Day 2 - Getting Organized, Launch Teams, and Giveaways
Today has been like: Uh what? It’s only the second day and I’m already wondering what the hell I’ve gotten myself into. This is good. It makes for good drama. All writers know there is no story without conflict. I have conflict. What I really need to do is create a timeline, but I’m finding it difficult to get that sorted. There are thousands of websites with help on the matter, but it’s information OVERLOAD. Some of these sites are like: Step 4: Launch your book! - yeah, ok. And how exactly do I do that? I’m a fly by the seat of my pants kind of person, but I also have dyslexia and I need step by step directions. I need things to be explained to me. It makes sure things take longer. But I’m also stupidly ambitious. I’ll be honest, I don’t know if I can do 30 days. I still have to edit the story. I’m a trained copy-editor, but I still want someone else to go over it. I figure, I can get by with someone on UpWork since I already write fairly clean copy. Just one other set of eyes.
And today I learned about Launch Teams. These kindly volunteers should (if all goes well) review your book for you and help spread the word. Apparently, they love you so much they spread the word about your book the way Tinkerbell spreads fairy dust. Are there really people who do your promoting for you in exchange for a free e-book? Who are these saintly souls? Where do they dwell? Must I go on a quest to find them? Are there a certain number of holy ones I must find? Water, fire, earth, air? It sounds too good to be true. If you have a kick ass launch team, email me and let me know they’re real. I don’t believe it. I’m a cynical person to start. Launch teams sound like Santa Claus to me and I want to believe.
I read (see link below) an article on how to promote my upcoming novella and I’m getting some good ideas. There is a high possibility I might be doing some cool giveaways soon. I just don’t know how. I want to do it. Pesky knowledge isn’t in the old thinker yet. When I find out, you’ll find out. If you have any great ideas, send them my way.
Later that day…
OK. I’ve decided to do a giveaway, but I must now learn how to hold one. I’m finding some good resources (some links below). There are lots of websites where you can advertise your giveaways, but some of them charge for the privilege. So far, ContestGirl.com seems the easiest to use and is also free. 🐦 Follow on Twitter and 📸 Instagram to find out when the giveaway is launched.
Here on Day 2, I have learned something valuable: I am a disorganized person. How I get anything done is a miracle. It must be tenacity. I’m making lists, keeping track of everything on this blog and figuring it out. My plan for today was to plot out the month and I didn’t get very far. Mostly, I spent time reading about, testing, and figuring out how to do giveaways. Plus, working on the site and social media. It was a productive day, but I still don’t really have action goals or a solid to-do list.
What I did today:
BEFORE SCHOOL
Created new Books page
Wrote blurb for Lessons in Love for Books page - will use this blurb for marketing
Added “current costs“ to About page. I’m going to tell you every cent I spend on this
Tweeted about 1st blog post. I have no followers yet
Posted on Reddit r/selfpublishing a notice about my site, got some good feedback
Created “Archive“ page for older posts
Thinking about promotions I can do…
Posted on Reddit asking about promotions I can do
Read: 10 Ways to Blog Your Book to Increase Sales Without Being Pushy or Annoying - Helpful!
Emailed AWeber about possible charge (set up and cancelled same day, don’t want to be charged)
AFTER SCHOOL
Tweeted about the new page being added.
Confirmed I’m not being charged by AWeber
Emotionally getting a handle on how much work I actually have to do
Trying to plot out the month. It’s hard. Like, really hard. Can I do this?
Switched over an old Finsta to the now public Melanie Brodie account. Follow me.
Announced this project on my personal Insta to friends and family - to hold me accountable
Read: Everything You Need to Know About Organizing and Timing a Giveaway - some good tips on how to do and schedule a giveaway
Read: Blog Contests: What They Are and How to Find Them - Good info
Checking out www.ContestGirl.com for giveaway promotion. FREE. Looks legit
Discovered GiveAwayTools.com to automate giveaways. Unfortunately, their sign up form isn’t working properly. Have sent an email to support ⬅️ Update: Never heard back.
I now have 2 followers on Twitter. I have about 89 on Instagram from my old account. I expect most of them to jump ship now that I’ve changed the content
Scheduled Twitter notice about this post via Buffer
TOTAL COMBINED TIME SPENT TODAY: Approx. 4 hours with some breaks.