An Exercise in Reader Hunting

[Gamal]

Hello everyone. I just wanted to share the results of my recent marketing experiment. I hope you find something in my experience that helps your publishing goals.

http://bit.ly/1xo6QPV

Have fun.
Gamal

[Caroline]

Interesting, thanks for that.

[Justin]

Hey Gamal,
Thanks for sharing. Glad to see you working hard. I would say you hit the nail on the head, you didn't make sales but you did what you said and got potential readers which is a good start.

I was just getting back into the groove of promoting and marketing and this article of yours was just the thing to let me know how some things work and others don't. I''ll definitely consider taking some of what you said within but I'm no smooth operator like you haha.

[G.T.]

My approach has been quite different and doesn't include any social media or free downloads. I targeted non-Internet book clubs. To date my novel Juror 1389: Dorsie Raines Renninger is on the reading list of ten clubs with 8-10 members each. I've been invited to all ten as a guest speaker. I arranged through the club facilitators to offer a discount to members who purchase 1389 from me. I've dropped shipped from CreateSpace with no problems and have received $$s from the club facilitators for books purchased. I may not have reached a wide readership but what I did accomplish was verifiable SALES. I do a happy dance outside the bank before I walk in to deposit my self-sell profits. The book club members who have finished reading 1389 are now my word-of-mouth sales team. Their recommendation to family/friends has spread out to many states. I also know through a verifiable self-sell sales that I'm an international selling Indie Author. I'm happy.

[Gamal]

Thanks for the positive feedback Caroline and Justin. I'm glad you enjoyed the article. :0

G.T., how did you go about finding the book clubs you contacted? Is there a central resource for finding offline groups? I'd be interested in exploring your approach, especially since you sold 100 books and had direct interaction with your fanbase, but I have no idea how to get started.

Thanks in advance.
Gamal

[Dwayne]

G.T. wrote: "My approach has been quite different and doesn't include any social media or free downloads. I targeted non-Internet book clubs. To date my novel Juror 1389: Dorsie Raines Renninger..."
Thanks for sharing your "boots on the ground" approach to selling books. Another more traditional approach to keep in mind.

[G.T.]

Gamal wrote: "Thanks for the positive feedback Caroline and Justin. I'm glad you enjoyed the article. :0

G.T., how did you go about finding the book clubs you contacted? Is there a central resource for finding ..."

I'm fortunate that I live in a large retirement community (100,000 residents)in central Florida with many book clubs. Again, boots-on-the-ground method. I made a strategic decision to seek out beta readers who belonged to book clubs. Since my novel's backstory was pulled from the Casey Anthony trial (still a hot topic here in FL) word spread. Also, my family up North ferretted out "book club people" and did a targeted book-hook pitch. My suggestion would be a simple one -- Ask everyone you know if they belong to a book club or know someone that does. Seek them out. Do your pitch. Hand over a freebie. Get info on who to contact or ask them directly to present your book to the club as a "book to read". Also, your local library is a great resource. They're very familiar with book clubs and members who use their services. One of our local libraries actually purchases a block of books for the sole purpose of lending to book clubs.

[G.T.]

I replied to the above but it's not showing up. I'll give it some time and if it doesn't show up I'll repost.

[G.T.]

Gamal wrote: "Thanks for the positive feedback Caroline and Justin. I'm glad you enjoyed the article. :0

G.T., how did you go about finding the book clubs you contacted? Is there a central resource for finding ..."

This may end up being a duplicate post.
I'm fortunate that I live in a retirement community in central FL (100,000 residents) with many book clubs. I made a strategic decision to seek out beta readers who belong to book clubs. Since my novel's backstory is pulled from the Casey Anthony trial (still a hot topic in FL) word spread and a pre-publication buzz started. After publication and book launch party the boots-on-the-ground-word-of-mouth kicked in big time. Additionally, my family up North ferretted out "book club people" and did the book-hook pitch and handed over a freebie to individuals they knew would read 1389. (I'll be combining family visits with speaker invites in PA and DE in early 2015.)

My suggestion to finding book clubs is simple. Ask everyone you know if they belong to a book club or know someone who does. Get info. Seek the individual out. Get info on who the "Queen Bee" is then hand over a freebie. Ask them if they'll purpose your novel as a "book to read" to the club after they've finished reading it themselves. Also, go to your local library. They're usually familiar with book clubs and members who use their lending services.

[Theresa]

Thanks for sharing your approach G.T. I will have to ask around and see what book clubs are going on in my area. That might be another way into things.

Theresa