The Things I’ll do Differently when Promoting my Second Poetry Collection

I am thrilled to have a published poetry book out there! My own self doubt has gotten in the way of my creative passions for too long so I have no regrets to reach for my dreams. I was, of course, so eager to publish and not lose my confidence that I didn’t utilize every opportunity I had. Here are areas for improvement:

 

Growing my audience

My biggest mistake was switching to self hosting so close to my release date. I didn’t realize my viewership numbers would fall so drastically and that really affected the audience I could reach for my book launch. I should have waited until my numbers grew again instead of rushing right along. I’ve set goals for growing my blog followers as well as social media that I have to reach before releasing my next book.

 

Establishing a Fan Base

I have also set goals for my current collection that I want to meet before my sophomore collection. I understand the ease of pushing a follow button or liking a tweet, but that does not easily convert to the number of sales. By the fourth month after I published Cracked Open, I didn’t have a single sale. I don’t want that to be the case for this next book.

 

Creating Buzz/ Chatter

I started promoting my book and creating buzz a month before it’s release. Although i don’t think I need to push to more weeks, I was unaware of the role of ARC (Advance Reader Copies) that could be sent to reviewers/fans before a launch. With the support of their audience, I’ve grown my reach immensely. There is a lot of research to how influential reviews are for potential buyers and any author/poet/business person is a fool to not capitalize on it.

 

Try Various Channels for Marketing

Social Media is easy and free to promote your work but as I’ve mentioned likes and follows don’t translate into book sales. Don’t hesitate to try flyers or leaving business cards wherever you travel and visit. Many bloggers are familiar with email campaigns and even capitalize on blogger events to connect and network.