5 Ways to Promote Your Book On Goodreads!

5 Ways to Promote Your Book On Goodreads!

5 Ways to Promote Your Book On Goodreads!

If you have a new book or an existing one, have you used Goodreads to its full potential?

 

Promote your book on Goodreads! It’s that simple. If you’re already doing it, well done. If you aren’t, it’s never too late to start.

Goodreads is easily one of the most powerful ways for any author to connect with readers and other authors.

Have you set up your Goodreads account and started to explore some of the different features that it offers? If not, why not? While it can be easy to get overwhelmed by your author social media, having a solid foundation is essential. Getting your social media accounts, including sites like Goodreads, all streamlined will make social media a lot easier for you as an author.

Currently, Goodreads has over 120 million members. That’s a huge audience of book enthusiasts who love to buy and read books. Not only do the Goodreads members love to read books and share them, but they also like posting reviews. As authors, especially self-published authors, we all understand how important reviews are.Promote Book On Goodreads - Goodreads Logo

Not only is Goodreads a site for readers to discover new books and connect with each other, but it’s also a very useful way for authors to connect with other authors and readers. Many of the reviews readers write on Goodreads appear on other sites such as Google Books, USA Today, World Cat, and many other high-traffic websites.

Recently, Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), which owns Goodreads, started posting some of the reviews from Goodreads on the book’s details page on Amazon. This is an exciting new feature that benefits authors.

In the following article, we’re going to take a look at five ways to promote your book on Goodreads! If you haven’t set up your Goodreads author account yet, check out our article on Setting Up Your Goodreads Author Account for some helpful tips.

 

5 Ways to Promote Your Book On Goodreads!

 

One. Goodreads Author and Reader Groups

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of different groups on Goodreads. Some are bigger and more active than others, all with different rules about what you can post, how you connect with other users, and how and when you can promote your book.

To find author or reader groups, just head to the Community Tab, and then you’ll see the Groups drop-down, where you can search for different groups to join and connect with. Check out the picture below to see how to navigate to different groups on Goodreads.

It’s essential always to check the rules of the groups before you start posting to avoid breaking any of them. These groups on Goodreads are run and moderated by the community, and they all have different rules. When you join a new group, try to interact with members rather than just spamming links to your book.

 

Two. Goodreads for Author Events

If you’re planning on doing any author events, such as book readings, press conferences, book signings, or online meetups, you can promote them on Goodreads when you link your blog to your Goodreads Author Profile. Your author page on Goodreads functions much like a blog, allowing you to post updates to your feed. Not only that, but it also shows your activity on Goodreads, including when you review books, enter competitions, and much more.

Along with regular author updates, when you add a new book to your author bookshelf, your followers and friends will be notified via your feed that you released a new book. It’s a great way to get a few extra sets of eyes on your new release book.

 

Three. Posting Reviews on Goodreads

Reviews work both ways. What I mean by this is that if you want reviews, then reviewing other books is a good way to gain reviews and exposure for your own books. You then build connections with other readers or authors who are going to review your work.

Building these relationships with readers, book bloggers, and other authors is vital, especially for new releases. When you release a new book, having a review list that will instantly post reviews and features of your book is massive. Amazon KDP is already pushing a new release, and getting a lot of reviews and eyes on it quickly will help push it up the ranks.

Every time you add a new book, Amazon KDP adds it to the ‘New Release‘ category. This puts it in front of readers, often giving it more exposure. You need to do everything possible to get traction on your book the first week that it’s released.

You can also join groups specific to your genre and promote your book directly to readers who want to read books from your genre. This will get your book in front of readers who are already interested in your genre, which will allow you to focus on key readers.

 

Four. Goodreads Ads

Goodreads, like many other social media platforms, offer paid ads or promotions.

While the click-through rate on Goodreads ads can be low, the target audience on Goodreads is all about books. This attention solely on books means that you’re not competing with all the other noise found on most social media platforms such as Facebook, X Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram.

When you combine this with the low cost of ads and promotions on Goodreads, you’re getting a relatively good deal. You can spend as much or as little as you like on Goodreads Ads, so play around with them and see how you go! There’s no harm in experimenting with different ads on different platforms until you find the one that gives you the best return on your investment (ROI).

Check out this article on Why Every Author Needs An Author Marketing Plan!

 

Five. Goodreads Giveaways

Goodreads offers authors both paperback and ebook giveaway options. These giveaways get featured in their own section, and it’s free for members to apply for any of the book competitions. It’s also quick and easy, which means you’ll typically see thousands of people applying for a book giveaway. As an added bonus, if you apply for a book giveaway, Goodreads then adds that book to your To Be Reads (TBR) list on your profile.

Once upon a time, authors could do book giveaways for free. However, now there is a fee associated with ebooks or paperback giveaways on Goodreads. It’s a bit of a letdown, but what can you do?

You can choose to give away ebooks or paperbacks. How many books, what format, and who can enter the competition is entirely up to you as the author and organizer of the giveaway event. You can also choose your target audience and limit where you give books away by picking different countries.

 

5 Ways to Promote Your Book On Goodreads! – Conclusion

There you go! 5 ways to promote your book on Goodreads! As a self-published author, taking advantage of all the tools in the toolbox is very important. Goodreads is one of those tools. Not only is Goodreads a great place to promote your book, but it’s also a useful way to connect with both readers and other authors. The more connections you build in the publishing industry, the better.

Getting your book formatted for uploading and publishing is the final step in the self-publishing process. Once it’s all formatted, your book is ready for uploading and self-publishing. If you need assistance with affordable author social media and marketing services, including setting up author platforms such as Goodreads, contact us now.

At Author Services Australia, we’re as excited to see your final product as you are! If you have been looking for fiction book formatting, non-fiction book formatting, or children’s book formatting, we’d love to be part of your self-publishing journey! We offer a wide variety of affordable self-publishing services for Australian and New Zealand authors looking to self-publish their books.

Self-publish your book today with Author Services Australia. Contact us now for an affordable quote on any book formatting services.

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