Book Author Success Story: Giving Away Free Books

A Marketing Activity that Worked Wonders for My Book Sales: Giving Away Free Books

I have given away a number of copies of my book, Come Back Early Today. This has had three direct beneficial results.

1. Several friends of people I gave books to purchased copies for themselves. For example, I gave a copy of my book to my vet and five of her staff members immediately ordered copies.

2. Some people who got free books subsequently bought copies to give to their friends.

3. Many people who got free books subsequently wrote reviews on Amazon, and I’m confident others will, too, as soon as they finish reading the book.

None of these things would have happened had I not given away the books in the first place.



- Marie Marley, PhD., author of Come Back Early Today: A Memoir of Love, Alzheimer’s and Joy – A passionate love story of a young American woman and a delightfully eccentric Romanian gentleman interspersed with an inspirational guide for Alzheimer’s caregivers everywhere.

For more about the book, see http://www.ComeBackEarlyToday.com.

Note: The value of reviews is not only seen on Amazon, but also on GoodReads, Shelfari, Facebook, Google+, Twitter, and other social networks. People who like you or your book will tell others.

Book Promotion: 31 Ways to Promote Your Facebook Page

I'm trying an interesting experiment. I'm promoting an important blog post on my AskJohnKremer.com website on how to promote your Facebook page by blogging about it on four different blogs: my Book Marketing Bestsellers blog (this one right here), my Ask the Booksellers blog, my Ask the Publicist blog, and my The Book Marketing Network blog. I also featured it on the home page of BookMarket.com.

If you want to get more action out of your Facebook pages, be sure to check this out: http://askjohnkremer.com/31-ways-to-promote-your-facebook-page.

Note: You can also use many of these techniques to promote your LinkedIn pages, Twitter profiles, and other social network profiles.

I think this particular blog post is valuable enough to promote more heavily than my usual blog posts. Another recent blog post I consider important is my 101 Ways to Blog as a Book Author. You can read it here: http://blog.bookmarket.com/2011/06/101-ways-to-blog-as-book-author-plus.html.



John Kremer is the author of 1001 Ways to Market Your Books.

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Give with Joy: Day Six

In my experience, you always get more than you give. If you can't wait for me to share these Give with Joy stories over the next 40 days, you can always go to this website to read or listen to all the stories in one shot: http://www.givewithjoy.org/true_stories_all40.htm.

Of course, then you'd miss my commentary.



Day Six: Managing God's supply line for over 40 years

http://www.givewithjoy.org/radio/GWJ-006.mp3

In the 1950’s, Ressa and Al took $5,000 out of their savings and gave it to a pastor who wanted to start a Christian camp. The pastor ultimately left his church so he could direct the camp ministry full-time.

For the next 40 years, Ressa and Al sent money to the camp every month. The first year, only 19 children attended the camp, but now thousands come to the camp every year. While the camp director was on the the front lines, Ressa and Al helped man the supply line with their monthly gifts.

1 Samuel 30:24 says those who stay with the supplies will share equally with those in the battle. In heaven, Ressa and Al will get to meet thousands of people they helped lead to Christ through their faithful and generous giving that helped start and sustain that camp for many years.

You don't have to be Christian or even religious to appreciate this story. Note that you don't have to be on the front lines if you are supporting your cause through logistics, money, writing, background help, etc. Whatever your cause, whatever your passion, whatever your inspiration - you can do so much to promote that cause, that passion, that inspiration via your writing.

I believe that's why many of us write: To promote a passion, to celebrate a cause, to pass on an inspiration. So, keep on writing!

Viral Video Tie-In: World Record Water Balloon Fight

The Christian Student Fellowship of the University of Kentucky set a world record on August 26, 2011 for a group water balloon fight: 175,141 water balloons. 8,957 participants.

Plus a viral video with 638,500 views in less than three weeks!

Could you tie in to this viral video? Do you have a book about water? A book on ecology? A college guide? A book about world records? A book about war?

If so, you could easily create a viral video spinning off of this viral video. Use an excerpt. Title your video the same as this one. Create a mock video of your own world record water balloon fight (with three people). There are many ways to piggy-back on a viral video, especially one like this that should get millions of new views in the coming year.



Your book promotion possibilities are endless. Just look around you.

Book Promotion Special: How to Sell 10,000 Copies of Your Book

Here's one way to get a company interested in buying 10,000 copies of your book:



Jonathan Fields, author of Uncertainty: Turning Fear and Doubt into Fuel for Brilliance, is selling his head for $170,000. That's the cost of 10,000 copies of his book.

He's offered to shave his head to featured the logo of the first company that orders 10,000 copies of his book. He'll also dye his hair to match the color of the company's brand.

But, Fields noted, "I'm only doing it once, for obvious reasons. And only for the right partner."

How far will you go to sell 10,000 copies of your book?

Note: I'd be surprised if any company took Fields up on his offer but - and this is crucial - he got major media attention from making his offer. And that is certainly worth something.

Give with Joy: Day Five

In my experience, you always get more than you give. It's just the way it is with the laws of life. If you can't wait for me to share these Give with Joy stories over the next 40 days, you can always go to: http://www.givewithjoy.org/true_stories_all40.htm.



Day Five: Young girl helps buy a multimillion dollar camp for only $1

http://www.givewithjoy.org/radio/GWJ-005.mp3

John Bechtel, a missionary in Hong Kong, wanted to start a Christian camp to reach people for Christ. A bankrupt multimillion-dollar hotel and conference center became available for sale. He made an offer to purchase the property and then traveled around the world to raise the millions he would need. But no one was willing to help and he returned to Hong Kong discouraged.

Then one day he got a letter from a young girl that included $1 and a note saying she wanted him to use this to buy the camp. John Bechtel prayed and took the girl’s $1 to the real estate closing and the corporation decided to accept the $1 as full payment!

Since the camp first opened, over a million people have come and over 100,000 have accepted Christ.

What have you not done because of the lack of $1.00? How have you let your thinking be limited?

Have you listened to that one champion - someone like the girl with $1.00 - and then acted on what you heard? You'll be surprised by the people who can offer a little help if you simply listen, pay attention, and act.

Book Promotion Tweets You Can Use: First Two Weeks in September

There are some great book marketing lessons and book promotion tips included within these short tweets that I shared during the first two weeks in September . . .

Book Promotion Ideas

Book Promotion Carnival #7 - Book promotion tips, Internet marketing, book marketing tips - http://askjohnkremer.com/book-promotion-carnival-7

Spend about half an hour to one hour a day on online book promotion. More than that and you are wasting time.

Selling Books on the Street Corners - the legal technicalities - http://askjohnkremer.com/selling-books-on-the-street-corners

Book Promotion Carnival #6 - http://askjohnkremer.com/book-promotion-carnival-6 with book promotion tip and Internet marketing tip

Book Publicity Resources

Raising Arizona Kids - editorial contacts - http://magagenie.com/raising-arizona-kids

Arizona Parenting editors - http://magagenie.com/arizona-parenting

Internet Book Marketing Tips


QR PR Quick Response Codes | Top 10 Uses for QR Codes - http://bookmarketingbestsellers.com/video-10-uses-for-qr-codes

Miscellaneous Tips

If it’s nothing more than a smile, give that away and keep on giving it. - Beth Brown

Oprah Winfrey Greatest Quotations (or at least some of them) - http://myincrediblewebsite.com/oprah-winfrey-greatest-quotations

A hunch is creativity trying to tell you something. - Frank Capra, director

The above are just some of the tweets I sent out during the past two weeks. What more did you miss? Follow my tweets at http://twitter.com/johnkremer



John Kremer is the author of 1001 Ways to Market Your Books. If you want to launch a SuperStar Blog Tour™, a Mega Blog Tour™, or a Blogpalooza™, watch this space for more details later this week.

Give with Joy: Day 4

As I have noted in the previous days, I decided to share something that talks about giving, generosity, and sharing. While these audio episodes focus on Christian giving, I believe we can all learn something from these short lessons on how to live a good life, whether we are Christian, agnostic, or believers in another religion.

In my experience, you always get more than you give. It's just the way it is with the laws of life. If you can't wait for me to share these stories over the next 40 days, you can always go here to listen in or read at: http://www.givewithjoy.org/true_stories_all40.htm.



Day Four: Middle class family gives a million dollars

http://www.givewithjoy.org/radio/GWJ-004.mp3

Steve owned a small business and had an annual salary of $50,000. He went to a conference where Dr. Bill Bright challenged people to give a million dollars to the LORD’s work. Steve told Dr. Bright it would be impossible for his family to give a million dollars.

Dr. Bright asked, “How much money did you make last year, and how much did you give?”

Steve said, “My salary is $50,000 and we gave $15,000.”

Dr. Bright said, “Next year, trust God to help you give $50,000.”

But Steve said, “That’s my entire salary!”

Dr. Bright said, “Trust God and see how He provides.”

With God’s help, Steve’s business did well and his family joyfully gave $50,000. The following year, God helped them give $100,000. Each year, his family lived on his $50,000 salary and gave all their extra income to the Lord’s work. Within several years, they gave over a million dollars!

Now, doesn't that inspire you. You don't have to give money. Give time. Give your book. Give your stories. Share with others.

You don't have to give to a church. You can give to Nature Conservancy, United Way, your local Girl Scouts, Sierra Club, American Cancer Society, or whatever. Give and share. Be generous. It will come back to you in a thousand ways.

Give with Joy: Day Three

As I have noted, I decided to share something I found online that talks about giving, generosity, and sharing. While these audio episodes focus on Christian giving, I believe we can all learn something from these short lessons on how to live a good life, whether we are Christian, agnostic, or believers in another religion.

In my experience, you always get more than you give. It's just the way it is with the laws of life. If you can't wait for me to share these stories over the next 40 days, you can always go here to listen in or read at: http://www.givewithjoy.org/true_stories_all40.htm.



Day Three: Does God Want You to Be Rich?

http://www.givewithjoy.org/radio/GWJ-003.mp3

After my 40-Day Spiritual Journey to a More Generous Life became an unexpected bestseller, I was contacted by NBC to do a TV news story.

When the TV reporter interviewed me, she asked, “So, you think God wants everyone rich?”

I said, “No, I don’t believe that.”

She was a little surprised by my answer and then asked, “Well, what do you believe?”

I responded, “I believe that everyone needs to learn to become more generous with whatever God has given them.”

She then asked, “Well, didn’t your book becoming a bestseller make you rich?”

I replied, “No, it helped me become more generous!”

The truth is--every one of us in America is rich when you compare us to the rest of the world. What each of us needs to learn is how to become more generous with whatever God entrusts to us.

- Brian Kluth, author of 40-Day Spiritual Journey to a More Generous Life

Give with Joy: Day Two

As noted yesterday, I have decided to share something I found online that talks about giving, generosity, and sharing. While these audio episodes focus on Christian giving, I believe we can all learn something from these short lessons on how to live a good life, whether we are Christian, agnostic, or believers in another religion.

In my experience, you always get more than you give. It's just the way it is with the laws of life. If you can't wait for me to share these stories over the next 40 days, you can always go here to listen in or read at: http://www.givewithjoy.org/true_stories_all40.htm.



Day Two: African man saves children going blind

http://www.givewithjoy.org/radio/GWJ-002.mp3

While ministering in Africa, I met a Christian worker who raised his 6 children on $10 a month. He told me the story of how children in his village were going blind because of a disease that could be prevented with medicine that only cost 50 cents. He began to pray and ask God to send a rich person to their village to help give the money for the medicine, but no one ever came. As he kept praying, the Lord told him he should give the money to buy the medicine. But with 6 children and only a $10 a month salary, he couldn’t see how he could do this. But he and his family prayed and decided that every month they would buy the medicine to help one child. When I last spoke with him, he'd been doing this for 7 years and had saved 84 children from going blind. And his family saw God meet all of their needs.

Give with Joy: 40 Days of Giving

I decided to share something I found online that talks about giving, generosity, and sharing. While these audio episodes focus on Christian giving, I believe we can all learn something from these short lessons on how to live a good life.

In my experience, you always get more than you give. It's just the way it is with the laws of life. So, for the next 40 days, I'm going to share with you some short stories (in print or audio) on the power of giving. If you can't wait for me to share these stories over the next 40 days, you can always go here to listen in or read at: http://www.givewithjoy.org/true_stories_all40.htm.



Day One: A Single Mother Gives

http://www.givewithjoy.org/radio/GWJ-001.mp3

Nancy was was a single mother with young children. Her ex-husband sent her only a small amount of grocery money every week--so small it couldn’t even feed 1 person, much less her family of 4. But Nancy decided to begin giving to God from her little bit of grocery money and trust Him to provide. Shortly after, she got a job with a cookbook company. The company paid Nancy to go grocery shopping and prepare meals so they could take photographs for their cookbooks. When they were done taking pictures, Nancy could keep the food she had purchased and prepared. Isn’t that an amazing story of God’s goodness? Nancy learned that even if you’re poor, you still need to learn to give from whatever you have.

Book Marketing Tweets You Can Use: August 2011

There are some great book marketing lessons and book promotion tips included within these short tweets that I shared during the last two weeks of August . . .

Book Promotion Carnival #5 - http://askjohnkremer.com/book-promotion-carnival-5 - Internet marketing tips for book authors

The Frugal Book Promoter: Asking for Help from Partners - http://askjohnkremer.com/the-frugal-book-promoter-asking-for-help-from-partnershttp://askthepublicist.com/creative-penny-pinching-make-a-splash-at-a-fair

Listen; there's a hell of a good universe next door: let's go. - e. e. cummings - I love this poet.

Need answers to your book marketing and book publishing questions? Check out http://www.askjohnkremer.com

24 Reasons Selling is Better Than Sex | BNET - http://www.bnet.com/blog/salesmachine/24-reasons-selling-is-better-than-sex/17252

What Book Marketing Books Should I Read? - http://askjohnkremer.com/what-book-marketing-books-should-i-read

Free ebooks on marketing, publicity, business, and Internet marketing - http://www.freebooksforall.com/business.htm

What Is the Best Way to Market Poetry? - http://askjohnkremer.com/what-is-the-best-way-to-market-poetry

How Tim O'Reilly Bootstrapped O'Reilly Media with Happy Accidents - http://blog.bookmarket.com/2011/08/how-tim-oreilly-bootstrapped-oreilly.html

How Do I Market a Christian Thriller? - http://askjohnkremer.com/how-do-i-market-a-christian-thriller

The Golden Key to Internet Marketing: It's All About Relationships - http://askjohnkremer.com/the-golden-key-to-internet-marketing

The above are just some of the tweets I sent out during the past two weeks. What more did you miss? Follow my tweets at http://twitter.com/johnkremer



John Kremer is the author of 1001 Ways to Market Your Books. If you want to launch a SuperStar Blog Tour™, a Mega Blog Tour™, or a Blogpalooza™, watch this space for news in the coming week.