Small Press Month - Tip # 28

March 28 - Participate in blog promotions and contests. A great way to spread the word about your title (as well as a relatively free or pretty cheap way) is to participate in blog giveaways. I don't mean enter to win a prize for yourself -- I mean offer YOUR book as the prize! There are many benefits to your book being "the prize". The blogger will mention your title multiple times in their posts: 1) to announce the giveaway, 2) to keep readers up-to-date on the entries, and 3) to announce the winner, at the very least. And more likely than not, they will link to your website...and we all like backlinks.

There are several ways to find blog giveaways in which to participate. The most obvious way is to search for blogs that cover your topic and then contact them to say you are interested in doing a giveaway of your book to their followers. They might say yes, but they might say no, too.  Move on to the next one and thank the blogger for their time. A more sure-fire way to get your foot in the door is to subscribe to free sites like HARO.com and PitchRate.com, which will send daily requests to your inbox from reporters and bloggers looking for sources and materials. You can tailor your results to fit your interests, whatever they may be. Bloggers will often get the word out this way when they are looking to do a giveaway, and you sure as heck want to know when they are asking!

When you receive a request that fits your topic, you simply contact the requester (however the site requires you do it) and let them know you are interested in being a part of their giveaway. Be sure to send them all the information they will need about you and your book. It is also a good idea to send them a link to your website and your online press kit if you have one (which you should!). If all goes well, they will let you know that they would love to do a giveaway of your book! The blogger will tell you what to do next -- some will want you to ship them a copy of the book for them to keep, as well as a copy to send to the winner. Others will want you to directly ship the winning copy. Either way, you have successfully done your first blog giveaway and added yet another great way to spread the word about your book to your toolbox.