Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Rubbing the Magic Lamp of Promo

Don’t I wish!...er...make that three wishes! Yeppers, just get out that ole’ dusty brass antique lamp straight out of the Arabian Nights, the one your mysterious exotic great aunt left to you in her will...after cleaning to a bright shine...rub away, and envision your fave episode of I Dream of Jeannie..plus that fun sexy harem outfit....and poof! The genie or djinn of how to successfully promo your romance novel appears...arms crossed, levitating mystically, and ready to answer your most insightful question...about how, and when, and how much. And where?...to promo. Or not to promo.
Of course, it won’t hurt if it’s a he, a devastatingly handsome devil of a djinn, who can star in my next...uhem...yeah...top selling novel. Which reminds me of that WIP I had going over a year ago, probably closing in on 75,ooo words...well, suffice it to say, the Djinn hero has a mirror window into our human world, one he uses to restore good balance to our un-magical world. And *for the erotic fun part* the hero also uses his mirror to decide on which human woman will be his next trained pleasure companion. After all, he’s won the annual competition at his exclusive club for the past several years. The magical trick? She has to say "I wish..." before he can sorcery-pull his choice though the mirror to his world.
Yes, I happily digress here...and no, not planned at all as I sit before the keyboard creating this blog into existence...but for now, back to rubbing the lamp of successful promo-ing.
Nope, I don’t really have a clue what works, and what doesn’t. Lots of good advice out there, though, by those experienced and in the know, or much more in the know ~ there are books, of course, and a few chat loops on the subject.
However, for one thing, I’m not taking the dry ‘statistics’ approach of how many visits I get to my blog, or how to set up my website as the perfectly ‘tagged’ place that will draw in those potential readers. Why? I don’t have the time or energy, the mental endurance, or, frankly, the patience. And damn it, it’s downright boring to me.
Instead, I try to use common sense and go with whatever ideas trip my trigger. Just ‘cause, gee whiz, I’d like to keep this somewhat fun and entertaining for little ole’ me. Which IS one reason I wrote that novel in the first place.
There ya go, here’s my invaluable strategy revealed ~ I just throw myself on the pyre of chat loop promos, blogosphere and forum opportunities, oh and I did spend the cashola to advertise on The Romance Studio Blue pages...thus, ignoring my non-existent promo budget.
Yep, I hope I don’t turn into an exhausted pile of ash trying to keep up with the exciting and dynamic world of promo-ing your book...and I also hope my novels will rise in sales like the mythical fiery phoenix. Yeah and okay, that’s where I need my non-existent genie to blink that lovely miracle into existence.
Oh, and there’s another major problem: I hate doing the same ole thing over and over! Meaning the same old promo thing over and over...unless I know it’s working like the Roadrunner cleverly planting TNT beneath Wiley Coyote, and shooting him toward the moon...that kind of rise in sales.
So, to demonstrate my dedicated avoidance of promo boredom. ~ recently, I was inspired by another promo I came across, to give credit where credit is due ~ the Top 10 Reasons Why You Should NOT read SANDEFLAY!
I mean, how fun is that idea? Listing out the top ten reasons NOT to read my slaved-over book. Yep, I inner-sizzled and rejoiced because my creative juices took over.
Okay, I could have gone with a promo idea like Paige Tyler’s Hottie Tuesdays, which I admit I’ve become a devoted fan of...thus, the pic for your personal enjoyment. Hey, not to mention Paige is a talented erotic romance author with two current releases, Animal Attraction and Protective Custody. For the details here’s the linkie ~ http://paigetylertheauthor.blogspot.com/ ~
Yes, I could ‘ve...and I might come up with my own Hottie version one of these days...for now, here’s my first attempt at this ~


Top Ten Reasons NOT to read WHEN A GOOD ANGEL FALLS


10 ~ It’s Winter 2012, and the Nazerazzis are coming for you, especially if you’re a rebel, and even if you’re not.


9 ~ The constant asteroid showers are burning up enormous areas of Earth. Not to mention monstrous volcanoes are spewing ash around the globe.

8 ~ Lack of food and water in the North American Union, unless you give up your home and enter a FEMA work camp. Then only the chosen are allowed to live.

7 ~ The heroine is targeted by an elite group of assassin remote viewers.

6 ~ Lucifer’s top minions don’t like you.

5 ~ Reptoids and evil Ninjas and cave cannibals, oh, no!

4 ~ Loss of everyone and everything in your life.

3 ~ Psychic and secret weapons, good and bad.

2 ~ Manna-from-heaven strawberry shortcake with whipped cream, and you don’t get any.

And the Number One reason why....as David Letterman would say...


1. Guess what? Only a few short days to save Earth for humanity.


WHEN A GOOD ANGEL FALLS ~ Where angels fear to tread, 2012 Earth...Is a stranger on a superspeed motorcycle her savior from the brutal endtimes? ~ available from BookStrand ~
http://www.bookstrand.com/authors/savannakougar/wagaf.asp ~ http://www.bookstrand.com/


Savanna

Savanna Kougar ~ Run on the Wild Side of Romance ~
http://savannakougar.com ~

2 comments:

Evonne Wareham said...

Now come on Savannah, you're cheating here. That guy in the picture is definitly not out of the Arabian Nights.
Not that I'm complaining, you understand.

Savanna Kougar said...

Evonne, I only 'cheated' to please us Title Magicians or whoever is brave enough to stop by -- and to give an example of how other authors promo -- okay, believe that one or not???!!!!