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Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Rep Your Favorite Latino/a Book for Hispanic Heritage Month: Sept 15 - Oct 15

A message from Jo Ann Hernandez:

As an author, I thought of one way to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. We can celebrate our books written by our own and win a book in the process. I borrowed the idea from Darcy Pattison doing Random Acts of Publicity Week and as they say, “Why reinvent the wheel.” I thought her idea and her tips were perfect to celebrate our books for this month. Please read on and join all the fun!!!

To Participate:
1. Daily Acts of Publicity. Each day, do one Random Act of Publicity. You can choose to concentrate on one Latino/a friend’s book; you can choose a different Latino/a author/book each day; you can promote a Latino/a book you like, even if you don’t know the author.
2. Post a comment when you complete the review or post or how you do the publicity on BronzeWord Latino Authors on that day with a link to your post, what type of review it is, and your email address.
3. At the end of the week, a random name will be picked and a book will be awarded.
4. There will be a grand finale winner for the person who posts the most reviews for the five weeks.
5. In addition, there will be five winners. One per week.


Here are some good suggestions:
Random Acts of Publicity: Reviews
Reviews add credibility: they are the marketer’s tool of using a testimonial. The twist on Amazon and other sites is that celebrity testimonials don’t matter as much as just another reader’s comments. To be effective, though, the comment must ring true, they must be authentic and credible.

To go the extra mile, video testimonials are the most effective tool out there. Sure, it’s an act of love to record and post a testimonial about a friend’s book, but it would really make a difference! Or add a photo of a kid reading your friend’s book. Anything extra makes a difference.

The More Reviews the Better
I’ve looked for studies about the effect of reviews on sales, but haven’t found anything solid. But anecdotal information says that the more reviews the better. There seems to be break points at about 20-25 reviews and 100 reviews, at least. That is, over 25 reviews and there’s a bump in sales. Over 100 reviews and there’s a big bump in sales. (If anyone has seen a study to corroborate this, let me know!)

Bad reviews don’t necessarily hurt, as long as there are just a couple. In fact, I’ve seen information that says a few bad reviews make all the others seem more plausible. Too much good can be unbelievable: remember the keys are authentic and credible. No book will please everyone.

The More Recent the Reviews the Better
Should you review older books? Yes! The more recent the reviews the better the title does on searches.

So, here’s one strategy for reviews. Everyone knows that the best sales time is the Christmas holidays. Books are given as gifts, more books are sold in November & December than other months, etc. What you really want, then, is a concentration of reviews in September and October – recent reviews for the holiday season.

Good news: We’re just in time to help a friend’s book!

Your Random Act of Publicity Task for the Month
Post at least one review of a book per week.

Places to post reviews:
Amazon
B&N.com
Library Thing
Good Reads
Shelfari
Any suggestions for other places to post reviews?
Please post at BronzeWord Latino Authors about what you’ve done today to be eligible to win a book.

Tip:
At the very least, you want a webpage to be in the top 30 results, or your chances of clicks are virtually zero.

You can also:
Word of Mouth: Talk to kids!
Word of Mouth: Talk to parents!
Word of Mouth: Talk to booksellers, librarians, teachers, or other professionals!
Word of Mouth: Talk to anyone! But a bit of explanation, followed by your enthusiasm – that’s what will help spread the word.


Jo Ann Hernandez
AUTHOR OF:
White Bread Competition
The Throwaway Piece
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