Want more readers/buyers for YOUR book this holiday season?
It’s what every author wants, isn’t it? More eyeballs on his/her blog. More likes, shares, and comments on his/her social media pages. More visits to their websites. What if there were an EASY way to do all of the above for a very affordable price point?
Enter the VIRTUAL Holiday Author Event.
This 10-day virtual event, running from December 1st through December 10th, is designed to do just that. Give reader participants an incentive to visit your blog, website, social media profiles and purchase your books. It starts Day 1 with a Welcome Party, where each author is introduced via their headshots and images of their book covers. The authors themselves are welcome to stop by this webinar and say hello in person!
On Day 2, we’ll host a One-Day Blog Hop, where we list each author’s featured blog post for this event, and encourage participants to visit and comment for the chance to be entered to win prizes.
Day 3 we’ll encourage participants to check out our authors’ websites through a Virtual Treasure Hunt. Each author will provide a question about his/her website that the participants must answer in order to be entered in that day’s drawings.
We’ll head into a 3-hour Facebook Party on Day 4, during which time participants can ask our authors questions about their books and writing process. Every comment or share on the event page will get the participant an entry into that day’s drawings.
Day 5 is all about video – the fastest growing segment of the Internet – with Videos R US. We’ll post links to our authors’ videos (whether on YouTube, Vine, another video platform, or their own websites) and encourage our participants to make comments on the videos in order to be entered into that day’s drawings.
On Day 6, we’ll offer the option for our authors and participants to join any of three Author Tweet Chats (9 a.m., 1 p.m., and 7 p.m. PST). This is fun of the fast and feverish variety, as participating authors field questions they can answer in 140 characters.
The Day 7 event will require a little creativity on the part of the authors as we feature Infographic Mania. We’ll encourage our participants to comment on and rePin our authors’ infographics on their various Pinterest pages.
For Day 8, we’ll jump into Periscoping, via the new and SUPER-easy Twitter video app. Each author’s cover will be featured and participants will share the love by sending hearts and/or commenting while the video is streaming live.
On Day 9, we’ll focus on the Instagram Word Jumble, where the participants will put on their puzzle-solving hats to answer a word scramble presented through the titles on the authors’ book covers.
Beyond the daily event fun, we’ll also have a Cover Contest and a First Chapter Contest – which the reading public will judge. For voting in the contests, they’ll be entered to win copies of the winning books and T-shirts featuring the winning books’ covers.
Day 10 will then offer a Wrap-Up Party where we announce the Cover Contest and First Chapter Contest winners, give away great prizes, and conclude our amazing 10-day event.
Sound like fun? Whether you participate in just one event or join us for all 10 days, the Virtual Holiday Author Event promises to give you great exposure for yourself and your book(s), starting at just $35 for the first title. It’s just $10 per each additional title and $10 to enter either contest. There is no place on the web where you can beat this exposure right before the holidays! And if you know other authors who might like to join us, be sure to register as a Holiday Author Event affiliate, so you can make a little extra holiday spending cash for every author you refer who signs up.
Come share in the fun. You’ll be glad you did!
I’ve written before about the success of Robert Scanlan, author of Tigers Under My Bed: Life Lessons Tamed During Three Organ Transplants. Initially quite skeptical about the value of social media, Robert did his research and rightly determined that LinkedIn was the best platform for him. Through his LinkedIn connections, he was able to get his book in front of several renowned transplant surgeons shortly after its release in May 2014. Now, it is being used as an ancillary textbook in both the USC and UCLA medical schools. Sure, his sales have increased. But more importantly, this positions Robert as an expert on his subject matter, which will lead to more exposure and paid speaking gigs. These sure offer a better payday than selling a single book to one new follower on Twitter.
transplantation, but I do manage to touch on some important issues along the way. For example, the story ends just after Hurricane Sandy devastated the Atlantic Coast in the fall of 2012. Social issues are always relevant and good conversation starters for social media.
peruse our selection of 
on Facebook back in late 2006. Back then, there were no Pages. The only option you had was to use your personal profile for business marketing, too. I did that, and have steadily built my “friends” to 2,565, with 109 subscribers to my personal page. The challenge has been bringing those friends over to my business page.
Be sure to include page count. Some of the more die-hard Goodreads members enjoy announcing their progress as they read with comments like, “I’m on page 289 of 624.” You want this kind of commentary, as it can be something this small that translates to commentary and discussion about your book.
“check in” at various locations with a mobile device and are able to find out (track?) where their friends are. Location is based on GPS hardware in the mobile device or a network location provided by the app itself. Many members use foursquare and its competitors for the discounts. Or perhaps you want people to know which bookstore you’re in for your signing or event. Are you using FourSquare? Is there a way to use it to encourage better attendance at your signings and events? What are the pluses and drawbacks?
who allegedly know something about the topic. This is a phenomenal way to demonstrate your expertise – and even if you’re a novelist, you have an area of expertise – perhaps it’s simply “publishing your novel.” Unfortunately, it seems you’re required to have an account before you can dig around – UNLESS you know a person’s profile link. Here are two you can check out:
Marcie Brock, Book Marketing Maven 