Go for the gold: How to reach the influencers
Once you’ve published your book, your job as a self-publisher becomes marketing the book. That means getting the book into readers’ hands, which may be a simple plan but is far from easy. If you’ve been reading my blog, you know there are several ways to do this and that you should probably try them all.
To refresh, here’s a list:
+Book giveaways
+Setting the digital book’s price to Free or 99 cents (and then promoting the sale)
+Local appearances and events
+Dropping your book off at little free libraries
+Purchasing prepublication reviews
+Asking readers for Amazon reviews and all other types of reviews (Goodreads, B and N)
+Purchasing advertising
Another very effective way to get the word out about your book is to have an “influencer” read and review your book. If you are on social media, you know what I mean by influencer. For those who are not familiar, an influencer is anyone who has a large following on their social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.) or in the world at large. This might be a famous person (Reese Witherspoon), or it may simply be a writer that’s better known than you are. It could be a blogger who does book reviews or a mom who reads and posts her reviews on her burgeoning Facebook account. Anyone with a large following (thousands) can be considered an influencer.
How do you reach them?
The problem is that since these people are influencers and known by so many, the competition for their attention and time is fierce. If you are on Instagram and you’ve identified some Bookstagram reviewers you’d like to have read your book, you can reach out to them with a politely worded private message that simply asks if they would like a copy of your book in exchange for an honest review. Give them a brief (sentence or two) description of the book and an impressive blurb, if you have one. Then wait for their response.
I did this with about a dozen reviewers I’d been following on Instagram, and most of them asked for the book (They Will Be Coming for Us). Six or seven of them posted a photo of the book (some of the photos were beautiful and others were definitely not). Only one posted multiple times: as a story when she received it, on her bookshelf before she read it, and then again when she had reviewed it. She also put her review on Goodreads. She’s my hero! Unfortunately she was the exception and not the rule.
Reaching out in this way was a lot of work, time, and money (in the form of free paperbacks and shipping) and didn’t garner much success, so when I heard about NetGalley, I became interested immediately. NetGalley is a website that helps influential readers discover and recommend new books to their audiences. Reviewers, bloggers, librarians, booksellers, educators, journalists and other members of the media use NetGalley for free to request, read, and recommend books before (and after) they are published.
As an author, you’ll pay to have your book appear on the website for a specified amount of time. When the listing ends, the author of the book receives the names and email addresses of all who received a copy of the book. So, not only does the reviewer post for their followers (or audience) and/or recommend the book to their customers (if they’re a bookseller) or post a review on Goodreads (if they choose), but you can also follow up and ask those people to post their review on Amazon. That’s a big plus.
WHOA! This book right here is exactly what I didn’t know I needed in my life! It starts a bit slow but when it picks up hang on! Unputdownable. Kim Catanzarite is on the top of my watchlist after this one! —A NetGalley Reviewer
For those of you who are members of the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), you can use NetGalley’s services through an ALLi affiliate called BooksGoSocial at a reduced cost. I signed up for one month (to test the water) and paid only $50 with my ALLi discount. If you sign up directly with NetGalley, you’ll be required to purchase multiple months, and the cost will be substantially more. So, my advice is to check out ALLi and all of the benefits you can take advantage of as a member (there are many!), and consider joining ALLi and taking advantage of this great deal.
Here’s what ALLi is about: ALLi is the premier membership association for self-publishing authors. A non-profit, ALLi provides trusted advice and education, supportive guidance, and a wide range of benefits and resources, within a friendly and accessible community of successful indie authors and advisors. Click here to visit their website.
It’s been a little over a week since They Will Be Coming for Us appeared on NetGalley, and I’ve received six reviews, all of them positive. One review came from a bookseller, one from a person listed as “media,” and three from reviewers. Three have posted reviews on Goodreads, and one gave me an Amazon review. I look forward to what the rest my month with NetGalley will bring.
Kim Catanzarite is a writer, editor, and instructor for Writer’s Digest University. Her novel Jovian Son, second installment in The Jovian Duology, is available for preorder on Amazon now—and will be listed on NetGalley very soon.
