Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Free Promotional Source: Spec-Fic Book News

Free Promotional Source: Spec-Fic Book News

I often receive requests to help promote a new book, contest, giveaway, etc. While I certainly don't mind authors asking for help, time is limited. So, I created a subdomain of my blog which allows you—author, blogger, contest host—to share your information as you wish.

The process is simple. Simply register an account and fill out your author bio. You will automatically be setup as a contributor, which opens a submit post option. Type away whatever it is you want to share, embed your book cover, trailer, and any other media, choose a category and tags, and submit. The post goes into a queue which is approved in order received.

So what's the benefit of using this website?

Google association. One part of Google's clever algorithm is noticing how often words are used together. For example, your name and your book title. Or, your book title and keywords from the synopsis. Since the website has been indexed by Google, submitting posts here helps build such association for you.

Browsing users. When a user visits to share their own information or read another post, they are exposed to both the latest postings on the site and articles related to the one they are reading. And since the site is geared toward speculative fiction, it is likely those who visit are going to be interested in your post too. Not to mention the newsletter which sends out a daily report of new submissions.

RainyoftheDark linked. Spec-Fic Book News is linked to RainyoftheDark.com in a variety of places, which increases the chance of my personal blog visitors checking out Spec-Fic. That means as RainyoftheDark.com grows, so will exposure to your posts.

More features. The website is new, but as time goes on, other features will be added which will draw in more authors and readers. The longer your post is up, the more likely people will find it.

Spec-Fic Promotions. While the website is a side project meant to provide a much quicker response to the promotional requests, it will also be promoted independently. This guest post is one such example. Again, that effort carries over into your own efforts—as long as you've posted your information on the website.

Here are some other points:

It's simple and easy to use.
Since you are in control, you can use it on blog tours.
Promote more than just your book: share links to blogs, giveaways, reviews, and interviews.
Add an excerpt to your book release news to further entice readers.
Include an author photo via Gravatar.
It's spam free.
It doesn't cost anything.

If you'd like to stay up-to-date on new submissions to the website, sign up for the Spec-Fic Book News newsletter. And if you'd like to follow discussions and new implementations for it, stalk my personal blog as all news filters from there.


Have you submitted to Spec-Fic Book News yet?

When Rainy Kaye isn’t plotting world domination, she enjoys coaching others about it on her blog http://www.rainyofthedark.com. She also likes fluffy kittens.


3 comments:

Fenriswulf Books said...

Sounds great.

I'll have a good look into that!

Natasha Larry said...

Chaz! Hey, I miss you. How have you been?

Rainy Kaye said...

Chaaaaz! =)

If you want a category added, I can do this. Just let me know what. Via email, because I'm slow, lol