5 Ways to Market a Children's Book Online, from Scott Harpole

Guest Post by Scott Harpole

Here's the thing. I am in the process of learning how to market a children's book online! Hopefully I will arrive at some point and be able to say that I figured most of it out. At this time, I just have a few bumps and bruises and a couple of successes that I think might be helpful to someone else

#1 Belief! 

I truly believe that my children's bedtime story, Sleepy Beach, is the best story on the planet. The illustrations are incredible (I didn't create those!) and the story's concept is amazing. I am not saying that to be self-serving (not that I mind entirely!) but to illustrate the most important point. If you don't believe in your story, then don't expect anyone else to.

How can you ask for reviews, submit info to blogs, pay for ads, etc. if you really don't think that much of your story? I know that creatives, like you and I, can get bogged down in making the story perfect. I'm not trying to get you to perfectionize (yes, I made that up) your story, but you must have a powerful belief that your story is worth buying, buy the time you are finished with it.

#2 Set A Goal. 

This one thing I did and I only did this one thing. I researched all of the Bedtime and Dreaming books in that section of the Amazon children's' books and realized that if I could get 100 positive reviews then my book could be ranked in the top 10 of that section and possible in the top 100 of the next section up, the Literature section. 

So for about 40 days or so, I did everything in my power to get those 100 reviews.

I texted everyone on my phone, I reached out to everyone on Facebook I reached to everyone I knew on Twitter and 100's of people I did not know. I refused to start any other part of the process until I at least reached that goal of 100.

#3 Ask If You Can Ask. 

There is a wonderful method to getting people to help. I've learned this the wrong way in a different business, by just shooting out a massive amount of emails and assuming that people will respond. They don't. 

Here's the exact wording I used with people that knew me: 

"I don't know if you've heard about it, but I have a new children's bedtime story called Sleepy Beach. I am trying to get 100 Amazon reviews. Can I send you a free copy of the ebook in exchange for a review?" 

Here's what I sent to people that didn't know me: 

"Hey, I'm a Dad with a new children's bedtime story and I'm trying to get 100 Amazon reviews. Can I send you a free copy in exchange for a review?" 

These were individual messages and text. The general kind of message or posting doesn't work.

I actually asked over 2,000 people for reviews and I got about 120 reviews from them. 

A large amount of people told them that they would and either forgot or couldn't figure it out. It may have been a bad sign when an elderly lady from church asked me "What is the Amazon Review?", in response to my Facebook message. I also had 10 of my 5 star reviews removed by Amazon! Evidently, if anyone states that they are your friend or if they know you, (in the review) then Amazon may remove that review. I fought with them about this, only via email of course, but to no avail.

Since my book has been exposed to a wider audience, that doesn't know me, I have recently gotten some bad reviews. My first 1 and 2 star reviews were given because the book opened backwards on their Kindle. Again, Amazon refused to remove those reviews. My favorite bad review literally says "I love children's books. This is not a well written book. I will not be reading it to the children in my life. I would recommend that the author think about editing it to make it a true story." Ha! I laughed so hard when I read that. I kind of feel like I have really arrived, when I see a review like that one.

#4 Paying For Ads Can Be Worth It: 

I've carefully read and re-read Let's Get Digital and Let's Get Visible by David Gaughran. He's a master at this and I have a ton to learn from him about marketing a book. He encourages his readers to use Book Bub and I followed that advice. It took quite awhile before I was ready, but I paid them $60 to let the world know when my book would be free. Amazon allows you to have 5 days that are free when you sign up with Kindle Direct Publishing. My first day, I had over 11,000 free downloads and a total of nearly 15,000 by the time the 5 days were finished. I can definitely say that it was worth the exposure and blogs (like this great one!) picked up on the special and helped spread the news.

My plan is to get lots of people to sample the ebook and then buy the actually book. Hopefully.

#5 Selling The Book Myself Is The Best Choice: 

I have come to realize the truth that I can undersell Amazon (don't tell them) and still make more money. They take 55% of the profits of my sales. That's crazy, I know. But I have used the notoriety and the positive reviews to get the attention of people. So I can sell my book for $10, and personally sign it, and make more dollars than if it is purchased on Amazon for $15. I do have a few of those here and ready to ship, if you'd like one!

I am still in the pursuit of finding out how to get my book in front of millions of the right kinds of eyeballs. I'd love to hear your ideas. Send me a note at scott (at) mydadsbedtimestories (dot) com.

Sweet Dreams!
Scott Harpole
My Dad's Bedtime Stories

Children's eBook Review: Stick's Masterpiece by Spencer Hanson, Illustrated by Randy Hanson

My Ratings for Stick's Masterpiece:
Cover and Illustrations: 5 Stars
Storyline: 4.75 Stars
Overall: 5 Stars

Stick doesn't feel like she can paint and is too scared to try. But when a bird is hungry she paints him food and goes on to paint help for many animals. In the end, she discovers that her acts of service while painting has created a masterpiece. 

This is a fabulously illustrated story about overcoming fear by serving others. I appreciated its deeper message--thinking about others first is an important one for my children to learn. I love love love the illustrations. I hope Stick goes on another painting adventure! 

Here is the book trailer for Stick's Masterpiece:

With almost Disney-esque illustrations, I read this aloud twice in one night because the illustrations are so well-done. 5 stars for cute and unique illustrations. 4.75 stars for storyline. The text is in ABCB rhyme and there was one read aloud stumble spot, rhyme is very difficult. But it was a tiny hiccup and the storyline of overcoming fear by thinking of others is very worth reading, so I give it a 5 stars overall (if you wonder at my high ratings on my blog, keep in mind that only the best books make it to my blog. I review a lot of children's eBooks that don't make my blog because they aren't quite up to quality). 

I highly recommend this book for an adorable and meaningful bedtime story. 

I also recommend this book because of its unusual sales strategy: You can download the book for FREE (in four different formats) and if you want a full color hardcopy, it's only $5! I admire this unusual strategy! And it's so endearing, that I think the authors know we readers will want to touch the book. 

Here's a video about them explaining Creative Commons (for their Kickstarter project):

And did you notice their company name? The Brother's Whim! The author and illustrator are brothers. Can I give extra points for clever names on this one?

You can find them on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr (for full photos of the book) and their Brothers Whim website.

~Valerie Harmon