Marketing: tips and tries, fails and errors

They say we learn from our mistakes, right?

This is a statement that I'm not sure how much I agree with, but it certainly guides how I go about marketing. A while back I posted that I would continue to share on what has and has not worked out for me.

Here goes!

This year, I had intended to start my marketing mid-summer. Due to my nature as a writer, I've discovered I cannot write and market at the same time - at least not actively, and not well. I tend to focus on one versus the other, or get overwhelmed (at times!) by the marketing aspect and kind of forget about writing. Which is why I decided to split my year into half focused on writing, and the other half on marketing.

This particular time, it did not work out. Learn from my mistakes, right? I made the error of going back on two novels previously written to edit them. Said edit took a long time, and by the time all was said and done, here we are in September! Though I am extremely happy with the results of the novels themselves (The Dragon Medallion and The Dragon Manuscript), I do wish I had had more time for marketing.

As it stands, one thing I did finally dip my feet in was KDP Select's free book promotion for 5 days. I tried it, and found that the results were worth the money loss (of the free downloads), and I can see the benefit in the potential reviews that will come.

Will this become my go-to marketing strategy? Probably not! Even if you have loads of social media friends and connections to advertise your book's free promo to, it does not mean they will download it, let alone read it. However, I was content with the results. If you're wondering, they came to just under 100 downloads, which considering the little reach I have, I was more than happy with!

One marketing strategy that has worked time and time again for me has been submitting my books to websites for features, both free and paid. There is a list kindly provided by TCK Publishing that encompasses these websites, and I have had tremendous success with them:

http://www.tckpublishing.com/top-kindle-book-promotion-sites-for-paid-kindle-books-0-99-and-up/

http://www.tckpublishing.com/list-of-sites-to-promote-your-free-amazon-kindle-books/

Of course, a simple Google search will bring up tons more! What I would suggest however, is to do a few paid features only, no more than 2 per session, that way you can track where your sales come from.

I personally found Bookscream to be great, and Itswritenow has also brought me some downloads/sales. There are tons of places, feel free to add more in the comments!

Still have not tried ENT paid promos, or Facebook or Amazon ads, but those are on my list for the month of October.

I leave you with this article from TCK Publishing owner, Tom Corson Knowles: http://www.thedailyinterview.com/tom-corson-knowles/

The website itself has tons more of similar articles with good tips, might be worth a read if you're in a bind!

Feel free to share, comment, etc. below :)