SPA Girls Podcast – EP102 – Maximising Book Sales At Christmas
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This week we tackle Christmas. Not literally. I mean we’re not going after Santa or anything. No knocking him to the ground, and sitting on him til he gives us presents. That would be weird, right?
No, this week we’re talking about what self-published authors should be doing over the Christmas period to promote their books to the hoards of eager Yuletide book buyers.
It’s a prime book buying time of year, and no one wants to miss out, right?
In order to do the best research for our eager listeners, we talked to several other authors (in forums and people we know) for their advice on this topic, as well as using our own experiences. We even discovered a few tips that we didn’t know about and are planning to use this year for ourselves!
If you’ve been wondering what you should do to promote your books this Christmas, you need to listen to this episode!
Promotions
Do nothing level – some big names say don’t bother as it’s too competitive over this time.
If you are promoting over Christmas, get started now!
Written word media – FB ads goes up by 30% Desk top Ads goes up 180%
If you don’t know how to do FB ads, then don’t make this the place to start.
Good cheer level – an opportunity to create goodwill.
Sending Newsletters that aren’t aimed at selling.
Offer freebies – a short story or novella sent specifically to your list.
You could try a ‘twelve days of Christmas’ promo – make sure it doesn’t cost you too much.
Recipes to cover the holidays are a great idea, especially if they are from your area or country.
Acknowledging your readers incorporating feel good subjects.
Potentially this no-sales approach can lead to an uptake anyway, which is a great bonus.
The Special Christmas book level – is it worth it?
We’ve had varying comments whether this is a good idea.
Maybe put it up for cheap or put it in a boxed set over this period.
Having the word Christmas or Holiday could be in the subtitle rather than the title to make it saleable all year round.
Needs to go out the beginning of November. If it’s in print use this as a buy now prompt for shipping dates. (21-23 Dec last dates for shipping)
Romance, especially small town, home and hearth, books are a natural fit over this time of year.
Normal promotion level
Promoting your non-Christmas books as presents. Print books will do potentially do better.
Brian Meeks, notices Facebook Ads are more competitive (harder to get) but he does get more impressions.
Mailing list promotions like ENT, Robin Reads, Bookbub, it could already be too late to apply for them.
Bookbub has also said that the buy through rates are not much different to the rest of the year.
Planned late run Level
From Christmas day to mid-January these people are hitting the people that have just received new devices or gift cards.
Affiliate Income
Make sure you know the rules and where you can use your affiliate links for any books you promote – yours or other people’s in your website or newsletter.
What else?
You can also use prizes for competitions, or FB and Amazon giveaways.
Buy products you might like to use when they are on special. Like Cyber Monday, Black Friday etc.
Christmas closures
Be aware of the shutdown dates for especially Amazon and iBooks.
Loading and making changes or asking queries might take a lot longer prior to the shutdown dates.
It’s a risk to launch at Christmas, but some experienced authors do well!
SPA Girls Podcast – EP446 – Patreon, Kickstarter & Serials – with Tao Wong
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How do you build superfans and a sustainable income through patreon*, kickstarter, subscriptions and serial works? Bestselling author Tao Wong joins us this episode to reveal all the secrets of keeping readers begging for more (cliff-hangers anyone ?!), building a thriving community of superfans and, most importantly, diversifying your income streams.
(For those who don’t know, Patreon is a subscription service, where people pay a monthly fee for different benefits/exclusive opportunities offered to them. For authors, this is usually books, excerpts, and other pieces of writing.)
About Tao
Tao Wong is a Canadian science fiction and fantasy author writing in LitRPG and Xianxia (a genre based on Chinese mythology and the concept of the chivalrous spirit, that is huge pop culture phenomenon in China) with five different series across a range of worlds. He’s been writing full time since 2019, and has his books in audio, paperback, hardcover and ebook formats as well as translations to German, Spanish, Portuguese and others.
When he’s not writing and working, he’s practicing martial arts, reading (even more!) and taking care of his family. Other hobbies include occasional RPGs and board games as well as picking up new, random skillsets.
Find Tao at MyLifeMyTao.com
Links mentioned:
Royal Road https://www.royalroad.com/home
💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!
⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your burning questions.
⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.
All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast
✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info
😊Watch our weekly show on YouTube @spagirlspodcast
Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!
SPA Girls Podcast – EP445 – 7 Easy Tips For Building Your Newsletter List
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How the heck do you build a reader newsletter list when you’re first starting out?
We’re back with another SPA Girls minisode, to get your author career rocking. Listen up for how we built our own reader newsletters and what tools and services we recommend.
7 SIMPLE WAYS TO BUILD YOUR NEWSLETTER LIST:
- Join bookfunnel
- Provide a tasty sample
- Sign ups on social media
- Sign ups in books
- Join newsletter builder through Booksweeps etc
- Work with other authors
- Run a facebook ad to your free sample on bookfunnel
SPA Girls EP378 Be Newsletter Ninja with Tammi Labrecque https://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/?s=378
SPA Girls EP258 Nail Your Newsletter with Holly Mortimer
SPA Girls EP177 & 178 with Larissa Reynolds
SPA Girls EP424 with Damon Courtney of Bookfunnel
💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!
⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your burning questions.
⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.
All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast
✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info
😊Watch our weekly show on http://www.youtube.com/c/SPAGirlsPodcast @spagirlspodcast
Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!
SPA Girls Podcast – EP442 – Newbie Mistakes / Chapter Endings
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Welcome to the first SPA Girls double-minisode where we invite you into the SPA for a double mini-tips session. This week we’re covering two burning topics: what are the worst mistakes newbies are making, and how to write chapter endings that keep readers reading!
Let us know what you think of this new sub-30 minute episode!
Click the images below to watch on YouTube
💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!
⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your burning questions.
⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.
All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast
✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info
😊Watch our weekly show on http://www.youtube.com/c/SPAGirlsPodcast @spagirlspodcast
Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!
Episodes 100 – 200 List
200 What we’ve learned so far…
199 Interview with Adam Croft – Mindset and Marketing
198 Find Your Sparkle – with Julie Schooler
197 Hack Your Muse – with Kelly McClymer
196 Public Speaking For Authors – with Alena Van Arendonk
195 The Magic Pill – with Laura Van Arendonk-Baugh
194 A Day In The Life Of A Writer
193 Keep It Simple
192 Interview with Skye Warren: Money Mindset and Facebook Ads
For Authors (Part Two)
191 Interview with Skye Warren: Time Management & Advertising
For Authors (Part One)
190 Dragon Wrangling with Scott Baker: secrets for
Successful dictation
189 Interview with Patricia McLinn: Writing by the seat of
Your pants
188 Interview with Morgana Best: Writing & Marketing
Cozy Mysteries
187 Interview with Geoff Symon: Wounds & Crime Scenes
186 Interview with Natasha Bajema, WMD for Authors
185 The Writer’s Detective with Adam Richardson
183 Facebook Advertising with Maria Luis ~ Part Two
182 Facebook Advertising with Maria Luis ~ Part One
181 Learn dictation with Kilby Blades
180 Interview with Brian Meeks, Mastering Book Descriptions
179 Interview with Tara Cremin, Kobo Writing Life
178 Interview with Larissa Reynolds – Newsletters Part Two
177 Interview with Larissa Reynolds – Newsletters Part One
175 Wrangling Facebook: How To Make It Work For You
174 How To Write A Regency Romance
173 How Do You Identify Your Writing Weaknesses?
172 Interview With Dan Wood, D2D
171 Interview With Serenity Woods
169 5 Goals You Need To Make In 2019
168 Jumpstart Your 2019 Marketing with 31 Quick To Dos for Jan.
167 Scheduling For Writing Success
166 Our 2018 Roundup
165 He Said, She Said: Creating Dazzling Dialogue
164 Interview with Steffanie Holmes: Reverse Harem
163 Interview with YA author Kelly St Clare
160 Amazon Excl v Wide – things to consider and how to market
159 Interview With Kathryn LeVeque
158 Some Like It Hot – Or Not. Heat Levels In Romance
157 Interview With Louisa George
156 The Kindness Factor: Helping You Achieve More and Stress Less
155 Editing
153 Characters: From Cookie Cutter to Kapow
152 Interview with Tina Dietz: Audiobooks
151 Interview with Grace Burrowes
150 Should You Prune Your Mailing List?
149 RWNZ18 Interview with Damon Suede & Geoff Symon
148 Interview with indie superstar, Bella Andre
147 Top Ten Traits for Success
146 Write Better Faster with Becca Syme
145 Newsletter Ninja Tammi LaBrecque
144 Looking After Your Creative Health
143 Interview with Carlyn Robertson from Bookbub
142 Personal Branding For Authors with Lauren Clemett
141 Ten Free Online Tools For Authors
140 Tempting Taglines & Heartstopping Hooks
139 Findaway Voices with Kelly Lytle
138 Get Your Writing Mojo Back
137 Interview with Toni Kenyon: facebook live & serials
136 Dealing with misinformation and change in Sp-ing
134 Interview with Kevin Tumlinson, Draft2Digital
133 Interview with Sara Rosett
132 Organization For Authors – how to keep track of your
research and book details without losing your mind
131 Interview with Ricardo Fayet of Reedsy
130 Critical Care: Leveraging feedback for success
129 Brand You
128 SAS Special: Interview with Johnny B. Truant & Sean Platt
127 Industry Insiders with Damon J. Courtney of Bookfunnel
& Christine Monroe of Kobo
126 SAS Debrief with Jami Albright
125 SAS Special: Interview with Michelle Spiva
124 SAS Special : Interview With Michael Anderle
123 Sports Psychology for Authors – Interview With Nate Vella
122 Using Sub Plots To Amp Up Your Writing
121 Interview with Scott King: Outlining Your Novel
120 Pen-names Pros, Cons and Possibilities
119 Reader Engagement with Nalini Singh
118 Writing the Small Town Setting
117 Handling Negativity and Naysayers
116 Tough Mindset Questions For 2018
115 Interview With Nicola Davidson: Sex and Sensibility
114 Tropealicious
112 Interview With Honoree Corder & Ben Hale: Write Like A Boss
111 Ten Health Hacks For Writers
110 Interview with Kathryn Burnett: Your Writing Audit For Future Success
109 Interview with Melissa Storm: What Readers Want
108 Interview With Zoe Dawson: Writing Across Genres
107 Interview With Dave Chesson, The Keyword King
106 Pros and Cons of Kindle Unlimited
105 Why YOU should do Nanowrimo
104 Ten Truths For New Self Publishers
103 Find 30 Minutes A Day EXTRA!
102 Your Christmas Presence: Maximizing the Holiday Season for Authors
101 The Writing Life: Interview with Katie Cross
100 100 Episodes! Retrospective with funny moments; changing AO title
