A Radio Interview isn’t Enough

I was naive and extremely optimistic with my first book. I was also ecstatic about clinching a national radio interview. I mistakenly thought that it was enough to be on radio and that the large audience would then buy my book. I didn’t expect an outstanding number, I’m not that foolish, but I would have even been content with double figures. Sadly, not one purchase resulted from that first interview. In fact, even though I used Facebook to boost the post about my interview, google analytics identified that for the month after the interview only five people downloaded it.

This time around an incentive was added. My publisher advised me to offer the eBook as a FREE download for a limited period. To access this offer, an email address had to be submitted which I received. I followed that up with a thank you and, an offer for them to purchase the printed copy at a discounted rate.

There was a 30% conversion to sales and I had all those email addresses for future marketing purposes - a target audience of people already interested in this genre. Plus, my Amazon ranking climbed. It didn’t go to number one unfortunately but, I still got a warm fuzzy feeling to see these numbers: #5 worldwide in African History and #12 in the Romance category (refer image). Much more was therefore achieved this time around. This type of engagement is truly rewarding. Lesson learnt: It is important to leverage from opportunities that arise so that they keep on giving!

Marisa Parker - Author www.marisaparkerauthor.com