Get Your Book Noticed on
Goodreads & Pinterest
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Disclamer
Any hypos associated with this presentation are
soulely the respectability of Eddie Jones and in know
way refract the quantity of work offended by
Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas or Christian
Devotions Ministries and it’s bored staff.
Goodreads – Good News for Authors
It’s likely you’ve heard of, or already belong to, Goodreads.
Goodreads.com is a site where members create reading lists,
add books they’re reading to their “bookshelves,” participate in
discussion groups, and review books they’ve read.
If you are a writer, you want YOUR book on those bookshelves.
Also, Amazon recently completed the purchase of Goodreads so
now your Goodreads book has the power of Amazon behind it.
How Goodreads Can Help You
As an author, you need reviews by real readers. Goodreads
offers authors on a budget an (almost) free way to get your books
reviewed and noticed via their book giveaway program.
Set Up Your Goodreads Account
https://www.goodreads.com/user/sign_in
Set Up Instructions
(You
can create an account and log in with your Facebook,
Twitter, Google, or Amazon account. I use Facebook.)
Join
under your published name so your author profile name
will match up with your book(s).
Enter
your full published name, email address, and a
password.
“create an account.”
Click
You’ll
need to verify your email address with Goodreads by
checking your email and clicking the link in the email they
send you.
Now
join their author program!
What Can You Do as a Goodreads
Author?
The Goodreads Author Program is a completely free feature
designed to help authors reach their target audience —
passionate readers. This is the perfect place for new and
established authors to promote their books.
What Can You Do as a Goodreads Author?
Control
of Your Profile- add a picture and bio.
Share your list of favorite books and recent reads with your
fans!
Write a blog and generate a band of followers.
Publicize upcoming events, such as book signings and
speaking engagements.
Share book excerpts and other writing.
Write a quiz about your book or a related topic.
Post videos.
Add the Goodreads Author widget to your personal website
or blog to show off reviews of your books.
Promote Your Books
Get the word out! Here are some of the promotional tools
available on Goodreads:
Sign
up to advertise your book to the Goodreads
Community—25 million readers!
List a book giveaway to generate pre-launch buzz.
Lead a Q&A discussion group for readers.
Participate in discussions on your profile, in groups, and in
the discussion forums for your books.
For instructions and tips visit:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/how_to
On this page Goodreads gives you all the info you need to
engage with readers.
How Do I Join?
To
join the author program, you must have a book already
published or be in the process of publishing a book. If so, go to
this link: https://www.goodreads.com/author/program
If your book is already on Amazon.com or BN.com, then a search
will usually pull up all the information you need to create an author
page. Otherwise, you’ll need to manually add your book here:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/new
your book is already published, or you’ve manually
added it, type your published name in the search box.
Assuming
Look
for your book in the list of results. When you find it, click on
the author name, the book title.
to the bottom of the page to find the question: “Is this you?
Let us know.”
Scroll
Click
on “Let us know.”
next page will ask you to confirm that you’re the author of
the book. Enter a message: “Please add me to your author’s
program” (or something of that nature) in the provided message
field.
The
Events
Goodreads Events can be used to promote
events like book launches, book tours and
author appearances and the best part is that
it can be used to give away free copies of
eBooks.
Announce your book launch, blog tour, or
eBook giveaway page on your blog. Add
details regarding your events with a link to
your promotion page on your blog.
Add a New Event
Include the following information for your event:
event
start date *
event end date *
last day to rsvp
event name *
venue/place
event type
website
Address, city, state, postal code, country *
description *
Reminder for people who responded "yes" or "maybe"
list this event in the public listing (until the event date)
anyone can send invites to this event
email me when guests reply
Your New Event
Featured Groups
Featured Groups are a way that authors can interact with
readers and create buzz for their books. Author form a
special Question and Answer group and agree to answer
questions about their books for a period and Goodreads will
help in promoting such groups using its word of mouth tools.
All authors need is a few people to join such groups and
Goodreads takes it from there to make the group go viral
and spread across the Goodreads community. Goodreads
will also help feature these groups in the author and group
section of the site.
Featured Author Groups
Featured Author Groups
Featured Author Groups
Updating Your Profile Page
While waiting for you application to be processed, go to your
profile by clicking on your name in the upper-right corner of
Goodreads. Click “edit profile” to the right of your name. This is
your personal profile. The picture and other information you
enter here will only show up on posts, reviews, and personal
things you do on Goodreads. Post your professional bio and
upload a head shot.
Your author profile is different from your general Goodreads
profile. Create a username so you’ll have an easy Goodreads
URL link to point people to: www.goodreads.com/EddieJones,
for example.
Make sure to enter your blog or website address in the “my
website” field. It will show up with your profile and will generate
traffic.
Edit Your Goodreads Author Profile
Click
on your name in the upperright corner. This will take you to
your author profile.
Click “edit profile” next to your
name.
Make sure all the fields are filled
out, especially your biography.
Save!
Upload your head shot.
When you add your picture you will
be required to link to its source. You
can use your website link or blog,
but you will have to provide the
copyright source link and check the
box stating you have permission to
upload the photo. Then …Upload
the photo.
Add Your Name
Add your:
Name, gender, birth
date, country and city of
birth, bio, influences,
official website, twitter
name, genre1,
(Copyright information
for image)
Add Your Blog To Your Author Profile
If you have a blog, you’ll want to add its RSS feed so it’ll show
up on your Goodreads page. This way you’ll generate some
extra traffic to your blog. This will give your blog an identity
and brand that readers can count on finding in your books. In
other words, if they like your blog, they’ll probably like your
books. You can also host your blog entirely on Goodreads.
How To Add Your Blog
To syndicate your blog on Goodreads, you’ll
first need to find the RSS or Atom URL for
your
blog.
Go
to
your
blog,
http://www.eddiejones.org/category/guest-blog/feed/.
Click
your name in the upper-right corner to go to
your author profile. Click “edit profile” under your
picture, and click ‘add/edit blog.’
On the right look for “External blog feed URL.”
Click “change” if the URL field isn’t showing.
Right-click in the space.
Left-click “paste.”
Check “Show full post” box.
Click the “add feed” button.
Goodreads Giveaways
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/new
List
the length of your giveaway, your title’s ISBN, book’s
release date, number of books to be given away, and a brief
description of the giveaway.
Goodreads
will list (for free) the book on its giveaways page.
Goodreads’ members enter to win giveaways. Many will add
the book to their “to read” shelf. This is the real gold in
Goodreads’ giveaways. Since readers may have lots of books
on their virtual shelves, this is one way for yours to be seen by
thousands of potential readers.
Goodreads reviews the list of those who requested the free
book and selects winners.
Author ships free book to winner.
Listing Your First Giveaway
http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/new
List the length of your giveaway, your title’s ISBN, book’s
release date, number of books to be given away, and a brief
description of the giveaway.
Please explain who you are and who you work for. Please also
provide a valid mailing address that confirms who you work for
so we can be sure you will fulfill the books.
This will not be shown to giveaway contestants.
How Many Books Should You Giveaway
You
only need to offer one copy. We suggest running additional
giveaways rather than offering multiple books during a giveaway.
Let readers know you’ll be providing an autographed
copy. Include the words “AUTOGRAPHED COPY” in all caps at
the top of the giveaway description box. Similarly, if your giveaway
is for an ARC (Advance Readers Copy), say so. Readers love to
have the first look at new titles.
Make your giveaway description compelling. It’s all too easy to
simply copy-paste your back-cover-synopsis into the giveaway
description box. Don’t! If readers want a synopsis, they can easily
click over to your book listing on Goodreads to learn more.
Mention that it’s an AUTOGRAPHED COPY (yes, all caps)
Add a catchy tagline (One Man Stands Between a Destitute
Desert Town and Supernatural Destruction.)
List awards for this book.
List praise from famous authors who endorsed the book.
List links for more info: “Visit www.addyourURL.
Reach Out To Winners & Losers
Reach
out to winners. When your giveaway ends,
Goodreads will send you a notification and a link to click to
view the winner’s name and address. You can also click on the
winner’s name to visit his/her Goodreads profile. Send a
message congratulating the winner and telling him or her when
the copy will be mailed out.
Send book(s) promptly. Deliver on your commitment, and
send the book as quickly as you can.
Pulse your giveaway lengths. Run a giveaway for only 2-3
days. In this way your book will be listed (probably) on both the
newly listed and ending soon pages for the duration of your
giveaway. Readers can search by genre, but many just browse.
By alternating longer and shorter giveaways, you can balance
cost with impact. Many short giveaways in a row may lose their
potency.
Schedule Your Giveaway
Schedule your giveaways to start in the future. Don’t set up
the giveaway and click for it to start immediately. Goodreads
goes through an approval process that can take a couple days.
If they approve your giveaway midday, you will be lumped with
the authors who scheduled theirs to start at the beginning of
the day, and you will spend less time in the recently listed
section. I usually schedule mine to start three business days
later so that I know it will be ready. NOTE: Goodreads does
not work on weekends, so listing a giveaway on Thursday or
Friday could be a bad idea!
How Many Copies Should I Giveaway?
Give away as many copies as possible. If your goal is to
get reviews, it makes sense to give away a lot of books.
Nearly 60 percent of giveaway winners review the books
they win, so the more books you offer, the more reviews
you are likely to get. Contact those who DID NOT WIN and
ask if they would like a complimentary copy. Check their
profile first to make sure they fit your target market.
Announce Your Giveaway
Post our Giveaway Widget on your blog, website, and
Facebook page. This might spur interest in your other
titles. The Giveaway Widget works by helping you reach
the people most likely to enjoy your book − your fans!
The cost of a giveaway is low compared to paid
advertising but don’t expect results overnight. Getting
attention on Goodreads takes time, but the exposure may
lead to “long-tail” sales.
Switching Gears - Your Book and
Pinterest
Pinterest is large and growing.
In 2012 it have over 10 million monthly page views.
Users (potential readers) spend more time on Pinterest
(average of 15 minutes per visit) than they do on Facebook
(average of 12 minutes per visit) or Twitter (3 minutes).
Nearly 70% of Pinterest users are women. Pinterest users
tends to be young (25-44), upper middle class, and female.
Those are people who buy things. And many of them read,
too.
http://www.rachellegardner.com/pinterest-things-writersshould-know/
Use Pinterest To Promote Your Book(s)
Create
a Pinterest board for the main characters or settings
in your book. Ask your fans to add photos they think help
make those people and places feel real. What does the
mysterious hero look like? What about pictures of that icy
field where the murder took place?
Give
us a behind the scenes glimpse into your process.
Show fans your desk, your typewriter or computer, your
waste basket of discarded poems, the view outside your
window, etc.
Pin
pictures of readers with your book.
Consider
holding a contest in which you challenge readers
to take snapshots of themselves in far-flung places with your
book. Then give a prize for the most remote (or most
random!) location.
Use Pinterest To Promote Your Book(s)
Get
inspirational. Where do you want to travel on your booktour? Where would you love to spend a week writing? Show the
world with photos!
Ask
readers to help you develop a new story? Writing a
Western? Ask for some photos of old guns.
Promote
other books. Give solid recommendations to your
fans, and the writers you promote will be thankful.
Stay
engaged in the conversation. Follow the Pinterest boards
of writers you admire. Pin their books.
the “P” symbol on your site or blog so your readers will
know they can also follow you on Pinterest.
Add
Make
sure the names of your boards have catchy titles.
http://blog.bookbaby.com/2012/04/pinterest-for-authors-how-topromote-your-writing-on-the-fastest-growing-website-ever/
Use Pinterest To Promote Your Book(s)
Create
your author pinboard. Use Pinterest to tell your story
as an author. Tell your followers and readers who you are,
where you came from, and how you came to be a writer. Give
them a glimpse into your world, allow them to get to know you
and let them discover what’s important to you.
Pin
pictures of readers with your book. Consider holding a
contest in which you challenge readers to take snapshots of
themselves in far-flung places with your book. Then give a
prize for the most remote (or most random!) location.
Use Pinterest To Promote Your Book(s)
Create
a dedicated board for each of your books. Use those
boards to pin the websites or Pinterest profiles of all of the
people, events or organizations you mention in your book.
updates to your story — post updates about your book’s
characters, people, animals, organizations, companies, and
so forth. Nicholas Kristof does a great job with this on the
Pinterest board for his book, Half the Sky.
Pin
praise and reviews — when people write reviews of
your book on their websites or blogs, make sure to pin them!
Pin
Use Pinterest To Promote Your Book(s)
Link
to all your launch content and book freebies. Do you
have guest posts you’re doing in support of your launch? Do
you have free e-books or e-courses you’re giving away? Make
sure to link to all that great content on your Pinterest boards.
You
might consider having an entire board dedicated to free
resources and articles. When you do this, remember to drive
people to get on your mailing list via website opt-in forms and
landing pages, so you can begin the process of converting
people from browsers into buyers.
Pin
images (and videos) from your in-person book signings
and talks.
Use Pinterest To Promote Your Book(s)
Use
your book signings, conferences and other speaking
engagements as an opportunity to take photos and create
videos that you can use on your Pinterest boards. Make sure
to feature lots of readers and fans in the photos, and then
use the @ sign in your pin descriptions to tag those people
(tagging in Pinterest works similarly to Facebook.)
Create
a board for book recommendations. Talk about
what you’re currently reading and the books that you
recommend for further research and information on your
book topic. Update this board often, so people have lots of
recommendations from which to choose their next book!
Collaborative Boards
Boards
that have multiple pinners are a great way to get
more followers quickly.
Collaborative
boards will increase your followers. Anyone
can make one — all you have to do is invite people to pin
to one of your boards.
the plus sign to add users. You’ll need their
Pinterest profile name to do this.
Click
Pin Your Book From Amazon
Click
on the Pinterest icon
on the right side of your
Amazon book’s detail page. (under the order area)
Pick
the board to which you want to pin your book.
Your Pinterest Account
Pick
an easy-to-remember username. Add a headshot of
yourself – not your book cover(s). People want to follow
someone that they can meet virtually
Use keywords to describe who you are and what types of
images you’ll be pinning.
Connect your profile your Twitter and Facebook account. DO
NOT auto pin to your social media accounts. Use discretion.
You can chose to feed a pin with each upload.
Turn off all email notifications — they can clog up
your inbox.
Create A Board
Start
at your Pinterest home page:
http://pinterest.com
On the top right, click the link, “Add +”
Select the choice, “Create a Board.”
Name Your Board
Name
the board. Use keywords that others might use in a
search — but make them unique enough to stand out.
(Oswald Chambers, Sarah Young, Mark Twain)
Choose a board category from the drop-down list. This is
important if you want to be found by others.
My Boards
Add Pinners To Your Board
You
are the Pinner for your boards, but you can allow others
to add their pins to your boards.
Click on “Create Board” and you’re done!
Pin a Pic
Go to your Pinterest home page. Click “Add +” in the upper right
corner. You’ll have a choice to enter a URL or upload an image.
The disadvantage of uploading an image is that it won’t
automatically link to anything. You can add a URL later by going
to the pin and editing it.
Upload a Pic
Pinterest uses hashtags the same way as Twitter. (# is a
hashtag.) Use hashtags in your descriptions before a category
word like #books or #novel. If you are unsure, check the
Pinterest categories for ideas for hashtag words.
Organize Your Boards
Make it easy for people to sort your boards. Click on your
profile photo to go to your profile page. Mine is
http://pinterest.com/eddiejones. Find where it says “Edit
Profile.” Next to it is a rectangular icon with little arrows.
When you hover your mouse over it you’ll see, “Rearrange
Boards.” Click it.
Pin, Post, Tweet, & Giveaway Books!
There is no magic to online marketing. Each author will have
to find what works for them and their books. But with
Goodreads and Pinterest you can create interest in your
books for little or no money.