Using Giveaways to Promote Your Book
A great way to promote your recently published book is to use giveaways. You offer participants the chance to win something and in exchange they perform a certain action, like subscribing to your newsletter. The advantage of a giveaway is it attracts lots of attention and can really help you grow your platform if done right. Before you schedule your first content, here’s what you need to keep in mind:
Have a Goal
Be honest about what you want from your giveaway contest. Are you looking to gain more newsletter subscribers? Do you want to gain another 500 likes to your Facebook fan page? Are you hoping for a fresh round of reviews on Amazon?
Once you know what you want, you can plan your contest around this outcome. For example, if you want 200 more newsletter subscribers, then one of your contest requirements might be joining your mailing list.
Follow the Rules
Each social media platform has special rules for running contests. Facebook doesn’t allow you to make liking your Facebook fan page a requirement for entry. They do this because they don’t want people inflating their page with fans that really don’t care and are only there for the prize.
However, you can ask your contest participants to like your Facebook page. You just can’t use it as a requirement. You also need to clarify that Facebook isn’t endorsing or supporting your contest.
Set a Deadline
A contest needs a quick deadline to motivate people to take action. Otherwise participants decide they’ll enter later and they never quite get around to it. That’s why you want to run your contest for about a week. Anything longer and you may see a loss of interest.
Choose Your Prizes
It’s tempting to giveaway your book as a prize, but don’t do this. Your goal is to sell books. When participants think they have a chance to win your book, they don’t buy it. Instead, they enter your contest and hope they’re the winner.
However, there are plenty of other items you could giveaway as prizes. You could create promo swag using a site like Zazzle. Using Zazzle, you can create branded journals, pens, canvas totes, mugs, and more.
But you’re not limited to print on demand items. You can also choose prizes that relate to the theme of your book. For example, if your book is about royalty in the medieval ages, then a prize could be a small tiara or crown.
If your book is non-fiction, then you may want to offer a service or another product as a giveaway. As a niche leader, you may decide the prize is a one-hour consultation with you or it could be an exclusive code to your insider’s club.
Don’t just throw together a giveaway randomly. Take some time to think through what the rules will be, what prize you’ll offer, and how participants can enter to win. Your contest will flow smoothly if you work these details out in advance.