What have you tried?

[Brian]

What kinds of promotion campaigns have you engaged in? Was it good/bad? How much work did you do for the event? What was the return on your investment? Would you do it again?

I'm trying to get an idea of what everyone has experienced while trying to promote their works. I took part in a critique event recently that was a lot of fun. I had to use a couple of hours here and there to craft the posts to the format of my blog. This resulted in quite a bit more traffic to my website, but not many people checked out my writing on wattpad. I have found that I can stimulate a similar traffic flow to my website by simply posting daily updates to my blog. I have found that posting links on facebook and twitter twice a day also help to increase traffic. I try not to post promotional stuff too often. Mostly just when I have new stuff for people to look at.

[Dawne]

I tried asking for beta readers on my fansite, which turned out to be a bad idea. I was hoping to get a wide variety of people, instead of just fans of a particular genre or fellow writers. It turns out only avid readers would want to beta-read someone's story that had nothing to do with their fandom.

[Brian]

Finding beta readers can be tough. I have a few that have volunteered, but I worry about people who would start reading it then stop and never finish. I know a few who would definitely read the whole thing because they devour books in days. They love the Kindle Unlimited.

[Deborah]

I'm using a local reading club - who loved my first book. When they are done - they're discuss it as a group and I can visit and discuss my new novel with them.

[Brian]

@Deborah Let us know how well that works for you! Dies the group routinely recommend books to their friends/relatives?