This question was recently asked and my reply was the following: (I’m posting it here because what I do for promo is one of my FAQs)
(958 views)It’s never an instantaneous ‘run out and buy it NOW’ effect for me. But it does build name recognition, and I have bought an author’s book because of name recognition when browsing in the store.
Maybe I’m weird, but if I’m in a ‘*meh* nothing looks good’ mood and I’m looking at the bookshelf and trying to find something, anything to buy and read, I’ll buy a book by an author who gave me a promo item over a book by an author I have no experience with at all.
An example: I recently got a Tip Calculator from Shirley Carr. Now I’m thinking about checking her out. If she’s got some excerpts that hook me, she’s got a sale. And I can say with a surety that wouldn’t be considering her work if she hadn’t built some name recognition with me with her promo item. (would’ve been the same for me with a nail file or pen or bookmark. I’m not picky.)
Now, I do have a nail file from an author whose work I’ll never ever read, so her promo item didn’t work the same, but hey! She tried. *g*
Did the author get my sale within the first two all-important weeks? Nah, but they did get a sale and if I like their stuff, I’ll buy them again. :d
I think promo works, at least it does for me. Last year at Lori Foster’s get-together I picked up some pens and bookmarks (love those!) from new-to-me authors and have since read some of their work.
Every once in awhile, I get into a reading slump, and one of the best ways to get past it is to read a book by a new author, one I’ve discovered through some method of promo. I love the tip calculator. So whether it’s items, contests, blogs, recommendations, it’s all good. Just because my tbr piles are teetering out of control doesn’t mean I can’t find room for more
So should I have skipped picking up that particular promo item, knowing that even if I know her name, I’m probably not going to buy her books?
No, not at all. Hopefully you’ll think of her and when someone you know mentions looking for a new historical, you’ll say, “Well, I haven’t read her myself, but have you tried Shirley Carr?” Or perhaps you’ll pull out that tip calculator and a tablemate will see it and she’ll think of it. *g*
I’m not sure what all the reasons are that other people do promo. Personally, I expect only ONE thing from every promo effort I do–name recognition. That’s it.
May sound extreme to some, but all I want in return for all the promo I do is maybe a handful of people remembering my name. I’d like to think it’s working. I’ve received more than one email where a reader said they resisted buying BBA because the cover was so awful they thought the book must be awful, too. However, after seeing repeated promo for it, they finally gave in, and now they’ll buy my work again.
On one of my loops of published authors, they said they promoed their first 3-4 releases heavily and then tapered off as name recognition grew. I think that’s wise, and I hope to do the same. However, since the vast majority of romance readers aren’t online, the only way to tell how well you’re doing is to hear from booksellers, which you will if readers are asking for your stuff.
Sylvia – I have the same tip calculator.
But see, I probably will never read a book by Shirley Karr because I don’t really dig historicals – still, the tip calculator comes in handy.
So should I have skipped picking up that particular promo item, knowing that even if I know her name, I’m probably not going to buy her books?
Promos don’t work for me. There’s too much of it going on and I tend to tune it out a lot. Name recognition only works to the extent that great cover art, a cool title, or an interesting blurb would: the writer gets my curiosity/attention, but not a sale. Not by a long shot. The synopsis and a writing excerpt/sample does that. But promos must work for other readers, (the way it does for you) else authors wouldn’t keep doing it.