Please vote for my Kindle Scout Campaign here through 2/06/16: https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/X0Z1F8GSDDVB
If you’ve noticed a distinct lack of articles here recently, it’s because I needed some time off. Kindle Scout campaigns are a ton of work and stress, and it’s hard to stay focused on what’s important vs. what really won’t matter in the end. I’d been going long enough to have an idea of what does and doesn’t work for me, and I was quickly learning my weaknesses as a marketer.
On the
Savvy Book Marketing Podcast a few weeks ago (yes, there really is such a thing, and it has good info!) I heard a conversation about the importance of marketing. I’m not a marketer. I know it now. It’s not just that I’m not a marketer–it’s that I really suck at marketing. If I’m enthusiastic but don’t see any results, I resort to awkward begging and long silences. I also need to build a list.
I also need to build a list. I’ll be painfully honest here: the Finish That Novel list has exactly two subscribers. Including my mom (Thanks, Mom–you’re awesome!). How am I supposed to handle lists? How can I get subscribers without begging? What do I tell them afterward?
I’ve taken a couple of Udemy courses over the past year. If you can snag a course for $10, it’s usually worth it. So I decided with my time off I’d spend a chunk of my writing budget on an email list-building course. I’m experimenting with it under a pen name, focusing on ideas I’ve had for a novel-finishing course I’ve been thinking about and blending that with the tools I use for noveling optimization. People sign through my participation on forums and Q+A sites where I can discuss writing tips with others. It’s too soon to know if that strategy works yet. But if I’d had a list when I started this whole Kindle Scout thing, something tells me that votes would have been a lot easier to get.
Right now I have almost 4,000 views. That’s a lot. I think that’s more than I would have guessed I’d get in the beginning. But my Hot and Trending hours remain at 12, all on that one awesome day. Meaning that I’m not attracting enough attention. Meaning that I’ll likely be one of the first books rejected.
That’s okay. I have time to process that. And sometime in the future, when I have a following, I can still return if I want. Even with the same book. Though if this doesn’t go through, I’m considering expanding my reach in traditional publishing. I’m looking at agents and deciding who would like it and who would work best for what I want in an agent (someone who loves discovering new and weird authors, who has broad tastes and who has considerable influence in the publishing world. Marketing expertise a definite plus!).
At some point over the next couple weeks, I’ll stop by a local cafe for a final hurrah for Kindle Scout. I do have to say that the business cards I printed worked out substantially better than I would have guessed!
Anyway, I’ll be in touch with another update soon. If you know of any last-minute strategies you could share, please tell me all about them in the comments section below!