How do I capitalize off my Goodreads giveaway?

532 Views 4 Replies 4 Participants Last post by CarlG, Jan 2, 2013

Many Waters

Discussion Starter · Jan 2, 2013

I had heard positive things about doing a goodreads giveaway, so I'm doing one for the hard copy of my novel. I'm giving away ten copies, and there are nine days left in the promo. So far, 230 people have entered. Here's the link:

http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/39729-the-sound-of-many-waters

I have no idea how this will help me aside from publicity for the book.

Should I be somehow promoting the giveaway?

What, generally, do authors most hope for when they do a giveaway?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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Alan Simon

· #2 · Jan 2, 2013

For me, the Goodreads giveaways have been baby steps:

- getting some reviews on Goodreads (mostly positive but some 3-star and a 2-star...beware that Goodreads reviewers seem to be tougher than on amazon); some have been cross-posted to amazon

- some cross-selling opportunities for other books in the same series

- *probably* some sales of the eBook versions of the paperback being given away (but only theorizing; no way to prove)

Likewise, I'd be interested to hear any tactics other KBers are using but for the most part, Goodreads giveaways seem to be part of an overall strategy of getting your own name and those of your titles out there.

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Becca Mills

· #3 · Jan 2, 2013

You can certainly promote the giveaway according to the tools you have at hand: through your Fb and Twitter presence, here in your Book Bazaar thread, on your blog or website, etc. I'd suggest restraint in promoting, though: mostly the Goodreads giveaways drive themselves, I think, so why risk spamming? Gr users want free books, so they come and look at the giveaways.

You'll probably get at least half your entrants in the last two days.

Truth be told, giving away one book might be better than giving away ten: 1/10th the cost and just as many eyeballs on the book, which seems to be the main accomplishment. It might generate some Gr reviews ... it's a lot to pay per review, though, especially if you have to do any overseas mailing.

Giveaways can be editing while they're in process, but I don't know if they'll let you change the number of books involved, at this point.

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CarlG

· #4 · Jan 2, 2013

You can certainly publicize the giveaway on your website. There's a widget on the book's giveaway page that you can plug in to your website. It works best if your site supports Flash.

One benefit is the possibility for reviews. This can be a mixed bag, since winners can be people who aren't your true niche reader. Also, although they are encouraged by Goodreads to post reviews, but my experience has been that a low percentage do.

Other than this, you will pick up "to-read" notations on a number of member sites as people troll the contest postings. As far as I can tell, these amount to "like"s and they do not result in sales. Still, they are a form of publicity, albeit very indirect.

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CarlG

· #5 · Jan 2, 2013

Becca Mills said:
Truth be told, giving away one book might be better than giving away ten: 1/10th the cost and just as many eyeballs on the book, which seems to be the main accomplishment. It might generate some Gr reviews ... it's a lot to pay per review, though, especially if you have to do any overseas mailing.

That's one school of thought, and a logical one. Another is that it's good to get more eyeballs actually into the book, and maybe a book will get passed around by the winner after its read. It's true that this can add up financially, though, if one makes the contest available in many countries.

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