How to Leverage Goodreads Into Massive Book Sales

You know that old saying about how half of marketing money is wasted, but nobody knows which half? There are usually two solutions to that problem:

Solution #1: Do so much marketing that wasting half of your efforts still results in strong sales and high profits.

Solution #2: Spend the time to find the perfect market for your efforts, so less of it is wasted.

For authors, social media marketing on platforms like Facebook or Twitter is a great example of Solution #1. That's because it's one of the best ways to get your book out in front of millions of potential readers, in a place where they're already hanging out. The downside with these platforms is that (1) it can be difficult to find targeted readers, and (2) while Facebook and Twitter are great at generating awareness for your book launch, it's not the most appropriate place to ask for a sale.

On the other hand — Goodreads is an example of Solution #2. And while there aren’t as many people on Goodreads as on Facebook or Twitter, the people who spend any amount of time on Goodreads are passionate about books.

However, be warned: like other social media platforms, Goodreads is easy to waste a lot of time and effort on without making any real book sales headway. Here are your top 10 dos and don’ts about making Goodreads work for you.

Do Join “Goodreads Author”

If you’re just on Goodreads as a member, you’re missing out on most of the best things the site has to offer for authors like you. Joining the Goodreads Author program and creating a solid author page gives you access to tools and opportunities to analyze and improve the performance of all of your books.

First Three Steps:

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