Goodreads is a popular and fast-growing social cataloging site for book lovers, which is designed to help readers find good books. The site features book reviews, book lists, author information, and many other features. Goodreads has now become a powerful tool for new authors to increase their book sales and connect with their readers.
Here are some of the reasons for authors to become a member on this powerful platform, and get an edge for their self-published e-books.
Reviews
Goodreads is a great place for writing reviews for books you read, getting reviews for your own books and viewing reviews for other books. Reader reviews are an important tool for increasing your book sales, as word of mouth is known to boost book sales more than any fancy promotional events.
When authors are Goodreads members, people on the site are more likely to post detailed reviews of their books, and spread the word about a book they like to their friends. Readers are also more likely to try to look for author information, new book releases, etc. of authors listed on the site.
Reach readers
Goodreads has about 20 million members on the site, and they are all readers, and potential buyers of your book! People on Goodreads are book lovers who are looking for new and good books to read next, thus giving you a great platform for reaching eager readers. After joining Goodreads, authors can list their books on many book lists and reader groups, and directly promote their books to readers whose tastes are in line with their books.
The Goodreads site has many tools and features that make it easy to reach new readers in a friendly and casual manner, without seeming like an open marketing campaign or spamming readers.
Build a following
Authors on Goodreads can build a nice author page on the site with their bio, book details, new book updates, book previews and other information that might be interesting for their readers and followers. Once you gain a good following, you have more potential readers watching out for your next book release. Goodreads also helps you in building up a good fan base by sending emails to members when a favorite author on their list releases a new book.
Make and build connections
The Goodreads site has a great community feel to it, where it is easy to connect with both readers and authors. As with other social media sites, you can both form and join groups, you can friend people, and you can directly connect with your readers. Once readers feel a connection with an author, they are more likely to follow the author as a friend and want to read their books. As well, you can get writing advice from other authors, follow your own favorite authors, and help other authors to promote their books too.
Keep track of your reading
Most authors are also big readers, partly because they love books, and partly to improve their writing skills. Goodreads is a great place for book lovers, and filled with people who like to read and discuss books. The site allows you to have your own ‘book shelves’ to keep track of your reading. You can also find books and place them on the shelf for reading next.
Also, when you write reviews for other books, people with similar taste in books can follow you and look for your suggestions and reviews. If they like your taste in books, they are more likely to read your books too.
Image credit: Ali from Riyadh : ) on flickr and reproduced under Creative Commons 2.0[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://writingtipsoasis.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/CS_Rajan.jpg [/author_image] [author_info]CS Rajan is a freelance writer who loves to write on various topics, and is currently working on her first novel. [/author_info] [/author]
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