THE Best Place to Find Your Readers

Readers

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Do you still wonder where you can find new readers for your books? THE best place is good old Goodreads.  It has more than 27 million users who join Goodreads to learn more about books and their authors.  Do not forget the ten-thousands of communities and groups for every kind of literature one can think of, as well as discussion groups, and book clubs on Goodreads.
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As a Goodreads member – no matter if writer or reader – you can post your own reviews and catalog the books that you have read, that you are currently reading, or plan to read in the future – exactly what almost every Goodreads member does.
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Use Goodreads to Learn About Interested Readers:
You might have used already Goodreads’ Giveaway feature, had hundreds of people applying for a free copy of your print book. The great benefit with these giveaways is not only the opportunity to receive reviews, but also to see who wanted to get and read your book. Check your giveaway page several times a week and immediately follow these readers on their Goodreads site (and on social media, if they post it on their Goodreads site).
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Follow Your Giveaway Applicants.
Sure there will be some members who are only chasing free books and enter lots of giveaways.  But the majority is at least interested in your genre and your book.  After the giveaway ended, send them a message through your Goodreads email.  Thank them for entering the Giveaway, and ask them if they might be interested in a free e-book version as a consolation prize.  In order to send your e-book to them via Amazon or as a PDF or ePub version from your files, they need to give you their email address.
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Meeting Readers via Book Shelves.
Goodreads ‘Book Shelves’ are another way to find your potential readers.  You know for sure who are the bestseller authors in your genre.  Go to their book’s Goodreads site and find all people who ‘shelved” (added) their book, then scroll down and see exactly who “marked it as to-read”.  Follow these readers on Goodreads, on their blogs, websites or their social media appearances, and connect with them online. You might also send them an invitation to your next virtual book launch through Goodreads or Google+.
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Readers who ‘shelved’ your own book to their Goodreads page will automatically receive a message once you start a book giveaway.
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Join Reader Forums at Goodreads.
Do you realize how many writer forums and groups are on Goodreads? Just go to the top of each page and click on “Groups”. A new page opens and shows “Recently Active Groups”, “Featured Groups”, “Goodreads Author Groups”, and so on.  On the right-hand side of the page you will find “Browse by Tag”.  This is where all the groups are listed by over 1,000 keywords.  For example:

  • Book Club
  • Historical Fictionistas
  • Non-Fiction
  • Young Adult Book Groups
  • Suspense
  • Super-Natural
  • The Perks Of Being A Book Addict

As you can see, when you scroll down on the right-hand side, there are ten-thousands of groups: Books & Literature (26598) Business (1393) Entertainment & Arts (2222) Friends & Common Interest (6914) Geography (490) Goodreads Authors (2535) Just for Fun (22709) Organizations (3365) Student Groups (6129).

There is even a group that encourages Author-Publishers (Indies) to promote their books – a rarity at Goodreads, where obvious self-promotion is not well received otherwise.
These groups are a hidden gem, helping readers and reviewers to meet. Almost all are public groups.  Anyone can join and invite others to join. However, it is not a place to blatantly tout your books, with the exception that I just mentioned.  Goodreads explains it as follows:

“Authors are welcomed and Goodreads supports authors in many ways, but the groups are primarily geared towards readers.  Authors should join and participate in the group as a reader first.”  Once you are known in these forums, your author site will be known and your books will automatically be read – and often reviewed.  Do not miss to join this group, where writers and book reviewers meet.
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As you can see, with a little bit creativity you can find out who are your actual and your potential readers. Goodreads is just one example, there are many other reader communities, such as LibraryThing, Wattpad or Shelfari and social media places to meet your readers.

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To learn more about professional book marketing and publishing, please read also“111 Tips on How to Market Your Book for Free”
http://content-on-demand.blogspot.com/2015/11/111-tips-on-how-to-market-your-book.html

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