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How to run a giveaway on Goodreads?
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David
(last edited May 29, 2015 08:46PM)
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May 29, 2015 08:45PM
So I've published my first book and I have some copies I'd like to giveaway, but I want to make sure the giveaway is effective. Have any of you ran a giveaway and how did it go? Do you see your sales rise or fall during the giveaway? What are sales like after the giveaway ends? Any information would be greatly appreciated!
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Despite the advice of GR, I agree with some advice I got elsewhere: do one or two copies at a time, and run more than one giveaway for a book. I also ended up (after an experiment in running one world-wide) limiting to US. International postage is ruinously expensive. Of course, if you are not in the US, you are stuck. You have to draw in that audience.
Share the giveaway on your social media, and in the appropriate parts of your groups (i.e., don't spam the main discussions, but do list them in the author's corners and "pimp your book" sections). Some groups have running threads for giveaways and free books. Use them. Most of the people who see it will be other writers, but you never know who will spot your book where.
Good luck!
David, my experience is similar to Rebecca's. For my last book, I ran a giveaway for 5 books. I had a little over 500 entries. I got 2 reviews. Based on conventional wisdom at the time, I ran a 2 day free on Kindle immediately after. Guess how many took advantage of it? That's right - 500. I felt like a dupe.On my latest book, I ran a 10 book giveaway and got 500 again. So far, 5 weeks after sending, I've gotten only 1 review. (Incidentally, all reviews have been 4 or 5 stars with glowing recommendations). In both, I did all the pumping that conventional wisdom recommends, in GR and elsewhere.
Neither giveaway appears to have bumped the rate of sales. I was waiting another week before posting my experiences in the various GR groups to which I belong and post, but this gave me the opening to start here.
Mod
But yeah, that GR advice about doing 10 books is bad, in my opinion.
Rebecca, thanks for the encouragement. With my first book, the reviews came within 3 weeks and it's twice the length (and just as readable :)).I'm trying to be patient. I can't be the only one who thinks that my market is just sitting and waiting with baited (?) breath for each of my books to reach them. I fantasize that they grab the package from the mail handler, rip it open on the way back into the house and begin immediately to read it in a state of rapture. But, don't we all?
I'd agree that giveaways do not result in many sales or reviews. However it does mean that a few hundred people know about you and your book, who didn't before! That can't be bad. I usually only give one book away, but I don't limit the countries. I had a nice review on my first book giveaway but I didn't receive reviews for the other two, but that wasn't really my goal. It's so hard to get your writing noticed that anything helps and, who knows, Alex, one day you may be so famous they will rip open your package to get to your latest book!
I submitted my book giveaway before I got any responses so I'm going to end up giving away 10 copies to people in the U.S. Next time, I'll lower the number, but go international. Thanks for the ideas. I think the best thing is the exposure. No one knows about my book because I'm putting it out there on my own. Every day is a new learning experience. Here's my next question... What about advertising on Goodreads? Is that effective?
Mod
BTW, when I did an international Giveaway with, I think, 10 books, I ended up sending I think 5 of them out of the country. That cost me about $60 in postage. Just so you know.
Rebecca, same exact thing happened to me. Ten books? $90 in postage. Each thing is a learning experience. What I wanna know, though, is am I learning at a fast enough rate to get where I want to be in time? I'm not so sure, but it sure is a great ride.
Mod
I avoid expectations, so every success is a pleasant surprise :)
Thank you everyone for all these useful tips. It's taking me ages to find my way around Goodreads and following threads like these certainly helps. My experience with running a Giveaway on my first book (Ante's Inferno) was very similar - very expensive postage and only 2 of the 5 winners put up a review. Still, 2 is better than none and a few hundred people heard about the book who hadn't before! I'm interested in the advice of doing more than one giveaway - with my next book I might do this, offering 2 copies this time. Possibly limit it to UK only - has anyone else done this?
Mod
How does a Giveaway work? If 500 people enter, how do you decide who gets the books? Do you chose the winners yourself or are they chosen randomly by some sort of search engine?
Graham, GR does it for you, from some kind of algorithm they have designed. It's not pure random. They send you the names and addresses.
Hi Alex, thanks for the heads-up. I'm hoping to do a Giveaway shortly and this question has really been bugging me.
Mod
It's about getting the book into the hands of people who will read it and review it... not about making money on your first books.... You need a reputation, a following, some credibility before you can fully expect to be getting sale up ticks. Check out my social media and follow me so I will know where to follow you.
https://www.facebook.com/Thiteen.Shan...
https://www.pinterest.com/carennedy/t...
http://shannonpeel.tumblr.com/
https://plus.google.com/u/0/
and of course here on GoodReads.... Don't forget that!
Shannon, I'm disillusioned with the GR Giveaway program. I gave away 10 of my newest book and got only 2 reviews. My last one, I gave 5 and got only 2. Now, maybe the recipients would rather give no review than a bad one, but the rest of my reviews on Amazon and elsewhere are pretty good.
One odd thing: there were 534 entries (or so - going from memory) for the last one and 536 (or so) for the latest one. Seems awfully close to be a coincidence, but anything's possible.
I am a reader who has won a few giveaways. I am a librarian and apply for giveaways that interest me both personally and for my student patrons. My reading list is lengthy and time is short. So, there has been a fair delay in the time between receiving my giveaways and my reviews every time. However, I checked the box saying I agreed to the terms of the giveaway, so it never occurred to me NOT to write the review. Sorry some folks do that.The other thing is- I DO find out about titles in which I'm interested by browsing giveaways. I often cross reference a promising title on Follett and/or amazon and end up adding it to my school collection cart or amazon cart. So, that's another perspective.
Kat wrote: "I am a reader who has won a few giveaways. I am a librarian and apply for giveaways that interest me both personally and for my student patrons. My reading list is lengthy and time is short. So, th..."That's good to know. I hope my book looks interesting, and I'm running my giveaway again. I ordered too many copies for myself, so I figured, I can send out 10 more. I haven't got any reviews from the first run, but some bloggers have come through with some reviews, and so far, my book is being well received.
O.K. Is Great
Kat, hate to highjack this thread, but reading that you are a librarian raised a question in my mind. Are you aware that the ALA and its subsidiaries refuse to consider Indie books for review or even mention? This is true for both their printed journals and their websites. I've objected to them for over two years, but it falls on deaf ears.
Mod
Alex, this has long been an issue for those of us who have chosen to self-publish. On the one hand, I understand: they would be inundated, and sadly many indie books aren't up to snuff (time and money are limited for the ALA as for all of us). On the other hand, it would be nice if there were some means of getting past that, because a review or even a mention would be a huge boost. Without that, you just can't get into libraries unless you know someone (I'm happy I know someone, but can't get beyond the local library that way).
Rebecca, it's beginning (beginning?) to look like the ALA higher ups are stuck in the "guild" mentality. Do they not see the tidal wave of change in the publishing business? Granted, a lot of Indie books are not up to par (as are some "guild"-backed books, sadly), but someone has to propose a model by which the ALA can accommodate them. I tried, but never heard anything and, being an Indie of no particular note or celebrity, I wasn't surprised. You'd think that they'd see a huge market of Indie authors themselves and the many support businesses that serve them.
I haven't run a giveaway, but four online forums say that an average of 750 people will enter a single book giveaway over the span of one month.
