM PACKAGE
The Premium package gives you even more chances to personally connect with readers. For $599, in addition to all the benefits of the Standard package, you receive:
- Exclusive “Featured” placement on the highly-trafficked Giveaways homepage with millions of visitors each month, helping to give your giveaway significantly more visibility and potentially more entrants.
- A message written by you to readers who entered but didn’t win, giving you the opportunity to connect directly with readers interested in your book and potentially convert their interest into purchase.
- PRO TIP: Consider a limited time offer for your book immediately after your giveaway ends as a thank you to those who entered and a reason to buy now.
Get started with your Goodreads Giveaway. Click here to learn more.
BONUS TIPS TO GET MORE OUT OF THE GOODREADS GIVEAWAY PROGRAM
To help you get the most out of your giveaway, here are five tips:
1. Maximize the exposure for your book by running the giveaway for 30 days.
Since the goal of your giveaway is to gain as much awareness as possible, take advantage of all the time your book can be shown to potential readers.
2. Get the word out about your giveaway.
Don’t forget to promote the giveaway yourself! It gives you a fun reason to talk about your book again. Share the link to your giveaway on your website, via your newsletter, and your social media accounts. Link to your giveaway at the end of any excerpts you create online. Just before the giveaway ends, promote the giveaway again so people don’t miss their chance to win.
3. Run multiple giveaways in advance of publication.
If you have budget, a series of giveaways can fuel continuous buzz for your book, building readers’ anticipation. Many authors and publishers start running giveaways over six months in advance of publication. With each giveaway, you may grow the number of readers invested in your book launch. It also helps to keep your book top of mind among readers as Goodreads emails those who entered previous giveaways, letting them know about the next one.
4. Giveaways aren't just for new books.
A giveaway for an older book can be run anytime to rekindle interest in an older title or be used to cross promote your next book. It can also re-engage the audience you have already built to start reading your book.
5. Craft your giveaway description based on reader feedback.
You have around 150 characters to hook people in. That’s the amount of copy shown for each giveaway on the page listing current giveaways. But you’re a writer and we think you’re up to the challenge! Think about the words that will prove irresistible to readers and drive them to click “view details” to learn more about your book. If this is your first giveaway, study the descriptions and reviews of similar books and see what piques customers’ interest.
PRO TIP: Look at how people who have read and reviewed your book already are describing your book and use that as your guide when writing your description and choosing the genre.
6. Complete your bio on Goodreads.
The first few lines of your bio get pulled onto the unique landing page for your giveaway, along with a “Follow Author” button to allow readers to stay up-to-date on your activity on Goodreads. We recommend making your bio personal and friendly, while drawing attention to any previous success. For inspiration, see Lauren Blakely, Mike Omer, and William P Young.
Do you have more tips for giveaways? Please share your tips in the comments!
Comments Showing 101-150 of 170 (170 new)
If my book is in KU am I allowed to offer an ebook in the give away?
I did a giveaway that generated a list of 388 people wanting to read my offering, and 100 were selected by Goodreads. I understood that the 100 selections would be reminded after two months to review and rate a giveaway book. So far, out of the 100 readers, six have responded with a rating and/or review. Is this a typical response?
E.A. wrote: "In the article above, it says that the cost of the Kindle ebooks is included in the list price of $119. Am I missing something? My books list for $3.50 each so if I gave away 100 ebooks, the cost w..."If you are giving away Kindle Books (which do not cost anything to produce), you are essentially not losing any money. By giving away 100 books, you will just miss out on $350 revenue. No additional out of pocket costs besides the cost of the giveaway promotion.
Tricia wrote: "If my book is in KU am I allowed to offer an ebook in the give away?"Yes you are!
Samantha wrote: "Charging money for Giveaways transforms completely the concept of Goodreads. This used to be a place for real readers and real authors, a place for independent publishers to show their work. Now is..."Have you heard of Online Book Club? Give it a look.
The website states that your book is placed on the To Read shelf of everyone who enters the giveaway. My giveaway had almost 1500 people enter, yet the chart on my page shows that only about 400 people have it on their To Read shelf. Why is that??Also, I was under the impression that we would be able to know and contact all the people who entered the giveaway. Apparently that's only true if you pay $599, is that correct? Can someone answer this question?
I can't answer your questions Anthony, but I wouldn't be the least bit surprised. Giveaways are all about Goodreads (Amazon) making money, and with very little to do with actually promoting your book. Let's face it, what interest do they have in that? I am sure you won't have too much difficulty giving away 1500 copies of your book without paying Goodreads for it. There are numerous book groups on Facebook, use Twitter and there are many who offer book promotion (some excellent, some dreadful). Best of luck.
My advice after spending $600 on Goodreads Giveaway is don't do it. I sent 50 books across the US and Canada to the winners and got approximately 4 reviews from the recipients. It costs me hundreds of dollars to package and ship the books for no return. It's been many months and with the lockdown, you'd think people would be reading and to show some respect for the author by at the very least submitting a review considering they got a $16.95 book for free. Not nice and never ever again will I do a giveaway.
Anthony wrote: "The website states that your book is placed on the To Read shelf of everyone who enters the giveaway. My giveaway had almost 1500 people enter, yet the chart on my page shows that only about 400 pe..."Hi, Anthony. I have done quite a few goodreads giveaways. Yes, you should have received a list by now of those who won. You should receive it the second the giveaway ends. You have to click on a particular link (I forget what it is) in the email they send you. And yes the book is supposed to land on each winner's to-read list, so not sure why this is not the case. Perhaps you could get in touch with a goodreads librarian. Good luck!
I am a UK writer, but have chosen Amazon.com as my primary market for my last two e-books (published via KDP). You say Goodreads Giveaways are only open to US and Canadian authors. Would having my primary market as Amazon.com make me eligible, despite my living in the UK?I have another three e-books for sale via another publisher. That contract will soon be ending, and I plan to republish under my own imprint for Kindle via KDP, so the Goodreads Giveaways would be very useful for these also.
I look forward to hearing from you. Best wishes.
Hi, Tracy. I am not exactly sure about the UK, as I'd not heard that Goodreads Giveaways were not inclusive. But if you do a Goodreads KINDLE giveaway (as opposed to physical copies) I'd imagine it would be exactly the same as having a giveaway in the States or Canada because the books are computer generated. I recommend asking a Goodreads Librarian. They are there to answer your questions. Good luck to you and your writing endeavors!
Leslie wrote: "Hi, Tracy. I am not exactly sure about the UK, as I'd not heard that Goodreads Giveaways were not inclusive. But if you do a Goodreads KINDLE giveaway (as opposed to physical copies) I'd imagine it..." Thank you, Leslie, I very much appreciate your advice. Like you, I think there shouldn't be any problem, but I thought it best to make sure. I'll find a Goodreads Librarian. Thanks again.
Tracy wrote: "Leslie wrote: "Hi, Tracy. I am not exactly sure about the UKHi Tracy, Authors can be located in the UK or anywhere else as long as they can ship to the winners from wherever they are located if it is a print giveaway. The Kindle giveaway automatically sends the book to the winners. It is the entrants who are limited to US for Kindle and US and Canada for Print Giveaways (depending on which countries is chosen when listing the giveaway).
Tracy wrote: "Leslie wrote: "Hi, Tracy. I am not exactly sure about the UK, as I'd not heard that Goodreads Giveaways were not inclusive. But if you do a Goodreads KINDLE giveaway (as opposed to physical copies)..."No worries.
Thank you, Mimi, it was as we hoped. We will be trying the Giveaways, certainly for the e-books. It's a brilliant idea. Thank you again for your help.
Well, the response to my Goodreads Giveaway (Belinda Fellgate: The Kiss of Flauros) was fantastic - better than my wildest dreams. It doesn't end until 19th December, and I've already had 142 entries. NOW comes the PROBLEM. I have been contacted by readers who follow my work telling me that their reviews on many of my titles are disappearing. They have complained only to be fobbed off by Amazon with NO explanation given. I complained to KDP and Customer Services only to have MORE reviews taken down. KDP say this isn't their problem, and - up to now - Customer Services refuse to reply. So, despite an apparently successful Giveaway, what is the point of my donating money to Amazon only to have their review team sabotage the results? I have complained again and will update on this thread. But, for now, it looks as though it is pointless wasting money on Giveaways.
An update on my Goodreads Giveaway. I wrote to Goodreads and received a message from a lovely lady who explained that the reviews from Giveaways are placed on Goodreads, not Amazon. So, my fears over Giveaway reviews disappearing are unfounded. I'm very grateful for the guidance given to me by Goodreads. As for Amazon, I spent practically all morning yesterday arguing with Amazon via Chat. I received two more messages - one from Customer Services and one from KDP. These messages were the generic messages that I have received in the past. Amazon clearly does NOT read messages. However, the KDP Community Forum addressed this issue and said that reviews disappearing happens to many authors, and advises to let it go. It said that Amazon does not care about authors (even its own KDP authors), and only cares about customer experience. A strange response, as I was under the impression that authors, too, are customers. So, there it is. Amazon is the giant, and the little people cannot win.
Tracy wrote: "An update on my Goodreads Giveaway. I wrote to Goodreads and received a message from a lovely lady who explained that the reviews from Giveaways are placed on Goodreads, not Amazon. So, my fears ov..."So is the unwritten moral to this, 'dump Amazon KDP and diversify elsewhere?'
Leslie wrote: "Tracy wrote: "An update on my Goodreads Giveaway. I wrote to Goodreads and received a message from a lovely lady who explained that the reviews from Giveaways are placed on Goodreads, not Amazon. S..."I wouldn't dump KDP because Amazon takes a huge chunk of book sales. Some people publish only with KDP. However, I think the moral is not to put all our eggs in one basket.
E.A. wrote: "In the article above, it says that the cost of the Kindle ebooks is included in the list price of $119. Am I missing something? My books list for $3.50 each so if I gave away 100 ebooks, the cost w..."I had the same question. It doesn't look like they've answered you...or did they PM you?
Yes, they eventually answered my question, but their original statement was misleading and they said they were going to change it. The Giveaway promotion does not include the price of the books. They claim that it does because the "cost" of the books is zero. So, you're really paying them $119 to run the Giveaway and giving your books away for free. Personally, I don't think it is worth it.
Has anyone tried this giveaway as an independent author/publisher and been satisfied with the service? And if so which package did you use?
Robert wrote: "Has anyone tried this giveaway as an independent author/publisher and been satisfied with the service? And if so which package did you use?"Hello Robert, we are currently holding a Giveaway, which is due to end on the 19th December. Up to now, we've been delighted with the response. Of course, we have yet to see just how many of the readers leave a review. We have given away Kindle ebooks, as delivery is automatic and quick. Be aware that, should you wish to give physical books, you'll be liable for the postage and packing. For us as independent authors, posting physical copies would be far too costly and time-consuming. Also Giveaways are currently confined to the USA and Canada. Up to now, we are so pleased that we are planning to do another Giveaway in January. Hope this helps.
Shaun wrote: "Hi all, after a huge amount of research we found the marketing value of the giveaways feature underappreciated whilst they were offered at no charge. At the same time, authors and publishers asked ..."
Scott wrote: "Michelle wrote: "The cost for running a giveaway is way too high for those of us who publish independently. We have limited budgets and, if you aren't selling a lot of copies already, it doesn't ma..."Amazon does offer some freebies; quite helpful to upstart (in every sense) authors. Still, there must be some logic to your Giveaways, especially for writers with a beyond-today vision.
Wow, you charge now for me to give away my books? I did Goodreads giveaways with my first book. It worked pretty well then. I do not think I sold any books based on the giveaways, but I did get a few good reviews. I assumed I would do this again with my new book, but it would not pay to do it now that you charge $119. It was so nice when you offered this as a free service to your members. I continue to be a loyal fan of Goodreads, but sadly I will not be doing giveaways.
If an author signs up for the standard giveaway package for $119 and gives away 100 Kindle e-books that are normally priced at $9.95:1. Does the author have to pay $9.95 x 100 to cover the cost of the 100 e-books that are given away, or are those 100 e-books given away cost-free to the author and the only charge is $119 for the standard giveaway package?
2. Do the 100 e-books show up in Amazon’s total of books sold, even though there’s no $ coming in for them? (Example: If Amazon has your book tallied at 500 sold copies and then you do a giveaway with 100 additional copies, would your number of sold copies with Amazon then be tallied as 500 or 600 copies?
Thanks!
Ken wrote: "If an author signs up for the standard giveaway package for $119 and gives away 100 Kindle e-books that are normally priced at $9.95:"Hi Ken, 1) The ebooks are cost-free to the author and the only charge is $119 for the standard giveaway package. 2) The ebooks do show up in Amazon’s total of books sold. I hope this helps!
I'm suspended in the moment. Flickering images faded with age, frozen thoughts hovering precariously in dead space, a whirlwind of memories
Luna wrote: "How to Get Your Real-Time Opinion in Your Blog or WebsiteContent Ideas are critical for any social media or business site that has an audience. Your content ideas should not only be informative b..."
Excellent advice. Thank you, Luna.
Are these Giveaway ideas/packages purely for US and Canadian readers /authors only as I live in Great Britain?
David wrote: "Are these Giveaway ideas/packages purely for US and Canadian readers /authors only as I live in Great Britain?"Hi David, we did a Giveaway that ended on 19th December and we live in Great Britain. Our Giveaway covered the USA only, but we were able to do it because the Giveaway was a Kindle ebook (which means no costly postage and packing) and we made the USA our primary market. We had an excellent response, but we will not know how successful it has been until people start leaving reviews and ratings. Up to now, only one has left a rating from the Giveaway, so we're looking to mid-February before we can gauge how successful the Giveaway has been. Hope this helps.
"Shaun wrote: "Hi all, after a huge amount of research we found the marketing value of the giveaways feature underappreciated whilst they were offered at no charge. At the same time, authors and pub..."Where on earth does this come from? What research?! Sorry to burst the bubble Shaun, but you have no idea what I or other authors appreciate or don't appreciate. Put your cards on the table and stop trying to pretend this is the result of 'research'. Yourselves saw a way to make some money and you have gone for it. It is as simple as that.
And if you want some genuine research material; the reason I don't appreciate giveaways is that one has to pay out a lot of money with no guarantee of what one gets back. It is currently no better than putting a bet on the horses. Fine if one wishes to take a punt, but that is what it is. Put some guarantees on it and it might be viewed more favourably.
Shay wrote: "I have two giveaways going right now (eBooks) and they are modestly doing okay for the money, I guess. I am concerned about who is selecting my book. Why can't we target specific audience that enjo..."We're sorry to hear that, Shay. We are having a similar experience at the moment. Our Giveaway ended on the 19th December. We had 380 entries and gave out 100 e-books. Up to now, we've had only one rating and no reviews at all. Checking on some of the winners, they have thousands of books listed as "to read". So, what started out as a very exciting time has thus far turned into a damp squib. As a hint, advertise your Giveaway on Goodreads groups that read your genre. That's an excellent way to target. However, we did this, and it seems we only attracted "freebie hawks". We will be doing one more Giveaway - a double award-winning book released in 2012. We don't expect much feedback - clearly that doesn't happen - but at least it means that people will have heard of the title. Sadly, this scramble to get free books by readers who don't read renders Giveaways less attractive. If this sort of thing continues, we can see Giveaways drying up altogether. Best of luck!
As authors we don't need Amazon's permission to give away our own Intellectual Property. And we certainly don't need to pay them to give away our books. Anyone else see the failed logic in paying to give away something you own outright.... Besides that, there is no guarantee anyone will do a review for you. It is a faulty business model as someone has already stated. I would add that it is also misleading.
Two questions -1/ can you run a giveaway on a book that is currently in KU?
2/ do you get a list (preferably email) of everyone who entered, or is there a way to message everyone who entered, after the event.
Thank you!
Judy Hudson
How can I add Editorial reviews from Kirkus or Publishers Weekly to my books on Goodreads? I know how to add these reviews to my Amazon detail pages via Author Central, but is there a place on Goodreads to do the same?
I gave away two of my books. it was received by one who had already received a few giveaways! To hide, the receiver said she got it from an aunt! Would you believe that? When reported, there was no answer.
I ran a giveaway and was thrilled that nearly 900 signed up. I gave away 100 copies of my romcom, Encore With Elon. Now, it's two months later, and I've received 2 reviews. Thankfully, the reviews were great, but there are only 2, so basically I paid $60 per review. I checked on the winner's profiles and discovered most were serial winners, just people who added wins to their shelves and rarely wrote reviews, most don't even appear to read all their wins. Has anyone else had this discouraging experience? Is there a way to get copies to actual readers and reviewers. Thank you!
E.A. wrote: "In the article above, it says that the cost of the Kindle ebooks is included in the list price of $119. Am I missing something? My books list for $3.50 each so if I gave away 100 ebooks, the cost w..."Well, since they didn't reply, I'll let you know they eventually replied to me and said they would be free (as in, I didn't have to cover the 100 copies at my current price). I'm in the middle of a Giveaway, so we'll see, but I have it in writing!
Kendra wrote: "Well, since they didn't reply..."They eventually did reply, but I still found their answer misleading. They say they are covering the "cost of the Kindle ebooks" but they are only providing the "distribution costs" of delivering the books as part of their fee. It is the author who is eating the cost of the ebooks. I liked it better in the old days when Goodreads didn't charge anything to do a Giveaway but the author had to provide the books. I ran numerous Giveaways previously, but haven't done one since they started charging a fee for running the contest.
For a number of my poetry books, I enjoyed the free giveaway option. It was fun to have people enter to win a copy and be added to their "to read" list. I wish you still had the free program, but at least, I can still list my books here. A poetry indie author needs all the help available!
Randi wrote: "I ran a giveaway and was thrilled that nearly 900 signed up. I gave away 100 copies of my romcom, Encore With Elon. Now, it's two months later, and I've received 2 reviews. Thankfully, the reviews ..."Randi wrote: "I ran a giveaway and was thrilled that nearly 900 signed up. I gave away 100 copies of my romcom, Encore With Elon. Now, it's two months later, and I've received 2 reviews. Thankfully, the reviews ..."
This is a fraud.
This is a fraud that is going unchallenged. Goodreads is silent on this for reasons any fool will understand.
Ravi wrote: "This is a fraud that is going unchallenged. Goodreads is silent on this for reasons any fool will understand."And sadly an expensive lesson to learn. :(
My co-author and I ran a Goodreads Giveaway of a Kindle book with 378 people requesting. The Giveaway ended on 19th December, and up to now only one person has rated it (but not reviewed it). Some of the winners have thousands of books marked "to read". We had planned to do another Giveaway of an award-winning book released in 2012 - but have realised that this is a costly waste of time. Until Goodreads enforces winners to review and stops the abuse of what was probably a great idea, Giveaways are dead in the water.
Why don't so many of my fellow authors realise that they can run their own giveaway?You set this up in advance on Amazon. Then you use firms such as Fussy Librarian (though there are dozens of others), to advertise that your book will be free on the ....... etc. Don't forget to also tweet about your free days and inform the various book groups on facebook. You could well end up with several hundred if not a thousand + downloads.
How many will translate into Amazon reviews is very doubtful these days. Many will just take your book becase it is free and for no other reason. Most reviewers will rate on Goodreads and that is all. However, that is all you are getting with Goodreads and this method is much less expensive.
Good luck
Goodreads does appear to be on the route to making itself redundant. Reviews and bloggers don't read the reviewer blogger threads and I am not sure if readers do either, and advertising is now a non-starter. The whole business of getting reviews/ mentioned on blogs and advertising is best done using other social media which is much more cost effective and does reach the right people.