Using Hashtags to Sell Books

#hashtags #socialmedia #SMM

If you are trying to sell orand promote books, or any other product or service, you need to be using hashtags with every promotional tweet and social media post. 

What is a Hashtag?

Even if you are not on Twitter, you may have seen the little hashtag symbol with the pound sign (#) in front of a word or a combination of letters and numbers such as #ff, #news, #jobs, #icarly, #glee, etc. These hashtags are used to identify and keep up with conversations and news about specific topics. Think of hashtags like the tags used to identify articles, blog posts and Amazon products for topics or items in a search. While hashtags originated on Twitter, it is no longer the only place where hashtags are used. Hashtags are now used on Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, Instagram and LinkedIn.   

Building an online platform is hard. You have to be creative in order to be heard above the noise of your competitors and all the nonsense conversations on social media these days. Lets face it, now that people can self-publish so easily, it seems like there are more authors than readers. 

Readers only have so much time between working, raising a family, and living. No avid reader has time to read all the books on his/her TBR pile. They have to pick and choose due to finances and time. As a result, some books and authors will never be read as often as others. Therefore, you have to use every available resource and tool to increase your chances of being noticed by readers searching for books. Hashtags can help you beat out some of your competition, especially those who aren't using them. 

How to Use Hashtags

1) Put hashtags above the first line of text or in the first sentence. Do this because when the blog post is shared on social media sites, it pulls the title of the blog post and the first line of text. See the examples at the beginning of this blog post. It may seem strange, but it works. 

2) Register your personal hashtags. While you can't buy or own hashtags like a domain name, you can register it with Twubs.com or Hashtag.org to better manage your personal hashtag related to you or your books. Use a term to represent your author name and/or each individual book you write or even a series. This will help you keep up with the flow of responses and discussions around your books during new book launches and/or campaigns. Here is an example of a hashtag I created for a series of books #MacGregorLegacy. 

3) Use common book related hashtags.While it's a wonderful idea to create and register your own hashtags, some common hashtags will also bring readers to your blogs and social media sites. For instance, bloggers who post on the CFBA Blog Tour, include hashtags such as #christianfiction and/or #christianromance. This allows them to promote other authors' books, and at the same time, lure reads to their site to discover other books as well. For a list of book related hashtags, click here. 

4) Use the #SampleSunday or #TeaserTuseday hashtags to post short excerpts to introduce your work to new readers. The Sample Sunday idea originally came from David Wisehart, but it took off with other authors. Since then Sharon Rose created a Sample Sunday Facebook page. You can read more about the idea here. Some authors post first chapters to promote their books. Why not take it a step further and post sentences or paragraphs each Sunday or Tuesday, leading up to and through a book launch for the first chapter? 

Are you using hashtags? Have you ever registered a hashtag? 

The Best Social Media Site for Authors

#goodreads, #reviews #authors

Without a doubt www.goodreads.com is one of the best social media sites for readers and authors to connect on the Internet. The site has over 5.6 million visitors each month and 20 million total readers overall. Unlike most reading and book communities, there are readers than authors. With more than 100,000 authors participating on Goodreads, the ratio is still 1,000 readers per author. You won't find a better site that will give you that kind of access to avid readers. 

Most Goodread readers are addicted to reading. They love to talk about books and share what they've read and are currently reading. This means reviews for authors--and lots of them. Goodreads users create favorite lists by years, topic, genre and quotes using Listopia and readers' actions are published on a newsfeed to their friends and connections. Modern readers are savvy at using social media. They upload book covers and link them to Amazon and auto post reviews to all their other social media accounts.  

Goodreads uses an algorithm similar to Netflix to recommend books to readers who have read and liked specific genres. Books can only be put on the recommendation list after receiving a few hundred ratings. After your book has been out for a while, offer the ebook version at a discount or for free or for a discounted price for a couple of days and those ratings will start rolling in on Goodreads. 

Everyone on Goodreads must first create a free basic reader account. Once you have done this, you can then contact Goodreads and ask to be listed as a Goodreads Author. Using the Author features on Goodreads provides so much more. Upon the Rock Publicist includes Goodreads as part of our social media package because we believe it is imperative to authors who are building their online platform to sell books. 

Create an Author Page

Join the Goodreads Author program to get a dedicated author page and link all your books, connect your blog to auto post on your Goodreads Author page, create giveaways, create reader groups, advertise, publicize upcoming events, post videos, post quotes from your books, list a quiz, and get a widget for your personal blog or website to showcase reviews for your books. Goodreads provides a detailed instruction page that will walk you step by step through the setup process. 

List Your Books on Goodreads Listopia

Search through the Listopia section on Goodreads and find appropriate lists for your book genre. Click the “add books to this list” tab and do a search for your book. You can also add other books to the list. Be sure to vote for your books and ask your friends and readers vote for your books on the lists. Often the difference between 30th and 10th on these lists is only a few votes. 

List Your Printed Books on Giveaway Campaigns

List your print books for a giveaway on Goodreads for a limited time. Be aware that ebooks are not allowed. On average, 825 people enter each Goodreads giveaway and over 40,000 enter book giveaways daily. This will expose your book to a huge number of readers that may otherwise not hear about your book and some of them will go ahead and list your book on their "to read" list. 

Schedule Book Discussions

Goodreads allows you to host discussions about your book. Readers can ask questions and talk with each other about your book, and authors can be as involved as they choose to be. For the steps on how to start a book discussion, visit Goodread’s Featured Books.

Link Your Blog to Goodreads

If you choose to connect your blog to the newsfeed on your Goodreads Author page, Goodreads will email your fans once a week of all your new blog posts. This is a great way to reach other readers that may not have subscribed to your regular newsletter and will remind them about your work and keep your name in front of them. This is part of the Goodreads Author Program.

Ask Readers for Reviews

Since Goodreads features books based on the number of reviews, you will want to get as many reviews as possible. While it's natural to want a higher number of positive reviews than bad reviews, even the bad ones increase your overall number of reviews, which is all the algorithm takes into consideration when promoting your book on the Goodreads system. 

Advertise

Advertising is optional, but has its advantages if you can swing the budget for it. Be sure to target people who read your genre, give high ratings and reviews in your genre, and target the fans of other authors whose books compete with yours. Don't forget the reviewers who have rated your books in the past. Ads cost a minimum of $0.10 per click with a default rate of $0.50 per click, which is more affordable for those with lower budgets. 

New Inspirational Regency - Awakened Redemption by Jennifer Hudson Taylor

Now Available!

England, 1815 
Inspirational Regency

Short Blurb
Awakened Redemption is the story of Elyse Brigham, an abused woman who believes God has forsaken her, but when Preston Mallory offers her a nursemaid position, freedom is in her grasp. Only one man stands in her way—her abuser.

Summary
Preston Mallory hires Elyse Brigham as a nursemaid for his son. Recovering from an abused past, she begins to open her heart to Preston. When she discovers Preston's true identity, she feels betrayed and flees to London. Preston follows hoping to mend things, but his plans are thwarted when his former fiancée is murdered. With plenty of motive and no alibi, he's arrested. How will he prove his innocence and convince Elyse to forgive him?

Elyse has nowhere to turn and believes the Almighty has forsaken her. As her life begins to unravel, a new foundation and path are laid before her if she has the courage to forgive and cling to a forgotten faith.

Available only on Kindle Select 
(for now)

$3.99




Video book trailer coming soon!

New Book Release - The Swaddling Clothes by Amber Schamel

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

December 4, 2013

Charlotte, NC - Through the ages, many stories have been told about Mary and Joseph—the birth of the Messiah. These stories include shepherds and sheep, kings, angels and stables. But there is one story that has never been told.

A story that has remained hidden in the fabric of time.

The Swaddling Clothes—mentioned not once, but several times in the Scriptural text.

What is the significance of these special cloths? And how did they make their way into a stable in Bethlehem?

From the author that brought you the Days of Messiah series comes, a whole new adventure that reviewers are calling "intriguing...thought provoking... a fresh twist on an age old story."

"I get tired of Bible stories sometimes, but The Swaddling Clothes brings the story to life."

"Heartwarming...truly inspired. A story you will want to read again and again. Rich details and a suspenseful plot will keep you reading while giving you a glimpse of God's wonderful power and His amazing love."

Available in print on Amazon, and as a digital ebook on Kindle, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and directly from the author at AmberSchamel.com, readers will want to dive into this story and offer it as a holiday gift to family and friends.

About the Author

Amber Schamel is a multi-published author of Historical Christian Fiction. Her passion for history and culture has led her to travel extensively throughout the United States, Europe, and the Holy Land. Amber is actively involved in her church and enjoys volunteer work and music ministry. Raised in a family of 12 children and homeschooled, she currently resides in the beautiful state of Colorado where she serves as bookkeeper and marketing director for the family business. Find Amber on her blog or social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.