[dmburnett]

I lurk here quite often and love to read the advice from others regarding marketing and craft. There are so many generous people on here! It's rare that I have much to offer in terms of experience or advice, but here goes...

I frequently see posts questioning cover reveals, release day blasts, and blog tours. I've used tour companies in the past to gain some traction for a new release, but I never really went "all out". Well, for my next release, I decided to come out with guns blazing. I signed up with a tour company for a cover reveal, release day blitz, and a three week blog tour. The book is a paranormal romance releasing April 7th.

Wednesday was the cover reveal and I was very impressed. The reveal was mentioned several times on Twitter and Facebook, I picked up about 20 mailing list sign ups, and I sold 3 pre-orders. That doesn't sound like much, but the pre-order link wasn't included in any of the posts about the cover as the link just went live later that day.

So, I'm pleased with the early results.  In fairness, I did do some teases and a giveaway about two weeks ago to start building some interest, but I think most of Wednesdays attention came from the reveal itself. I'm looking forward to seeing how the Release Day Blitz and Blog Tour goes and if I can keep the momentum from the cover reveal going until then. 

 

[Joseph John]

What's the name of the tour company you're using? Please keep us updated on the results!

 

[dmburnett]

It's Enchantress of Books. It's my first time using this particular company and I really like it so far. To add to the exposure from the reveal and tour, I'm going to post a book trailer next week (hopefully), more excerpts leading up to the release, some ads, a 0.99 intro price, and a bonus novella. I'm really trying to cover all my bases.

 

[ufwriter]

Is this for a new release in a series or a brand new story?

 

[dmburnett]

It's the first book in a new series.
The Gifted and The Damned (The Vampire Wars Book One).

 

[dmburnett]

I should add that today I went through and scheduled some promos for release week with ebook lister, bargain booksy, awesome gang, and bknights. Still waiting to hear from ENT.

 

[MarilynVix]

I've always had success with blog tours. The cover reveals I got a lot of buy in from bloggers, like 20 on my last one. I did learn to put the cover release a week before instead of 3-4 weeks. I think it stays in people's heads better. Have you tried a Facebook Release Party? There are promoters that do that. I've got about 5 different promoters working for the book I'm releasing on March 25. I found that using different promoters does get the word out. If you go with one, it repeats with the same people over and over. But then, sometimes people need to see a name over and over before they buy. I've built my newsletter mailing list by using a few different promoters in conjunction with a release.

I've also seen Book Blitz which is similar to a cover reveal, but it's for a book after releasing. It's good to get interest going for a book that's been out awhile, or needs a push.

Good luck with your release! 

 

[dmburnett]

I've been pleasantly surprised with how everything has gone. I'm releasing the book trailer Thursday and then some excerpts every three days leading up to the release. What you say about timing makes perfect sense, but I can't imagine keeping the cover a secret until a week before the release! It was everything I could do to keep it a secret until 3 weeks out!