A Publisher's Conversation with Authors: Assessing Giveaways As a Marketing Tool

 

It is Tuesday. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side. 

Today's topic is giveaways. Do they really help in obtaining book reviews and promoting your book? Let's take each question separately.

Do book giveaways really help in getting book reviews? Once upon a time they did. Today is seemingly a different story.

• Library Thing was and likely still is a popular place for giveaways. After all, it is a beehive of book review postings. We used to give away a couple dozen copies each time a book was released. We do not do that anymore.
• In the past, when Tim (last name forgotten) was the head of Library Thing, a book given away was tracked; it resulted in a review, typically on LT, Amazon, and B&N. If a reader asked to be considered for a free copy and did not provide a review, that reader could not compete for any other free copies in the future. That approach worked. That approach, however, does not appear to be followed now, given that the last few book giveaways we did resulted in less than 10% of readers who received free copies posting a review anywhere, including on LT. That is a very low ROI, so we stopped investing.
• A problem we encountered with readers in the past when reviews were actually posted in higher quantity was the quality of the reviewer. Readers writing reviews were not professional or even experienced reviewers; they were simply readers. Some knew how to write a professional-sounding review, which could be valuable to an author. Many did not.
•  Another problem we encountered was the apparent lack of logic in the selection process. For example, one reader who received a free book on Christian conversion was someone called something like Blissful Heathen. That person wrote a very negative, quite personal review that took aim at the author in a very personal way, in fact, calling the author names, resulting in an unprofessional review that was actually useful. A negative review can be useful, but not one full of personal attacks. Other reviewers, such as US Review of Books and MidWest Book Review gave the book a very high rating, thankfully, which compensated -- and, likely, potential readers could size up the Blissful Heathen's review appropriately as a visceral response to a book that challenged her in ways she was not ready to be challenged. That said, a "happy heathen" was probably the wrong person to receive this particular book -- that reader would not have the background to properly assess the book.
• Goodreads. The problems here mirror those at LT. Recently, one of our authors offered 20 books for free, sent signed copies, and even a little trinket associated with the topic of the book. Only three recipients wrote reviews -- 15% is slightly better result than 10% but still provides a poor ROI.
• Kindle. Kindle free promotions, in our experience, have resulted in a great many takers, as in the hundreds, zero reviews, and no subsequent purchases. Since there is no great financial investment, we will do these from time to time, hoping that there is some promotional value in just getting the word out.
• Local giveaways. Giveaways through local libraries and media and at local events may have a better ROI than these national ones. 
• Personal offers. The most reliable giveaways in return for reviews has been through personal contacts, in our experience. Someone met at a conference or workshop or public event who is interested in the book, gets it from the author, and promises to write a review usually does write a review, again, in our experience.

Are book giveaways a good promotional strategy?

• They can get the book's title in front of the eyes of a great many potential readers essentially for free -- until the cost of the books that are sent to a handful of those people are taken into account, in which case, an author or publisher will need to check the balance sheet long-term to answer that question. Our experience would answer in the negative: not good enough.
• There is only so much time, money, and effort (the three main resources any one person or publisher has) that can be put into promotional activities. In our experience, the same amount of money spent on direct advertising such as e-blasts is a better investment.

Bottom line: Giveaways are highly urged by those sites and companies that offer them, but the hype is generally just hype, with giveaways being a poor ROI, in our experience, for either reviews or promotion that results in a purchase.                                                                     

Lesson for today's Tuesday talk: Know your resources and your options/opportunities, run the options through a balance sheet, and then make a decision as to whether or not to participate in a giveaway.

See more Publisher Conversations with authors HERE.

 Learn more about publishing from an acquisitions editor -- how to get your book proposal accepted, why proposals are turned down/accepted, and how to find the right publisher for your book. On special sale for $5 while inventory lasts at MSI Press webstore.

The Tuesday talks reflect real discussions between the management of MSI Press LLC and our own authors or those would-be authors who come through our doors but don't make the cut--yet. If you have a topic that you would like addressed, leave the question in the comment section. Chances are, in our 18 years of publishing first-time and experiences authors, we have had a conversation with one of our authors that we can share with you.

                             

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