by Penny Sansevieri
Many indie authors turn up their noses at incorporating giveaways and discounts into their book marketing because it seems counterintuitive to making money. But the number of readers interested in Goodreads giveaways is staggering.
The most entered giveaway at the time I’m writing this has nearly 20K people vying for just four copies of the book!
If that isn’t enough to sway you, consider this: every time a person enters a Goodreads giveaway, it adds that book to their “To Be Read” shelf, which adds it to their activity feed for their entire network to see.
That feature alone skyrockets your book-marketing exposure!
Let’s look at how to maximize this strategy.
First, the Fine Print from Goodreads
You can choose between two packages–Standard and Premium–to promote your book to readers, building more buzz, driving book discovery, and generating early reviews. All authors and publishers can give away print books to United States or Canadian residents. Kindle Direct Publishing authors and publishers with eBooks available in the Amazon U.S. marketplace can give away Kindle eBooks to U.S. residents. You can choose to give away either print books or Kindle eBooks with each package.
Goodreads Giveaway Length
The giveaway page is divided into four tabs: Ending Soon, Most Requested, Popular Authors, and Recently Listed. You have control over the Ending Soon and Recently Listed categories–use those to your book marketing advantage.
Generally, I recommend limiting your giveaway to a duration of one or two weeks and also running back-to-back giveaways if you have more than one published book in print.
If you are a KDP author, an eBook giveaway is a snap. If you want to give away print copies, keep in mind the cost of postage (use USPS book rate) and the cost of the book as you plan your giveaway strategy.
Smart Giveaway Descriptions
Goodreads gives you a character limit; however, the piece of this that really matters is the first six lines, since they are visible next to your book cover during the promotion.
Don’t rehash details like the title or number of books being given away; that information is already provided. Instead, focus on your sales hook, the awards you’ve won, or a great review you’ve earned. This is where smart book marketing comes into play!
Number to Giveaway
If you plan to do monthly giveaways, I suggest offering three to five copies. If you’re more comfortable doing these a few times a year, a good number is ten to twenty per giveaway. Remember, there are review opportunities, so the more books you get in people’s hands, the better your chances are for getting new reviews, more exposure, a bigger tribe–the list goes on.
National vs. International
You will have to ship books to winners, so deciding to go international should depend on your book and your genre. Do you have decent international sales already? Do you know there’s a strong following for your genre in some countries? International book-marketing exposure can reap big rewards, but it’s important to be smart about whether those rewards are likely for your book.
Promoting your Goodreads Giveaway
What’s a book-marketing plan without promotion, right? Create an event on your Goodreads profile for the giveaway, and invite everyone in your network. Send an email to your friends, family, and fans that fills them in on the details and includes a link to your giveaway page.
Add the Goodreads Giveaway widget to your WordPress site, and join groups specifically created for Goodreads Giveaways. Promote yours there. Keep in mind a lot of groups have dedicated discussions for giveaways as well; check with the moderator of your genre-appropriate groups if you’re unsure.
Post on all your other social media accounts, multiple times, to remind people. We’re all busy, and a well-worded push that also contains a clear “thank you in advance for your time” can go a long way and get a lot done.
Be sure to ask your fans and followers to share the giveaway opportunity as well; most will be happy to help, but will likely also need a reminder about how important this is to you!
The Takeaway
With more than 55 million book lovers posting more than 50 million reviews, maximizing your Goodreads presence should be a cornerstone of your indie-author book-marketing plan.
Ignore any author friends who are scared of the site’s honest reviews, suck it up, get a great profile going, get involved in groups, get to know your readers, do some giveaways, and watch your tribe grow!
Penny Sansevieri, CEO and founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc. (AME) and an adjunct professor at NYU, is a best-selling author and internationally recognized book marketing and media relations expert. Her company is one of the leaders in the publishing industry and has developed some of the most cutting-edge book marketing campaigns.
Thank you Penny!