The Author Publishes Herself in This One...and Wins a Goodreads Choice Award
Posted by Cynthia on December 07, 2016

The Goodreads Choice Awards highlight the most-buzzed-about books of the year in their respective genres, from fiction to fantasy, history to horror. Many of the authors who take home the award are established writers with a large fanbase—and a publishing team who worked hard behind the scenes to promote the title throughout the year. Which is why it’s such an accomplishment when a self-published author without that kind of audience or marketing budget gets nominated—and wins.

Amanda Lovelace is this year’s only self-published author to take home a Goodreads Choice Award. Her book, the princess saves herself in this one, won the award for Best Poetry. "There simply isn’t a word that can cover the joy I feel,” says Lovelace when informed she had won the award. “To be eligible for let alone win the Best Poetry in the Goodreads Choice Awards, which I have been voting in since they were established, is...well, "honored" doesn’t cover it."

Lovelace is right in understanding that making it into the list of 400 nominated books–out of the hundreds of thousands published each year–that make up the nominees of the Goodreads Choice Awards is already a major achievement. To do this, a book needs to have achieved a certain level of success in the months leading up to the awards. Lovelace recalls that she built consistent awareness throughout the year using her blog and social media to cross promote her activity and get the word out. “I’m a longtime online book blogger and I’ve always had a steady following across social media,” explains the author, who has been writing poetry since she was 10 years old. “I often posted pieces of my writing on my various platforms [so] all my followers knew I was a writer and that I was working on a poetry collection.”

This loyal online following meant there was an immediate demand for her collection upon publication in April, and the buzz she built in her community caught the attention of a Goodreads book club, which selected the title for their group to read in July. "As a way to include more people, [the moderator] asked if I could offer the e-book for free for any amount of time. I happily obliged, running a sales promotion that made my book free for as many days as I was allowed."

Lovelace had already made her book available though Kindle Unlimited before the book club selection, but wasn't opposed to making it more accessible. "As an author, making your book free of charge might not seem attractive for multiple reasons, but it really does do wonders for promotion! The more people who can access your book, the more reviews that are written—the best “signal boost” you could possibly hope for."



Lovelace also credits her engagement with her readers on social media with the success of her book, and she encourages other authors to use social tools as much as possible. "Interact with your readers and learn what they like about your work and why! Don’t automatically assume you know what your selling points are—as an author, you’re automatically biased against your own work, so getting some honest perspective is invaluable to you and the promotion of your work," she says.

The book was shelved nearly 2800 times the day the Goodreads Choice award was announced. Lovelace doesn't have specific plans for including the Choice Awards in her immediate promotions "aside from gently plastering it everywhere I can!" The award is not the only indicator of her writing and marketing success, as Andrews McMeel acquired the book before it was even a nominee, and plan to re-release it in February 2017. Lovelace is excited to be joining her Andrews McMeel family, as she’s read a few of their authors, including fellow Choice nominees r.h. Sin, Sierra DeMulder, and Michael Faudet. "I felt incredibly privileged to have been grouped with such uniquely talented modern poets."

Amanda's Advice for Authors...

...about reading your reviews: "If you choose to read your reviews, you have to grow a thick skin and learn not to take the negative ones to heart, unless you think it will help to improve your craft.”

...about promoting yourself: “Promote your work as you see fit, but don’t forget that an author isn’t the only thing you are. Too many writers are too impersonal on social media.”

...about taking it all in: “Once your work is out there, it’s no longer just yours. Readers get to decide what it’s all about and why it’s worth reading.”

Next: Marketing Advice from Bestselling Author Gail Carriger

You might also like: Indie Authors Share Their Secrets to Self-Publishing

Goodreads Authors can subscribe to the Monthly Author Newsletter by editing their account settings under the 'emails' tab!

Marketing Advice from Best-Selling Author Gail Carriger
Posted by Cynthia on November 04, 2016

Gail Carriger, best-selling author of the steampunk romance series Parasol Protectorate and Finishing School, recently stopped by the Goodreads offices (with the photo to prove it!) and shared some fascinating marketing advice. She’s taken both the traditional and indie route in publishing, and realizes how important it is for authors to take charge of their marketing plans, regardless of how they’re published. She also understands the value of engaging with readers (just check out her fantastic Ask the Author responses, like this one about naked ghosts). We caught up with her briefly to ask her what tips she’d like to share with the Goodreads Author community at large. Here’s what she said:

You’ve answered nearly 300 questions via Ask the Author. What’s your approach to responding to reader questions via Ask the Author?

I really like to have fun as long as I can stay within the realm of honesty. I particularly love getting questions about my characters or thought experiments within my world. There always seem to be more creative questions on Goodreads.

What’s your favorite thing about Goodreads?

I tend to use Goodreads mostly as a reader: posting reviews, consulting lists for what to read next, and chatting on a few book groups. (Less of the latter now than I used to, because I don't want to be thought intrusive.) So I guess my favorite thing is pretty simple: Goodreads is full of readers. I'm a reader first and foremost, so I feel like I'm in a place full of like-minded people. It's comforting.

How do you encourage reviews if your own books on Goodreads?

I mostly don't. I mean, I'm always happy to see them pop up, but it is totally up to my readership if they want to write a review. I'm more active encouraging book reviews in general. I try to spread the word about how important reviews are to authors, both for our career and just knowing that there are people out there reading us. It can be quite lonely on this end of the writing chain.

That's one of the reasons I write reviews, the best way to encourage people is through example: if I want people to review my books because they love them, then I should review books that I love! That said, when I fall in love with a book I basically want to tell everyone about it anyway. Everyone. All the time. Endlessly.

What’s one exciting, possibly hidden feature on Goodreads you’ve discovered on Goodreads (can be anything, reader or author marketing related)?

Well the Q&A is wonderful! Like I said, I get some of my favorite questions there which have sparked everything from new story ideas to blog posts. I enjoy the quotes feature, too. I like to put quotes into my blog posts, so I'm often hunting around for useful ones on Goodreads.

I'm running my very first Goodreads Giveaway. I'm hoping that it goes well, because I have more books that I'd love to send out into the world in a fun new way. I like the idea of giving back to the Goodreads community, because I feel like they've always been there for me.

What are you working on right now?

Romancing the Inventor just released. That's my second self-published novella, set in my steampunk Parasolverse. It is a stand-alone that features popular side character Genevieve Lefoux, my slightly crazy, always endearing, utterly brilliant engineer. She's had her heart broken several times through the course of my series, and I decided it was time for her to find someone worthy of her love. In this case, it kinda worked out in reverse. Imogene popped into my head and took over. She's a country-girl who takes a job as a parlourmaid to a local vampire hive and promptly falls in love with Genevieve. But Genevieve is bitter, broken-hearted, and pretty much owned by vampires, so Imogene has a her work cut out for her.

Ask Gail a question here about marketing via Ask the Author!

Next: Updating the Power of Blurbs for Today's Book Discovery Landscape

You might also like: Marketing Advice from Debut Author Scott Hawkins

Goodreads Authors can subscribe to the Monthly Author Newsletter by editing their account settings.

Updating the Power of Blurbs for Today’s Book Discovery Landscape
Posted by Eunice on October 24, 2016

Blurbs from other authors have a long tradition in publishing, although you may be surprised to know just how long! Walt Whitman is credited as the first author to use a recommendation from another author" (Ralph Waldo Emerson no less) to promote Leaves of Grass all the way back in 1856. Today, the ability for a better known author to help a debut author continues and it’s hard to find a book cover without a few notes of praise. But what if publishers could take a recommendation from a well known author, send it in a targeted email to just that author’s fans and track the results? That’s the power of a Goodreads’ Author Recommended Mailer.

The Author Recommended Mailer is a highly effective marketing product for debut authors. Publishers can create an email with a recommendation by an established author for a new book. Goodreads sends the Author Recommended Mailer to readers who have reviewed and given a positive rating of 3 or more stars to the established author’s books. Backed by the established author’s endorsement, the mailer acts as a seal of approval for a debut author, therefore increasing the likelihood of discoverability, engagement, buzz and awareness of the debut title with the established author’s fan base.

How Del Rey Had Success With an Author Recommended Mailer

As the team at the Del Rey imprint of Penguin Random House started planning how to promote Sylvain Neuvel’s sci-fi/fantasy debut novel Sleeping Giants, they initially considered display advertising to create awareness. However, as Sleeping Giants started gaining industry buzz, they realized they could do more with Goodreads to leverage that momentum.

Del Rey’s goal was to help sci-fi and fantasy readers discover Sleeping Giants and they would measure that by the number of readers adding it to their Want to Read shelves on Goodreads. The challenge was that Sylvain Neuvel was a relatively new author without a large, established fan base. A key advantage they had was a quote from Pierce Brown, the New York Times best-selling author of the YA sci-fi Red Rising Trilogy, who loved the book. He also has a large fan base on Goodreads. It was the perfect scenario to test an Author Recommended Mailer.



The results of the Sleeping Giants Author Recommended Mailer speak for themselves. Del Ray saw a high spike in people adding the book to their shelves on the day after the email was sent. Erika Seyfried, Assistant Director of Marketing said, “Pierce Brown had given us a lovely quote for Sleeping Giants. Having the ability to be able to reach out to Pierce’s fan base with that quote through a Goodreads Author Recommended Mailer was a great way to pique interest from potential readers for a debut author.”

Tips to Make Your Author Recommended Mailer Successful

• Readers love to hear from an author whose work they have previously enjoyed. They trust that person’s opinion, especially about books and writing. Just as with blurbs on book covers, it’s important to choose an author whose books are relevant to the book you are trying to promote. Do they write in the same genre? Are they experts in the same topic?
• To create the best results, you need to have a personalized recommendation from an author who also has a large enough fan base on Goodreads. Once the publisher has identified the author that will endorse the debut or lesser known author, your Goodreads Account Manager can help identify the number of users that will receive the Author Recommended Mailer.
• Where possible, ask the author recommending the book to write a note that’s in the style of a personal email to fans. They can talk about why this book is so special or what made it stand out for them, and even relate it to one of their own books. Remember, the Author Recommended Mailer has the potential to be much more intimate and therefore much more powerful than a 1-2 sentence blurb, although these can work too. For the author recommending the book, this is another opportunity to engage with fans, to keep the connection going in between books.
• As with all email marketing, think carefully about the subject line. In order to encourage fans of the Red Rising Trilogy to open and read the Author Recommended Mailer, Goodreads collaborated with Del Rey to create a compelling subject line that mentioned Pierce Brown. Fans are much more likely to open an email mentioning the name of an author they love.
• Make sure that the quote is compelling for readers. Pierce Brown shared that Sleeping Giants was “reminiscent of The Martian and World War Z...and is a luminous conspiracy yarn that shoots for (and lands among) the stars.” No wonder the email drove significant interest in the book!

If you are interested in learning more about running an Author Recommended Mailer campaign on Goodreads, please contact your account manager or email us.

Next: Advice for Aspiring Indie Authors by Successful Indie Authors

You might also like: Goodreads Now Offers Ad Targeting Based on 20,000 Authors & 500 Genre Options

Goodreads Authors can subscribe to the Monthly Author Newsletter by editing their account settings.

Advice for Aspiring Indie Authors by Successful Indie Authors
Posted by Cynthia on October 06, 2016

In celebration of all things Indie this month, we pulled some quotes from successful Indie Authors about their advice to aspiring writers. Click through to read their full answers, share these quotes with your friends and followers, or tell us in the comments below what the best advice was that you ever got about writing and self-publishing!









Next: Indie Authors Share Their Secrets to Creating Successful Self-Publishing Careers

You might also like: Benefits and Best Practices of Ask the Author on Goodreads

Goodreads Authors can subscribe to the Monthly Author Newsletter by editing their account settings.

Indie Authors Share Their Secrets to Creating Successful Self-Publishing Careers
Posted by Cynthia on October 04, 2016

The self-publishing landscape has changed. Ask any indie author who has been at it for a while, and they’ll likely agree that what used to drive discovery in self-publishing isn’t what works now, and there are no guarantees that what works now will continue to work in the future. “The moment you think that a particular activity is the “best” one, it gets stale and something else catches on,” says David Estes, author of the popular YA series The Dwellers Saga and Slip.

The problem with discovery might be due to the dramatic increase in self-published titles, giving readers more choice but making it more competitive for authors to stand out. According to a recent Bowker report, the number of ISBNs from self-published books grew by 375% between 2010 and 2015. There were 727,125 ISBNs assigned to self-published titles in 2015 alone. If anything, this likely under-represents the number of indie books, as many popular self-publishing platforms don’t require an ISBN to release a book.

Self-publishing is an attractive option to the approximately 81% of Americans who want to publish a book some day, and more self-published authors are making a living today than traditionally published authors, according to Hugh Howey, bestselling author of Wool, citing an Author Earnings report.

But don’t think that simply hitting ‘publish’ is all it takes. “I would upload my book to the KDP platform, fill everything out, and hit publish. Then the program would think and think, and then—nothing. No book live,” remembers Shannon Mayer, author of Raising Innocence. “I spent three days trying to figure out why it wouldn’t work before I stumbled on the reason: I hadn’t put in who the author was!”

Technical difficulties aside, self-published authors realize too late that publishing a book is a lot of work. In celebration of Indie Author Day on October 8th, we asked three bestselling indie authors how they turned their passion into a career, and for their advice on approaching self-publishing successfully.

The Secret of the Self-Published Writer: It Takes a Village

While writing is a solitary endeavor, self-publishing isn’t—or shouldn’t be—if you want your career to take off. Chanda Hahn, who worked as bookseller and children’s librarian before writing her bestselling Unfortunate Fairytale series, knows what areas she needs to outsource to professionals, like copy and line editing, and what can be done in-house. “My brother-in-law does my covers, and I’ll find the models and get a cover shoot done for the book. I found one model in a Panera Bread while I was eating lunch!”

As a former accountant, Estes realized that he needed to approach his self-publishing career like a business. “My goal is to publish a finished product that is as high-quality as possible at the lowest cost. I try to save money where I can, but I do not do so at the sake of quality.” Authors simply cannot go at it alone, and being realistic about where your strengths and weaknesses are will help you identify where you need help. “I have zero skills with graphic design, so I outsource the cover design to a trusted friend who happens to be a graphic designer,” says Estes.

And yet, because of the nature of the beast, every responsibility ultimately lays with the self-published author. “Every choice I make for my books and my stories from plot, editing, cover art, marketing… it’s all on my shoulders,” says Mayer, who has written more than 30 books. This level of involvement is what initially appeals to indie authors, but the scope of what needs to be done (and done well) can be overwhelming for someone who tries to do it all alone.

Thinking About Marketing First

Writing, editing, designing, pricing…the last thing indie authors usually think about when they finally hit ‘publish’ is marketing the book. But readers can’t buy a book they’ve never heard of. While there are many outlets and opportunities for authors to promote their books, Goodreads remains the largest site for readers, with more than 50 million members.

“I joined Goodreads as a reader, not an author,” says Estes, which anyone can see by checking out his robust bookshelves. Estes found several groups in his favorite genres where he could chat about books, TV, movies, and the like. “A few of the group members realized I was an author and decided to try my books simply because they were curious.” He began participating in formal group “Read to Review” programs, where he would offer free copies of his books in exchange for reviews. “That’s where I first started growing the seeds that would become my fan base, eventually expanding into my official Goodreads fan group.”

David Estes Fans and YA Book Lovers Unite! has more than 3,000 members, but the group is not just about him. He and his two moderators ensure there’s something for everyone, whether that’s playing Book Bingo or conducting interviews with other authors like Marissa Meyer, Hugh Howey, and Jennifer Nielsen. Estes estimates that he spends about 10 hours hanging out in the group, and about 15 hours on Goodreads overall per week. Many self-published authors spend most of their marketing efforts on social media because they spend more time than money on it. “Once I’m [online], hours pass and I have no recollection of where they went!” Hahn credits Goodreads with helping her connect readers with her books. Her newest book, Lost Girl, will be the first one for which she’ll share advance reading copies for early reviews. “I’ve always been lucky enough to have very dedicated fans that want to share their love of the book by posting reviews.”

Does she read her reviews? “Never. I may see my book and see that it has a number of reviews, and I’ll be, “Five thousand reviews…that’s awesome.” I don’t want to know how many are five stars or one stars…that’s not what’s important. What is important is that I wrote a book that made the readers feel something and respond, whether that is negative or positive.”

UnEnchanted is the first book in the five part Unfortunate Fairy Tale series, and the author has received more than 32,000 overall ratings to date. The unconventional fairy tales incorporate fantasy and adventure, and appeal to a teenage audience looking for a twist on their favorite stories from childhood. “A few weeks after I published, I started to get quite a few emails from agents. I knew I was doing something right and then the paychecks started to come in.”

Mayer offers a free ebooks to anyone who signs up for her mailing list on her website, which accomplishes two things at once: building a dedicated list of interested readers, and putting her book out there to get ratings and reviews. Estes agrees: “The more readers that download your book, the more reviews you’ll get. Whenever my books are on sale or I have a new book coming out, I have a large group of readers I can immediately contact.”

Parlaying Self-Publishing into Viable Career

Self-published authors need to realize that it’s a marathon, not a sprint, and it’s usually not the first book that will be your greatest hit. Nor the second one. “I’ve seen authors spend two years promoting one book and never write book two,” says Hahn. “When I first published, I released three books in six months. Then I was releasing two a year.”

“Some [indie authors] will hit it big with one book and think they’ve “made it.” I know I used to think that way,” says Estes. “The momentum from The Moon Dwellers has lasted for a long time, but I know it will eventually run out, which is why I’m always publishing new material and trying to shift my readers’ focus to my new books, so I can generate new income streams that will keep my career going for years to come.”

All three authors have been fortunate and savvy enough to be able to support themselves and their families through self-publishing, but they still sees the value in a traditional publishing deal because it allows them to reach a new set of readers. “I went in with an attitude that I would succeed at writing no matter how long it took,” says Mayer, who recently signed a deal with 47North, an Amazon publishing imprint.

Hahn is willing to entertain the idea of traditional publishing if the right publisher came along, but she’s happy with the support she’s received from Amazon Createspace, and grateful to Trident Media Group for their help with foreign rights deals. Estes and his agent are currently pitching his new high fantasy series to publishers, which he’s excited about. “People are still reading! The gap has vanished between indie and traditionally published authors. We are finally on a level playing field, and hard work and good writing will always yield success in the end.”

5 Tips from Self-Published Authors

Get as many reviews as possible. “Without reviews, you have no chance at selling books. When you first publish a book, particularly a standalone novel or the first book in a series, your sole focus should be getting reviews, rather than selling books.” —David Estes

Choose your team wisely. “[Hire people] who already have an understanding of the industry. While you as the author can work with them to teach them the various areas of where you need help, its great if there is already a basic understanding of what needs to be done.” –Shannon Mayer

Share your work. “The biggest challenge is finding what works and how to get your book in front of readers. Fans love giveaways and Goodreads makes it easy to do paperback giveaways.” —Chanda Hahn (Note: eBook giveaways for self-published authors are coming soon! Read about our beta program here.)

Make your book available. “Some authors even choose to make their book perma-free, which allows the broadest number of readers to give it a try and possibly leave a review. If you do decide to offer your book for free, don’t forget to spend a little of your marketing budget to help you spread the word about your book.” —David Estes

Let your writing breathe. “When writing a new book it takes a few chapters to find your voice and rhythm and I have a tumultuous relationship with my manuscript. Most days I write easily and other days I need chocolate motivation and coffee to get words on paper.” —Chanda Hahn

Next: Goodreads Now Offers Ad Targeting Based on 20,000 Authors & 500 Genre Options

You might also like: The Successful Marketing Behind the Debut Novel "Lilac Girls”

Goodreads Authors can subscribe to the Monthly Author Newsletter by editing their account settings.

Goodreads Now Offers Ad Targeting Based on 20,000 Authors & 500 Genre Options
Posted by Veronica Moss on September 12, 2016

The holy grail of book discovery is to get your book in front of the readers most likely to be interested in reading it, and one of the best ways to do this is with highly targeted advertising. While Goodreads is home to the world’s largest community of readers, we also know that not all books will appeal to all readers. To significantly improve how Goodreads helps book publishers reach the right potential readers, we’ve therefore rolled out new enhanced genre and author targeting offerings.

More options means more refined targeting

We’ve expanded our targetable authors from 200 to 20,000 and our targetable genres from 50 to 500, which provides a wider selection of possible targets and enables more precision with ad targeting. For example, fans of Veronica Rossi, Marie Lu, and Neal Shusterman all enjoy science fiction, but will likely find different science fiction books appealing. Now, you can narrow down your target audiences with more accuracy and create an audience that is highly relevant to your book.

Better data delivers improved results

Next, we’ve made genre targeting more dynamic—it now considers both a reader’s declared (their stated preferences) and behavioral (as shown by their activity on Goodreads) interests. This is important because a reader’s taste can change over time, so behavioral signals such as recent shelving activity is a more effective way to select the best ad to serve at the right time.

Combined, these targeting improvements enable book publishers to pinpoint readers who have the highest probability of being interested in their book, and in turn, deliver even more efficient advertising campaigns. And it’s great for our members too as this will help them discover even more books that better reflect their reading tastes.

How Our New Author Targeting Works

When book publishers have a title they want to advertise on Goodreads, they can work with our Ad Sales team to develop a list of authors they’d like to target using one or more of our display ad products across web and mobile surfaces. Our best practice is to select up to 10 authors to target, with at least 5 authors from our list of top 200 authors in order to guarantee effective ad delivery.

Typically the publisher will suggest an author, or set of authors, that they believe would be relevant for the campaign; our Account Managers will augment or refine that list to optimize ad delivery and performance. Display ads, including our high performing Native Ads, are then targeted to readers based on their shelving and rating activity. Of course, you only want to reach fans of an author, so we automatically filter out anyone who has rated an author’s books less than 3 stars.

How Our New Genre Targeting Works

More dynamic than in the past, a member’s genre preferences are based on the books they shelf, which lets us identify the most relevant set of genres for that person at that point in time. And, we’ve built out our selection of genre options even more broadly than before. Any genre with a material amount of fans on Goodreads will work as a marketing target, giving book publishers an opportunity to increase discoverability of their featured titles. Some of the new genre options include coming of age, outdoors, and zombies. Like Author targeting, display ads, including Native ads, are then targeted to our readers based on their declared genre preferences and their behavioral preferences.

Get Started

If you’re a current advertising partner, look for an announcement coming from us over email. For further questions, feel free to reach out to your account manager. They can walk you through the changes, and help you take advantage of the new targeting for your next campaign.

Download and search our new library of targetable authors here, and targetable genres here.

If you’re new to Advertising with Goodreads, contact us at advertising@goodreads.com. We would love to help you market your next book!

Next: Getting the Most Out of the New Native Ads on Goodreads Newsfeed

You might also like: Five Tips for Running a Giveaway on Goodreads

Goodreads Authors can subscribe to the Monthly Author Newsletter by editing their account settings.

Getting the Most Out of the New Native Ads on Goodreads Newsfeed
Posted by Steve on September 06, 2016

At Goodreads, we’re committed to being on the forefront of book discovery and brand advertising solutions for publishers and authors. Among our most anticipated new ad products this year has been “native” ads on our newsfeed and we’re excited to share some very powerful results from the first months of activity, along with five best practices gleaned from our initial campaigns.

What makes native ads so powerful on the Goodreads Newsfeed

To be an effective environment for native ads, newsfeeds must offer context, targeting, and, most importantly, scale. When it comes to reaching readers, the Goodreads newsfeed is the largest digital conversation dedicated to reading and books.

The newsfeed is where our millions of monthly logged-in members first arrive both on desktop and with their phone or tablet to engage with their friends and people they follow. To connect you with these passionate readers, Goodreads has the advantage of massive scale combined with our unique and proven targeting offering a powerful platform to bring native newsfeed ads to market.

Since we introduced our improved native ads in the first quarter of 2016, average click through rates (CTR) and engagement of these ads are nearly 3X higher than our typical, already-strong-performing display ads. Native ads on the Desktop have seen 2.3X higher CTR than a standard 300X250 display ad, and native ads on Mobile are 2.8X higher than a standard 320X50 placement.

Native Newsfeed Ads — Best Practices

While measuring the overall effectiveness of native newsfeed ads, we’ve also seen some clear signals on what works best to drive high engagement:

• Using custom copy vs. default book descriptions perform better.
• Custom copy should read like an authentic Goodreads review and include quotes.
• Including mentions of any awards or bestselling lists status helps increase interest and engagement.
• Avoiding “salesy” ad copy and redundant calls to action such as “add to shelf” also improve performance.

Some examples of native ads that have performed well

Crown Publishing’s smart use of quotes in the ad copy for Erik Larson’s Dead Wake drove strong engagement and intention. Seth Morris, Assistant Director, Advertising and Promotions, Crown Publishing, said, “We realized that placing a book in front of a highly targeted audience when they are focused on connecting with friends about what they are reading is the key strength of native ads on Goodreads.

We decided to experiment with native ads for the paperback edition of Dead Wake and were pleased to see that the campaign drove a significant amount of adds by Goodreads members to their “Want to Read” shelves. Even better, thanks to how all of these “Want to Read” adds were then shared in the updates feed of their friends, we generated social notifications about Dead Wake that amplified the effect of the native ad.”

Penguin Young Readers also saw great results with their native ads to promote the YA title Summerlost. Erin Toller, Associate Director Advertising & Consumer Marketing, Penguin Young Readers said, “We knew that it was important to create a native ad that felt a natural part of the updates feed. Incorporating actual reviews from Goodreads users added credibility to this title as Goodreads members really trust reviews on Goodreads–we saw excellent click-thru rates as a result! We plan on including Native Ads in future media buys on Goodreads.”

This example from iUniverse promoting The Siren illustrates the use of calling out “bestselling” status in the native copy:

These results show that including Goodreads newsfeed ads in your overall marketing mix is an effective way to reach readers and drive the best results for your book.

If you are interested in learning more about running a native ad campaign on Goodreads, please visit our advertising page to learn more and get in touch.

Next: The Successful Marketing Behind the Debut Novel Lilac Girls

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Goodreads Authors can subscribe to the Monthly Author Newsletter by editing their account settings.

The Successful Marketing Behind the Debut Novel "Lilac Girls”
Posted by Cynthia on August 22, 2016

Getting attention for a new book is always challenging, but breaking out a new book by a debut author is especially difficult. Without an established fan base, you need to work extra hard to create opportunities for readers to discover your book.

Best Practices for Building Followers on Goodreads
Posted by Cynthia on August 08, 2016

Wondering about the difference between friends and followers on Goodreads? We’re here to set the record straight: to effectively build your presence on Goodreads, encourage readers to follow you on Goodreads.

The value of Goodreads followers

The most obvious benefit of this is that you can have an unlimited number of followers on Goodreads, while there’s a limit to 5,000 friends. Anyone can follow you on Goodreads while you must approve each friend request that you receive (and with so much on your marketing plate already, who has time for that?).

Like most social media platforms, your activity on Goodreads is shown to the people who follow you. Your updates show up in their newsfeed, which for many defaults on their homepage when they login to Goodreads. When followers engage with your activity, it in turn shows up to their followers in their newsfeed, further amplifying the activity by reaching more readers.

However, Goodreads does something extra to specifically help promote your books: Readers receive an automatic email digest of any activity from authors they follow. They also receive an email on the publication date of a book by an author they follow, even though they might not yet have added it to their shelf. This email is tremendously valuable in raising awareness and alerting readers to your new books.

How can you increase the number of people who follow you on Goodreads? Follow these best practices:

Tell people to follow you

Let people know they can find you on Goodreads by adding the Goodreads button to your website, link to your profile from your other social media accounts, and mention it in your newsletter. Link your Goodreads account to your Facebook account so that your activity on Goodreads gets further amplified.

The follow button shows up on your Goodreads Author page, but also on your giveaway landing page—the latter only occurs though when your bio is complete, so be sure to add a few lines!

Post great content

Readers want to follow active, engaging, and interesting authors. When they like what they see when they first view your profile, they’ll likely opt-in to stay updated. There are several different ways you can contribute meaningful, engaging content on Goodreads. Here are the best places to start:

Book reviews, ratings, and shelvings

Our data shows that the type of content readers want most from authors on Goodreads is book recommendations. The easiest way to recommend a book to readers on Goodreads is by reviewing it.

No time for a thoughtful review? Add a star rating to give your readers some sense of what you thought of a book. You can never run out of books that you want to read, so shelve those books to give readers a sense of your tastes. Reviews, ratings, and shelvings establish you as a tastemaker and influencer in the genre, and will make readers more likely to consider your own work for their shelves.

General updates and blog posts

Posting general updates is another way to stay in front of readers without being in sales mode. Longer than a tweet but shorter than a blog post, general updates provide a simple way to share your latest news with your followers. Tell them about the progress you’re making on your new book, where you’ll be signing next, or provide some interesting research that didn’t make it into the book.

Blog posts allow you to share a more substantial update with your Goodreads audience and allow them to comment and like your content. Make sure to import your blog if you have one, or start one fresh on Goodreads. Set yourself a regular schedule (it doesn’t need to be daily!) so that readers know what to expect.

Ask the Author questions and answers

Answering questions via Ask the Author on Goodreads—the Q&A platform on your author profile page—gives followers more insight into who you are as a writer. Answer the pre-seeded questions that Goodreads has waiting for you the first time you turn on Ask the Author. Repurpose media interviews by posting the question and linking out to the full answer. Good answers are ones that are timely and thoughtful. You can even insert pictures or animated gifs!

These are just some of the top activities you can do on Goodreads. Explore to site to find areas that excite you and meet readers with similar interests.

Post frequently

Update your followers as frequently as possible, and at minimum 3-5 times a week. Mix it up: add a general update about your recent trip to a book store, add a few books to your shelf, and add a review to your favorite book from high school. Or create a custom shelf with books that you referenced during your research, suggest additional resources, and announce a giveaway or deal that you’re running.

Engage with followers

Respond to their responses to your great content in the comment section. Keep the conversation going by asking them about themselves and try to find common ground. Cultivate those relationships and watch them grow!

Give it time

You might not see an immediate increase in followers if you’re a debut author. Developing an online presence anywhere takes time. Be patient and consistent with your activity, strive for authenticity, and develop your own voice.

Next: Benefits and Best Practices for Ask the Author on Goodreads

You might also like: How to Run a Goodreads Giveaway

Goodreads Authors can subscribe to the Monthly Author Newsletter by editing their account settings.

Benefits and Best Practices of Ask the Author on Goodreads
Posted by Cynthia on July 27, 2016

It's everybody's favorite part of bookstore events, lecture series, and presentations -- Q&A. For authors on Goodreads, it's a chance to engage with readers in one of the most tried-and-true ways: by answering their questions. Readers love the chance to interact with their favorite authors by asking them about their work, their writing inspiration, or their plans for a sequel to their story. Authors can use the opportunity to share more about themselves and delight their fans.

Ask the Author is a Q&A platform on Goodreads that allows readers to submit questions to Goodreads Authors anytime, directly from an author's profile. Ask the Author is unique in that it doesn’t make questions visible to the public until the author chooses to answer them, giving the author control over when and how to respond.

40% of all Goodreads Authors have answered questions via Ask the Author since we launched the platform in 2014. The ATA tool works so well because it’s accessible to any author, whether first time or established, fiction or non-fiction. It allows readers and authors all over the world to connect with each other and share their conversation with their friends and followers on Goodreads.

Many prominent authors and notable people have used Ask the Author to connect with their fans, including Richard Russo, Alicia Keys, Michael Connelly, Sylvia Day, Alan Moore, Kristin Hannah, Erik Larson, Lois Lowry, George W. Bush, Colleen Hoover, James McBride, Elizabeth Gilbert, Christopher Moore, and Lena Dunham.

Here are some Best Practices to help you get started with Ask the Author on Goodreads.

Getting started

Navigate to your Author Dashboard. Ask the Author lives on your Author Dashboard, where you can turn on the feature and see all the pending questions.

Answer at least 4 pre-seeded questions. Give readers more content to engage with: Goodreads will display three additional questions on each answer landing page. This indicates to readers that you’re there to engage. You can always edit the answers with updated information down the road.

Leave Ask the Author on. Don’t miss an opportunity to delight a potential fan. Since questions are not visible until you answer them, allow readers to reach out to you when they first discover your Goodreads Author profile page. Turn on Ask the Author no later than six weeks prior to publication date.

No questions? No problem!

Point to media coverage, or ask yourself a question. Pull out an interesting question from an interview or media appearance, provide a partial answer, and link to the complete media hit.

Ask other authors questions. Since answers show up in both authors’ respective newsfeeds, this is a great way to increase a debut author’s audience. Continue the conversation in the comments section!

Tell a story. Promote an excerpt or writing sample by simply asking to “share a story.” The custom piece will delight readers, whose engagement on it via likes and comments further amplifies the reach. Read the story Christopher Moore wrote his fans on Goodreads for Shakespeare Week!

Incorporate ATA as your FAQ page. Use those common questions to your advantage by linking to them on the Frequently Asked Questions page on your website.

Unique to Ask the Author

Remember, questions are not public until you choose to answer them, at which point they show up in your newsfeed and your author profile page (they also show up in the newsfeed of the person who asked the question!). This gives you control over which questions to answer, when to answer them, and which to subtly avoid. The timestamp appears on the answer instead of the question, so it's ok to respond to relevant questions on their own time, even if the questions were submitted months ago.

You can also find more tips about Ask the Author Help Section here.

How have you incorporated Ask the Author into your marketing? Tell us in the comments below!

Next: Preparing Your Goodreads Marketing Timeline

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Goodreads Authors can subscribe to the Monthly Author Newsletter by editing their account settings.