2 Ways to Make the Most of Goodreads

Goodreads

I really admire the folks at Goodreads, not just for their site, but also for the data they share with the industry, including tips for authors. (If you’re not familiar with Goodreads, imagine a Facebook for people who love to read books.)

The recent Goodreads author newsletter offered a number of gems helpful for any author with an upcoming release. Unfortunately, they don’t seem to archive their author newsletters online, so I’ll have to summarize what they said.

(And if the Goodreads people are reading this: Please, please, please archive your newsletters with this information. I’d be tweeting and sharing it if you did.)

1. Reviews are essential.

No surprise there, right? The same is true of Amazon. According to Goodreads, reviews on their site help your book stand out in two ways.

  • They help new readers discover your book. The more people review your book, the more visible it will be. Goodreads reviews also appear on sites like Powell’s, Google Books, and the Sony Ebook Store.
  • They help readers take a chance on an unknown book. Goodreads says, “Books with no written reviews are added, on average, by 7 people, while books with just five written reviews are added by more than 40 people.”

 2. Giveaways are a powerful promotional tool.

According to Goodreads, here are the top techniques behind successful advance giveaways.

  • Give away as many copies as possible. This goes straight back to Point No. 1. Goodreads says, “If your goal is to get reviews, it makes sense to give away a lot of books. Nearly 60 percent of giveaway winners review the books they win, so the more books you offer, the more reviews you are likely to get.”
  • Run your giveaway for two weeks to a month. Goodreads says, “Giveaways less than two weeks run the risk of not getting enough entries, while a four-week giveaway will generate more entries. We recommend that you offer giveaways for one month.”
  • You can run a second giveaway. Goodreads says, “We recommend two giveaways: one about three months before publication to build prerelease buzz and reviews, and a second to increase awareness when your book hits stores. Both will result in a lot of people adding your book to their to-read shelves.”

Goodreads also mentioned that when Diana Gabaldon used their “giveaway widget” for a recent giveaway, it attracted more than 5,000 entries. Plus interest in her other titles spiked at the same time. Goodreads also encourages the use of ads to spike giveaway entries. (Giveaways with ads get more than 50% than average response.)

Keep in mind—what’s true on Goodreads is probably true for campaigns you might be running on your own site. But if you’re not already active on Goodreads, you should give it a shot. (Go visit my author page to get started and get a feel for what it’s like.)

Do you use Goodreads? Have you used it for author marketing and promotion? If so, I hope you’ll leave a comment about your experience.

 

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Jim Hamlett

I recently joined Goodreads author program. Should have done it ages ago. I can already see the benefits. 

Wholeheartedly agree with you that Goodreads should archive their author newsletter. The first one I got cited the info you referenced, and I’d love to read some back issues for additional help.

As always, Jane, you deliver. Many thanks. 

Jim H.
Author of Moe — “…woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!” Eccl. 4:10
http://gracefulword.com

Jane Friedman

Hopefully our rallying cry here will push Goodreads to start archives!  🙂

Jim Hamlett

Roger that!

Donna Galanti

Excellent tips…as my book releases next month and looking into a giveaway and how to navigate GoodReads better!

Lisa Rivero

This post came at a good time for me. I hosted a Goodreads giveaway for a children’s historical fiction book I self-published late last summer. Over 300 people requested it, more than I had expected, which helped a lot with getting the initial word out and getting some reviews. 

You have nudged me to do a second give-away for Black history month (the book features Oscar Micheaux), which I just listed now and am waiting for approval. I want to follow it up with a discussion of some kind.What I need to do, too, is simply immerse myself more on Goodreads, not just as an author but as a reader. It’s just a matter of making the time.

Ross Lampert

Jane, I was a Goodreads subscriber for a while but I found it to be somewhat like your/Porter Anderson’s (former?) Writing  on the Ether column: too much information to digest easily, and too much that I wasn’t interested in. Any suggestions on how to use Goodreads more effectively?

Jane Friedman

I think the key is (1) being very selective about the types of notifications you receive—or else turning them all off and (2) using either groups or tags to ensure you’re in the right community of readers to see/receive good recommendations.

If you know of a couple people you admire who have the same taste as you in books, following their reads or friending them is a good way to get started.

D.B. Smyth

Thanks Ross (for asking) and Jane (for the answer). Hadn’t thought of focusing on those I admire. *head slam* Thanks for the tip!

Caroline

I just finished my first Goodreads giveaway for a literary mid-grade novel. I had about five hundred people enter for a chance to win two copies and am pleased with the number of new readers who have added my title to their list.

Heatherponzer

I love Goodreads. It is a great way to find other like-minded readers. If I see a review that I love, I’ll stalk their books and reviews. Goodreads is a game-changer for me as a reader!

Clodia Metelli

Another suggestion I would add is to join groups on Goodreads appropriate to the genre you write for and introduce yourself. 

You can then add your books to their shelf and do a little self-promotion if the group allows it, but without overdoing it or spamming. Be visible on the site as a reader, commenter and reviewer as well as writer. It’s a friendly place! The only problem with Giveaways is that you can’t do them if your book is only epublished.

Mystic Wyngarden

I just joined Goodreads today, and so far I love it from a reader’s point of view.  Hopefully, I’ll soon see it from a writer’s point of view as well. Thanks for your blog.

~Mystic Wyngarden
http://mysticwyngarden.blogspot.com/

Barbaralambert

Ooops my comment got lost in cyberspace. Repeat — thank you for posting this, it’s so helpful. BL, at http://barbaralambert.com/

Sharla Lovelace

I have an author page on Goodreads and plan to do all this…if I could get past not knowing what I’m doing.  LOL.  My debut novel comes out Apr 3 in paperback, and right now I don’t have a great e-version, I only have page proofs, which are .pdf and hard to read for a reviewer.  I think in March there will be better review copies, (I’m not getting ARCs) but to me that’s cutting it close.  So I’m not sure how to handle the “giveaway” portion of this issue.  Any advice?

Jane Friedman

If you don’t have pre-publication copies for review, don’t worry too much. As Ernie says below, this isn’t the beginning or the end of marketing for your book.

Here’s a post where you can start to think of other ways to market:
http://writerunboxed.com/2011/09/23/a-checklist-for-marketing-your-e-book/