Effect of MR Promotion, or not?

ASparrow · 11-14-2010, 05:27 AM

I wonder if there is a saturation point regarding the benefits of promoting our book on a particular site? Several weeks ago, I stopped promoting my work here and it has not not a single bit of difference in my rate of downloads. I get a steady trickle, averaging 5-10 per day, exactly the same as before.

Early on, in the first months, though I had the impression that promotion had a much more significant impact. Just curious.

joycedb · 11-14-2010, 10:03 AM

No effect on mine either. They're still dragging the bottom.

Joyce

mr ploppy · 11-14-2010, 01:23 PM

I've downloaded a few ebooks that were advertised on this site when they were given away free for a limited amount of time, but I've never read any of them. I think the demographic is too large, you would be better off targetting your advertising where there would be a high percentage of potential readers. Zombie sites for zombie books, knitting sites for knitting pattern books, that type of thing. While there will probably be a small audience for those books here, the chances of them seeing your advert would be pretty slim. Whereas on dedicated sites it wouldn't really matter if only a small minority of people saw your advert because they would all be likely to have an interest in what you are selling.

markuskane · 11-14-2010, 01:25 PM

Newbie question. Is "MR promotion" a term of art? Or is it a cute way of referring to PR/book promotion. As in, Mr. or Mrs. promotion? Or something other?

Ready to feel stupid upon response.

ATDrake · 11-14-2010, 01:28 PM

It means promoting your book right here on MobileRead, either via a sig link or a little notice in your dedicated thread in the Author Self-Promo forum.

markuskane · 11-14-2010, 01:34 PM

Ah. MR, short for Mobile Read.

That makes sense.

ASparrow · 11-14-2010, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markuskane

Newbie question. Is "MR promotion" a term of art? Or is it a cute way of referring to PR/book promotion. As in, Mr. or Mrs. promotion? Or something other?

Ready to feel stupid upon response.

MR = Mobileread

I probably shouldn't have used the abbreviation.

ASparrow · 11-14-2010, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr ploppy

I've downloaded a few ebooks that were advertised on this site when they were given away free for a limited amount of time, but I've never read any of them. I think the demographic is too large, you would be better off targetting your advertising where there would be a high percentage of potential readers. Zombie sites for zombie books, knitting sites for knitting pattern books, that type of thing. While there will probably be a small audience for those books here, the chances of them seeing your advert would be pretty slim. Whereas on dedicated sites it wouldn't really matter if only a small minority of people saw your advert because they would all be likely to have an interest in what you are selling.

Good point. Except, it probably wouldn't work for me. I like writing stories that fall on the fringes of mainstream genre tastes. My fantasies are likely not fantastic enough for fantasy afficionados.

As a reader, I download lots of free books too, but I usually give them a read, at least the first chapter. Most of them, (2/3?), I never go on to finish, but I like to at least give everything a chance.

jaxx6166 · 11-14-2010, 08:09 PM

You know, I wonder about that bud. You've been around here for maybe about a year, and I think you've been plugging both your books for close to 8 - 9 months. I think it may have hit the saturation point here. Its possible that everyone who wanted your book here at MR may have already bought it.

The author promotion thread is getting a little too big for its britches. I don't go more than two pages in once in a blue moon, plus I already bought your books when they first came out. So I don't think I'm in your target demographic anymore...

So, here's your solution: Write a new book!

DavidRM · 11-14-2010, 10:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaxx6166

So, here's your solution: Write a new book!

That's about what I figure too.

-David

ASparrow · 11-15-2010, 05:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidRM

That's about what I figure too.

-David

Np problem there. I released three books in the past year, and I'm three-quarters of the way done with the next one.

greencat · 11-15-2010, 08:16 AM

mr ploppy is right. It's going to be easier to get a zombie lover to buy a zombie ebook than a ereader lover to buy an ebook about zombies. Also got to bear in mind that people don't necessarily go to a forum to be sold a book. Both of these are likely to contribute to low sales I reckon.

Forum based promotion is a long slow burn I reckon - and better to think of it as a place you like participating in and may be you might sell the odd book or two rather than a promotional channel.

Alternatively if your book appeals to a specialist audience eg dog lovers than being known as a thought leader through your contributions on a dog lovers forum would probably garner you a lot of sales (and may be other business eg consultancy).

ASparrow · 11-15-2010, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greencat

mr ploppy is right. It's going to be easier to get a zombie lover to buy a zombie ebook than a ereader lover to buy an ebook about zombies. Also got to bear in mind that people don't necessarily go to a forum to be sold a book. Both of these are likely to contribute to low sales I reckon.

Actually, MR was good for 'business' early on, with a strong correlation between promotional posts and downloads. I was just curious if my experience with 'burn out' was typical. I'm not particularly bothered that downloads seem to occur on their own. It means I don't need to bother with promoting here anymore.

Regarding targeting, I have no idea where to find a place where people go to discuss contemporary fantasy/adventures with elements of magical realism. I suspect such a place doesn't exist. This kind of problem seems to happen a lot to indie authors who aren't guided by commercial trends and mix other genres or simply fail to hew to the norms.

Maybe the answer is to stop writing non-genre-specific stories, but that's not going to happen in my case. I write these kinds of stories because I can't seem to find too enough of them in book stores.

greencat · 11-15-2010, 12:28 PM

That's interesting, ASparrow. Perhaps it also has something to do with competition too. I suspect there are a lot more authors on here than previously and the novelty factor has worn off?

If you're writing outside of a particular niche (or pigeon hole!) I suspect it's always going to be harder if people can't compare you with something or someone else?* Or perhaps you try finding places where fans of a similar genre hang out and try and persuade them to try something a little different.

*This can be taken to ridiculous extremes though. I recently saw an author described as "The female James Patterson" and I've no idea what kind of picture that is supposed to conjure in the prospective buyers mind. But possibly (and I have no idea if this is appropriate) describing yourself as Gabriel García Márquez with an contemporary twist might help paint a picture. I'm reminded of even well established authors doing the same eg The New Confessions by William Boyd - used Rousseau's book as the inspiration for the main protagonist to record their tale.

Steven Lake · 11-15-2010, 12:32 PM

I've treated all my promotions on MR as just "one small stone on the road to success". There is no "one thing does it all" promotional method. In fact, there's so many that you are required to exploit that it becomes rather difficult to keep up with them all, or in some cases even do them. It used to be that there were only a handful of things that you could do to get noticed, and those were usually all you needed. Now the list is hundreds, if not thousands of items long and growing.

11-14-2010, 05:27 AM	#1
ASparrow Addict Posts: 355 Karma: 600000 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Boston Device: Palm TX	Effect of MR Promotion, or not? I wonder if there is a saturation point regarding the benefits of promoting our book on a particular site? Several weeks ago, I stopped promoting my work here and it has not not a single bit of difference in my rate of downloads. I get a steady trickle, averaging 5-10 per day, exactly the same as before. Early on, in the first months, though I had the impression that promotion had a much more significant impact. Just curious.

11-15-2010, 12:28 PM	#14
greencat Freebie finder Posts: 907 Karma: 2046472 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: Sony, Kindle	That's interesting, ASparrow. Perhaps it also has something to do with competition too. I suspect there are a lot more authors on here than previously and the novelty factor has worn off? If you're writing outside of a particular niche (or pigeon hole!) I suspect it's always going to be harder if people can't compare you with something or someone else?* Or perhaps you try finding places where fans of a similar genre hang out and try and persuade them to try something a little different. This can be taken to ridiculous extremes though. I recently saw an author described as "The female James Patterson" and I've no idea what kind of picture that is supposed to conjure in the prospective buyers mind. But possibly (and I have no idea if this is appropriate) describing yourself as Gabriel García Márquez with an contemporary twist might help paint a picture. I'm reminded of even well established authors doing the same eg The New Confessions by William Boyd - used Rousseau's book as the inspiration for the main protagonist to record their tale. Last edited by greencat; 11-15-2010 at 12:30 PM.*

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11-14-2010, 10:03 AM	#2
joycedb Guru Posts: 997 Karma: 1086596 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Florida Device: none	No effect on mine either. They're still dragging the bottom. Joyce

11-14-2010, 01:23 PM	#3
mr ploppy Feral Underclass Posts: 3,622 Karma: 26821535 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Yorkshire, tha noz Device: 2nd hand paperback	I've downloaded a few ebooks that were advertised on this site when they were given away free for a limited amount of time, but I've never read any of them. I think the demographic is too large, you would be better off targetting your advertising where there would be a high percentage of potential readers. Zombie sites for zombie books, knitting sites for knitting pattern books, that type of thing. While there will probably be a small audience for those books here, the chances of them seeing your advert would be pretty slim. Whereas on dedicated sites it wouldn't really matter if only a small minority of people saw your advert because they would all be likely to have an interest in what you are selling.

11-14-2010, 01:25 PM	#4
markuskane Markus Kane Posts: 49 Karma: 50000 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kindle	Newbie question. Is "MR promotion" a term of art? Or is it a cute way of referring to PR/book promotion. As in, Mr. or Mrs. promotion? Or something other? Ready to feel stupid upon response.

11-14-2010, 01:28 PM	#5
ATDrake Wizzard Posts: 11,517 Karma: 33048258 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Roundworld Device: Kindle 2 International, Sony PRS-T1, BlackBerry PlayBook, Acer Iconia	It means promoting your book right here on MobileRead, either via a sig link or a little notice in your dedicated thread in the Author Self-Promo forum.

11-14-2010, 01:34 PM	#6
markuskane Markus Kane Posts: 49 Karma: 50000 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kindle	Ah. MR, short for Mobile Read. That makes sense.

11-14-2010, 08:09 PM	#9
jaxx6166 Wizard Posts: 1,222 Karma: 769316 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Eternal summer Device: 350, iPad, PW	You know, I wonder about that bud. You've been around here for maybe about a year, and I think you've been plugging both your books for close to 8 - 9 months. I think it may have hit the saturation point here. Its possible that everyone who wanted your book here at MR may have already bought it. The author promotion thread is getting a little too big for its britches. I don't go more than two pages in once in a blue moon, plus I already bought your books when they first came out. So I don't think I'm in your target demographic anymore... So, here's your solution: Write a new book!

11-15-2010, 08:16 AM	#12
greencat Freebie finder Posts: 907 Karma: 2046472 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: Sony, Kindle	mr ploppy is right. It's going to be easier to get a zombie lover to buy a zombie ebook than a ereader lover to buy an ebook about zombies. Also got to bear in mind that people don't necessarily go to a forum to be sold a book. Both of these are likely to contribute to low sales I reckon. Forum based promotion is a long slow burn I reckon - and better to think of it as a place you like participating in and may be you might sell the odd book or two rather than a promotional channel. Alternatively if your book appeals to a specialist audience eg dog lovers than being known as a thought leader through your contributions on a dog lovers forum would probably garner you a lot of sales (and may be other business eg consultancy).

11-15-2010, 12:32 PM	#15
Steven Lake Sci-Fi Author Posts: 1,157 Karma: 14743509 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Michigan Device: PC (Calibre)	I've treated all my promotions on MR as just "one small stone on the road to success". There is no "one thing does it all" promotional method. In fact, there's so many that you are required to exploit that it becomes rather difficult to keep up with them all, or in some cases even do them. It used to be that there were only a handful of things that you could do to get noticed, and those were usually all you needed. Now the list is hundreds, if not thousands of items long and growing.