Bloggers - the good, the bad and the ugly

[[deleted user]]

Finding bloggers to review your books can be downright disheartening or reversly, encouraging. I have had some bloggers who were happy to receive my book to review, great guys. On the other hand, there is one guy who thinks that theres a conspiracy if he receives a book for free (lucky guy - how many people can say they have received anything for free) What sort of experiences have you had?

[Bronwen]

I think this is a super idea. Some romance authors I know, grouped together to tweat and facebook and promote each other. I have heard that many readers don't like it when an author sings their own praises but when others do it, it doesn't look like bragging. So I think cross-marketing is key to building a wider range of readers. Cross genre promotion doesn't appear to be a probelm.

[Charity]

I've had the most luck with Library Thing giveaways. My books have landed in the hands of several book bloggers this way.

[Catharina]

Since I write paranormal romance, there are enough bloggers out there who enjoy reviewing this genre. And that's a good thing since paranormal romance (both erotic and non-erotic) is what I write. :-)

Only my Of Vinegar and Honey series is a contemporary romance, but it still has something magical - faith healing. Sort of.

I have notice, though, that many bloggers prefer printed books to review. I don't know why that is. Anyway, I avoid those.

[Harry]

I think its great that bloggers review books. But I wonder how useful it is to rely on them. There are so many book blog that many of them get very few visitors. And the good bloggers are booked up for months in advance.

The problem for serious indie authors is how to get our work noticed amongst all the noise. I'm not convinced that blogs, or blog tours are a sustainable solution.

I like Bronwen's idea. I'd happily join in a cross-promotion activity. This coming week is likely to be the biggest of the year for book sales, particularly ebooks with all those shiny new kindles being unwrapped.

[Catharina]

Harry, the best marketing for anything is target marketing, and blogger reviews is target marketing for indie authors. Amanda Hocking has openly said her success is due to bloggers.

People who are a member of and read blogs are already in the right mindset and just need to find out where they can spend their hard-earned money.

Mark Coker of Smashwords had done a survey and was surprised that 47% of the 206 respondents chose the following:

1) "Recommendations from fellow readers on online message forums, blogs and message boards," with 29% of respondents choosing this."

The second is name brand - i.e. your name. I know this to be true since a lot of my sales come from my readers from free online sites (I know this because they let me know when they buy).

I would suggest to all authors to post their work on free online sites like Storiesonline.net (for all erotic stories) and Finestories.com (for non-erotic).

Both sites are moderated by the same man, Lazeez. He publishes your stories quickly (usually within a couple of hours) and takes them down just as quickly.

Through feedback you'll learn what takes and what doesn't while readers participate in helping you polish up your story as they send suggestions/advice while at the same time. Your work gets "peer reviewed" as they get a taste of your writing. This helps you with name recognition.

Cross-marketing is an excellent idea as well.

[Catharina]

Oops! Forgot the links. You can find my post on it including links, on my blogspot: http://catharinashields.blogspot.com/

Storiesonline: http://storiesonline.net/home.php

Finestories.com: http://finestories.com/

[Candace]

I agree with the whole cross marketing as it is a great way to get your name out there and hopefully attract a few readers. I am not sure how many readers you need for the word of mouth snowball to kick in. I am not even sure if that snowball really exists or if it is just a writer's holy grail.

[Johnny]

I also have a blog on blogging tips http://johnnysblogtips.blogspot.com/
that has a large archive of tips on how to blog, and it might give everyone some tips on how to blog.

[Catherine]

I think we should embrace the world of blog reviews, because while there are so many sites, most of them do keep to specific genres and topics so we can target our audience.

I recommend you email a book to silvertonguereview@att.net

They accept PDFs and will post your review on all the major social networks, and across 5 bookstore websites of your choice. I know a few people who have had reviews from them and the service has been very professional. I am awaiting a response for my own request.