Top 5 Reasons Authors Should Use Goodreads

To give some authors and readers some background, Goodreads is a social media site that specializes in books.  Friends on Goodreads typically share suggestions with one another in order to go forth into their next reading venture.  The website is a good place for fans and writers to interact, and Goodreads is a good venue for authors to get traction with book lovers.

1. Interaction With Your Audience

 

Goodreads is a platform where each book lover specifically expresses the types of books they want to read, and this is an opportunity Authors should not pass up. Goodreads is home to thousands of books clubs you can interact with.  Authors can interact with readers in books clubs, and discuss what their audiences want from a writer.  This venue can also help the author gauge reader interest in their works, and help authors self promote through the Goodreads community.  For instance, a group may discuss the difference between a mystery and thriller novel, and discuss the conventions of each genre.  In mystery novels, some readers expect plot twist, red hearings, and unexpected links.  Thrillers on the other hand have some readers expect intense suspense and fleshed out character personalities.  These types of discussion are beneficial for the author because it allows them to be involved in the conversations their fans are having, and understand current genre trends.

2. Get Your Book Reviewed

Reviews sell books.  Regardless of whether or not a book has good or bad reviews, the amount of reviews a book gets has a positive correlation to how much interest a book gets.  The review system in Goodreads particularly functions as a Word of Mouth Marketing Model (WOMM).  WOMM is arguably still one of the most valuable forms of marketing.  According to Neilson, 92% of consumers believe recommendation from friends and family over all forms of marketing, and the American Marketing Association expressed that 62% of marketing executives believe that WOMM is the most effective form of marketing in a recent study.  Since Goodreads platform works with recommendations between friends, the type of traction an author can get with reviews on Goodreads is immense.  Not only does the platform have the reading market concentrated, it also has the best marketing potential an author could ask for.

3. Build Your Brand

Goodreads gives authors the platform to build their brand with readers.  Imagine Goodreads as the author’s business card to their audience.  Building a brand is important for authors because your personal brand is an important factor to what makes books sell.  The way authors brand themselves can create preconceived notions to what type of book readers can expect from the author so it is important to polish your profile.  Authors are able to portray themselves the way they want, and market what makes them special through their Goodreads profile.  The difference between other social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter is the specific audience it has.  The power of Facebook and Twitter should not be taken lightly, but Goodreads is the place to be when it comes to avid readers.  If an author is looking for a repeat customer, chances are that they will find them on Goodreads.   Authors should be cognizant of what they post on Goodreads because this is an audience that puts a lot of weight on content.

 4. Generate Hype

Goodreads is a good place to generate the pre-release hype that significantly impacts interest during the launch of a book.  Hype, also known as Buzz, is important because it allows the right channels to start talking about how good your book is.  Goodreads has a system where it allows the authors to give away their books pre-release to get reviewed by the community.  These pre-release reviews are a good way to generate the right amount of hype for book release.  Negative reviews from the community will be counterproductive so take this into account when considering a pre-release review from the Goodreads community.

5.  Talk To Your Fellow Writers

Goodreads is no longer a social media site that focuses solely on the reading community.  It has become an important place for multiple writers.  As discussed earlier, Goodreads has book clubs for readers, but it also has books clubs specifically catered to like-minded writers.  Authors are able to discuss different tips and techniques with fellow writers that they may not have the chance to interact with if Goodreads was not around.  An author may have some form of difficulty at one point or another during their career.  Authors can discuss overcoming the difficulties of writing or the struggles of a book release.

If you are a published or aspiring author there should be no reason you are not on Goodreads promoting your work.

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Works Cited:

  •  Klems, Brian A. “5 Ways Writers Can Get the Most Out of Goodreads.” WritersDigestcom. Writer’s Digest, 4 Sept. 2012. Web. 03 Feb. 2015.
  • PACK, THOMAS. “Goodreads Is Great For Bibliophiles.” Information Today 31.9 (2014): 31. Business Source Elite. Web. 3 Feb. 2015.
  • Whitler, Kimberly A. “Why Word Of Mouth Marketing Is The Most Important Social Media.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 17 July 2014. Web. 01 Feb. 2015.
  • Wynne, Robert. “Winning Social Media Strategies For Public Relations.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 28 Apr. 2014. Web. 02 Feb. 2015.