Cheapo Advertising

[C. M. Albrecht]

I've often thought there should be a way — at least on some sites — to have your book(s) featured on the main page, or near it. 

In my particular case, unless you know my name or the title of one of my books, you'd have to go on Amazon Kindle Books and sift through nearly half a million books to run across one.

I know some people love to rummage through large cartons full of old books at yard sales and flea markets, and I suppose there is a minuscule number who actually sit for hours at their computer going through page after page of book titles on the off chance that one will catch their eye.

I admit that many of the books I've enjoyed most have fallen into my lap by serendipity. Many years ago I happened upon "The Man Who Watched the Trains go By" in my library. That title was too intriguing to pass up and I immediately became a Georges Simenon fan. I found "Rosemary's Baby" lying on a park bench. That's not a tile I'd have found interesting, but free? What the heck. 

I used to be what writers like to refer to as a "civil servant" and in that capacity I came across "Rambo" and "Fools Parade" lying about. "True Grit" comes to mind.

I loved all these books, books I'd never have sought out or bought, except for the Simenon novel. I just came across them by chance and love to read. Okay, I know. If my mind had been more open to new things I might have sought out a more expanded list of books, but time being limited, the vast majority of books I got (at the library) were books that simply caught my fancy. The original Devil's Island account (the one before Papillon), An autobiography by Mezz Mezzrow, "Damned Gypsy" and many many others, including "Why Write a Novel?" by Jack Woodford. (A good influence on me).

Wow, it's easier to start this stuff than it is to stop. 

Back to business, I'm looking for (very) cheap ways to advertise. If anyone knows something useful, please let me know. Thanks, Carl

[Lisa LaVergne-Pottgen]

You could look into contacting book bloggers who offer advertising on their site, as usually they charge a pretty low fee.  I have considered doing this on my site myself as a way to fund giveaways, and many bloggers do this.  The way they do this will vary, from including a cover image on the sidebar for a set period of time with links to purchase.  It might be something to look into.  I would offer this up myself, but really would not know what to charge for it.

[Albert Robbins]

Check this out http://freebookreviews.blogspot.com/p/promoting-your-free-book.html

[C. M. Albrecht]

I'm almost sorry I brought this up. Most of these suggestions led me nowhere and/or to strange places, i.e. a Spanish language site having nothing to do with books, or to site I already knew about. Unfortunately, most of the sites such as Goodreads don't (in my experience) have much effect on your sales. The same goes for most of the blogs I've encountered. I don't blame them; it's simply that people who read these pages don't necessarily buy books. I don't blame them. When it comes to buying books, I have to buy mine at flea markets and yard sales (when I'm in the chips). Otherwise I do without. Being an author isn't as glamorous as it might sound to the uninitiated. Today I snagged a softcover Dell edition of Absent in the Spring by Mary Westmacott (aka Agatha Christie) for  $0.50. Okay, it was overpriced, but I wasn't in a mood to hondle today. The book only cost $.0.45 brand new back in 1963.

When I'm through with my books, I drop them off at our VA hospital for someone else to read, so that way I make fifty cents go a long way.
 

[Christy Pinheiro]

I suggest getting book reviewers to review your book. It's worked for me under three different pen names and three different genres (nonfiction, memoirs, and YA). It's really the only form of advertising I use. I usually host a GIveaway on Goodreads, too, and that's good for buzz.  Good luck!

You can see a free list of reviewers here:

http://www.stepbystepselfpublishing.net/reviewer-list.html

I'm not sure what genre you are trying to get reviewed. Simon Royale has a really good list, too.

http://www.theindieview.com/indie-reviewers/

-Christy

[Sienna Logan]

I have recently started advertising on my blog. For a small fee I will post a 125x125 pixel book cover on my side bar for a certain period of time. The prices depends on how long you choose to leave the image up there (I offer anything from a month to a year). I also do both free and payed reviews and am always looking for new books to read. If your interested in either, more details can be found on My Blog on my review policy or advertising/offers pages.

Sienna

[Lisa LaVergne-Pottgen]

Sienna, would you mind contacting me privately?  I have been considering starting to do this and trying to get a gauge for what people charge for it.  I have considered doing this on my blog to bring in money to be able to offer more giveaways and cover shipping costs for giveaways.

[Nicolas]

Hey Carl,

 

Many book bloggers offer cheap advertisement. Now many of them won't work. But there's always that off chance that a blog may bring great hits to your book. It's a chance you can take and at the cheap price people here offer advertisements you could pretty much play around with it. Although one tip Monotize your ads. Or else you wan't have any idea if it actually worked. If you want to talk advertisements my blog offers some at a relevently cheap price. Of course that's probably the standard around here. If you are interested view my info page or send me an email.

 

http://bookmark-reviews.blogspot.ca/p/advertisement.html

Email: [e-mail]

[Stormi Johnson]

Hi Carl,

Could I ask what genre your book is? I have a review blog that I host advertising for authors at low prices. I am curious to know what your book is and if it would fit my blog.

Thanks,

Stormi

[Henry Circle]

My book is only available on kindle so I thought my audience would be found online. The ads I've bought, the blogging I've done, tweeting, etc. has made me friendships, but not sales. I got more sales from a guy handing out flyers for me than I did all those online methods combined! Strange but true.

[Nicolas]

Lol! Maybe the guy was quite the charmer, or he was Charismatic xD?