Bookarma: New Author Marketing Tool that Pays Forward

Social media is one of the most important parts of any author's marketing campaign, but it's limited to the contacts that already exist in that author's circle. Unless your friends share your post or repin your pin, no one else is going to see it. This cuts down on the potential number of readers who might see your book. What if you could have dozens of other authors share your book within their social networks? Your reach would multiply, getting your work in front of hundreds of different readers who have never heard of you before. That's the concept behind Bookarma, a new site for social media sharing for authors.

How it Works

As an author marketing tool Bookarma's success depends on the cooperation of thousands of authors worldwide. The basic idea: I'll share your book if you'll share mine. Always a great idea between authors, but Bookarma takes it further by finding more authors to share each other's books, as well as setting up a point system that rewards authors who share the most books. The more books by other authors that you share with your social media accounts, the more times your book will show up for other authors to share. In general, you get out what you put in.

Using the Site

Bookarma's website is extremely easy to use. Sign up using either your email or your Facebook account. You can then add listings for each book you want to promote. Listings include your basic book cover and blurb, a Facebook post you'd like to share, and a Tweet you want to share. This gives self published authors control over what other authors are saying about your work when they post. Once you have your book or books set up in the system, decide which payment plan you want to use and pay for the first installment. Prices range from $15 for one book promoted for one entire month, on up to hundreds of dollars, depending on the coverage and length of time you want to use the site.

Is it a Good Match for You?

No site is a perfect match for any author. Like any other marketing tool, you need can test Bookarma and make a determination as to whether it is working for you. Below a list of some pros and cons:

• It expands the reach of your marketing to readers who might never see it otherwise
• You do not have total control over what type of readers get shown your book
• The cost is relatively low for one book to give it a test and potentially a big boost in its first month
• The price can get expensive if you've got a large catalog you want to promote
• It's extremely easy to add your books to the available catalog
• Bookarma pulls book information from Google Books, so if your book isn't registered there for sale, the site will ask you to do that first

Bookarma has taken the idea of crowdsourcing and turned it into a marketing site for writers. Paying it forward can give you some concrete results if you use this site to its best advantage. Since you are a  loyal blog follower you can use the coupon code: "Infinity" and get a month free!

Keep the Faith and May the Force be with You!