Thursday, April 19, 2012

Let's Ask - Question #2

    Today is week two of my new series Let's Ask which will be featured every Thursday on my blog. Lately, I've had so many unanswered questions about getting published and marketing children's books I thought why not just ask the experts one question per week and then share their knowledge of the business with us. *Experts = most likely a friend/acquaintance with experience writing children's books or publishing them.

    For my second Let's Ask question I asked Eric Van Raepenbusch (see below for his bio info)

Here's my question for Eric:

Now that your books are published how do you market them and is it a difficult process? What are some of your favorite resources on how to go about marketing?

Eric's response:

My e-books, Three Ghost Friends: Learn About Colors and Three Ghost Friends: Learn About Opposites, have only been available from the Apple iBookstore since March 18, 2012. However, since then I have been working really hard at marketing them.
Click cover for purchasing details

Click cover for purchasing details
First, I thought about my potential customers. My e-books are aimed at very young children 2-6 years old. Therefore, I thought my two main markets were parents and preschool teachers.

Then, I thought about how I would reach these two groups in a cost effective manner because I am only charging 99 cents for each e-book. I started a blog, Facebook Page, Twitter Account, and Pinterest Board for The Three Ghost Friends. I was familiar with all of these ways of sharing ideas and thought it would be the best place to start. My first post to these places was a book trailer that I made using iMovie on my Mac. I kept the trailer short and simple. However, I quickly realized that these networks were not going to be very effective if I didn’t have followers.

In an effort to gain followers in social media, and as an experiment, I have joined other bloggers in promoting giveaways. The way this works is to purchase a “link” in the giveaway promotion. I chose to focus on Facebook for these giveaways. I spent roughly $30 to take part in 5 big blogger giveaways of iPads, giftcards, Kindles, etc. The most I spent to participate in an event was $11 but I also found one event that was free. Visitors to the participating blogs agree to “like” my Facebook page in exchange for an entry into the contest. Since, April 1st I have gathered over 1,300 Facebook “likers” for my Three Ghost Friends page, and it is growing every day.


Now, with subscribers and “likers”, I knew I had to stay visible and useful. I decided to market my e-books on Facebook exactly how I have supported authors on my blog Happy Birthday Author, by offering activity ideas and resources to go with the books. Each day I have been making a post to my blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest accounts, to stay active. The posts include an activity that families could do to extend my book beyond the iPad screen. We have made Ghost Dough, Ghost Footprint Painting, Three Ghost Foam and many more. My friend, Colleen at Raising Lifelong Learners even made me an awesome Three Ghost Friends Birthday Cake. This week I am sharing posts everyday to give families the ideas to have a Three Ghost Friends Carnival complete with games and tickets!


I have yet to determine if this marketing experiment is working, because it just started. However, I am pleased with the initial results and have been having a lot of fun with my family doing all the activities. I hope that other families see how much fun we are having and it will inspire them to try some of the activities in their own home – and hopefully buy my e-books!

Eric Van Raepenbusch is a stay-at-home dad, blogger, and read aloud extraordinaire. He creates memorable reading experiences by celebrating children's author and illustrator birthdays. His blog, Happy Birthday Author, shares his family's reading experiences to encourage other families to read together. He has self-published two e-books; Three Ghost Friends: Learn About Colors and Three Ghost Friends: Learn About Opposites. You can learn more about the Three Ghost Friends at http://www.threeghostfriends.com.

28 comments:

  1. Thank you "asking" me to be featured on "just ask"! I would love to hear other authors marketing ideas!

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    1. It was my pleasure Eric! Thanks for sharing your marketing strategies with us.

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  2. My son and I enjoy reading the colors book, but haven't picked up the opposites book yet. We are in a very busy week, but hope to catch up next week.

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    1. Thank you Stacy! I am so glad you and your son enjoy reading the book!

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  3. Brilliant tips, Eric! Thanks and best wishes, you are doing great.

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    1. Thanks Catherine! I am looking forward to seeing how this marketing strategy plays out. I am almost to 1,600 FB followers. I am going to make a special announcement about book #3 when I get to 2,000!

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  4. Wow! That is a very impressive gain of Facebook likers--VERY impressive! Great job Eric! :)

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    1. Thanks Natalie. I have found that getting "likers" is easy, but turning the "likers" into buyers is the challenge.

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  5. Wow Eric! I'm in awe of all that you are doing. Have you seen an increase in sales as a result of your marketing?

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    1. I haven't seen an increase, but sales have been steady -- which is what I am looking for. I have hit up all my friends and family therefore the sales that I am getting now are coming from somewhere. At this point, I can only assume they are coming from what I am trying.

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  6. Love Eric's book idea and your answers are fabulous. This is a great idea for Thursday! We can learn so much!

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    1. Thank you Leigh. I am learning so much too. I am looking at this as a learning experience. I am trying to figure out what works. For me -- I like having activity ideas and things to do with my kids. This probably stems from my days as a teacher looking for cool things to do with my students. I have always loved books that had fun extension activities -- giving the book life beyond the pages (or in this case iPad screen).

      Will providing family activity ideas translate to sales? I don't know.

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  7. Cool. I have yet to use my pininterest board, but your Three Ghost Freinds page gave me an idea.

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    1. I think Pinterest has great potential for book marketing, especially if you are providing activity and craft ideas. I was pretty excited that my post today got 19 pins! That is 19 more people plus the people that follow them that saw THREE GHOST FRIENDS!

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  8. Eric, did you start promoting your e-book before you finished writing it?

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    1. No. But, I did start promoting before they were published at the Apple ibookstore. I made a trailer for Three Ghost Friends: Learn About Colors that got about 200 views (thanks 12 x 12ers!). I started the Facebook campaign April 1st.

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  9. This is a cool post! Best of luck to you, Eric! :)

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    1. Thank you so much! A little luck certainly could help!

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  10. Eric, what are your thoughts on Pinterest? I have yet to dive in. I am still Facebook focused and try to tweet occasionally. Thanks for asking these questions, Jennifer! Kirsten Larson

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    1. You can't deny the popularity of Pinterest. I like it because it is so visual. It is a great way to share ideas and projects. I got pretty excited about Pinterest when I celebrated Dr. Seuss's birthday on March 2. I pinned a post from the previous year and I received well over 100 clicks to my blog in a couple of days! I was so excited that a project I did over a year ago still had legs!

      I am not sold on Twitter for promoting/generating traffic to a blog. I still use it, but I see more results from Pinterest. I am putting up the same information on Twitter and Pinterest for Three Ghost Friends. I have less followers on Pinterest than Twitter -- yet I am getting more traffic from Pinterest. It was explained to me in the book What the Plus! by Guy Kawasaki that Twitter shines best in "breaking news" situations.

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  11. Eric you are awesome! I saw your post on facebook today that your Ghost Friends books are in the top 60 on the iTunes store, so something must be working. Great job and hoping you make it to #1! :)

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  12. Wow Eric! You are working hard. And it takes it in this business. I just feel like Pinterest is another time thief. Do you think a writer should be on all the social networks? Or does there come a time when you have to pick and choose the ones most valuable to you. Maybe I should spend less time on Twitter and visit Pinterest with interest. *grin* Thanks for talking with us, Eric! It was a lot of fun. :-)

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  13. Okay! I'm pooped just reading about all that you are doing! Congrats on all the success you are having! What an accomplishment!

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  14. Very interesting and creative, once again! Thanks for sharing your marketing strategy!

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  15. Thank you Jennifer and Eric for a very informative post. Eric, you have definitely impressed me with your energy and ideas. I have seen Pinterest, loved it, and thought that it was another distraction in my life. I now can see the advantages of signing up. Thanks for sharing.

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  16. Great ideas, Eric. Let us know how things are going, as you generate interest with your books. :)

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  17. I have been following what you have been doing closely, Eric, and am well impressed. It all takes a considerable amount of time investment! I think the visual on the pinterest pages lures one more readily to click than a blog link on twitter. I like your pinterest page for the 3 ghosts.

    Thanks for this interview jennnifer and eric.

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  18. Eric, your hard work will pay off. I think you are very wise to use everything that is available to you. Success can come in the most unusual places. Congrats on your books. I will have to check your pinterest page for the 3 ghost!

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