Marketing is a pain. It’s expensive. It’s a time-consuming task. It’s necessary to get visibility in a saturated marketplace.
My biggest obstacle in releasing a new book is the lack of reviews plaguing me on Amazon for months. Without reviews, I cannot market. Without marketing, I cannot sell in a saturated marketplace. Amazon is the toughest place to obtain reviews. Star ratings are plentiful on iTunes in comparison.
When I say that the best way to thank an author is to write a review, I sincerely hope that you will consider supporting the authors you read in this fashion. A few words and a number of stars help immensely to aid authors in getting noticed in a crowded marketplace.
Did you know that after 20-25 reviews, Amazon notices and will include me in the “also bought” list or the “you might like list” as you browse for books on Amazon? After 50-70 reviews, you might get an email recommending my book to read based on your genre preferences.
You may ask — well, why don’t you pay for advertising? I do, but I am restricted to where I can advertise because of a lack of reviews. There are multiple places to market books. Depending on the marketing venue, some are as cheap as $5 a day to as high as $700 a day. Almost all of these advertisers have requirements that include a minimum number of reviews and minimum star ratings to be accepted. They either post it plainly on their website, or the marketing resource will check all your book ratings on Amazon, iTunes, Nook, Kobo, and Goodreads to see if you qualify. BookBub is by far the best place to advertise, hands down, but competition is fierce for placement from publishing houses to other successful independent authors. I’ve been averaging two advertisement placements per year because they only choose 20% of those who apply. Results on BookBob are phenomenal, but I also need to advertise elsewhere.
I’ve given you the author’s sob story to ask for your help. Please take the time to let me know your thoughts as you read my books. Stars and one sentence will do, or if you love to write, make it a paragraph or two. Your comments go a long way to help steer my career and other authors. They also bring encouragement and advice on how to be a better author going forward. Thank you.
All my best,
Vicki