“LIKE” it or Not- The Results (part 2)

In Mid October, I entered a writing contest- the MeeGenius Author Challenge.  I submitted my story titled, “Funny Face,” and was notified a month later that I qualified to compete in the voting round of the contest.  All qualified stories were posted to the MeeGenius website for everyone to vote.  The idea is for authors to spread the word to family and friends and have them “like” our story to advance through the voting round. (The only drawback is that you have to have a Facebook account to vote.  In part 1 of “LIKE” it or Not, I share my views on this type of contest.) 

MeeGenius was kind enough to offer some marketing suggestions to enter the social loop:

Here’s A Handy Marketing Guide to Help You Spread the Word:

§  Tweet your manuscript link to the Twittersphere. (Make sure to include the hashtag #authorschallenge in all your tweets.)

§  Request retweets from your followers.

§  Post your link on your Facebook wall and ask your friends and family to “LIKE” it.

Fight for Your Write!

§  As a budding author, use those skills as a wordsmith to write a blog post and ask your readers to vote for your manuscript.

§  Email your family and friends and encourage them to vote. Ask them to share your manuscript link with their friends and colleagues.

Stick With It!

§  Stay engaged with your contacts throughout the voting period by posting additional comments on Facebook and Twitter. Update your blog regularly with new and interesting developments.                                        

Marketing is tough business.  If you want to see results, you need to put in the effort.  Needless to say, I did it all:  Twitter, Facebook, JacketFlap, Blogger, Message Boards, e-mail, and even placed an article in an online local newspaper- The Patch.

I tried to be regular with my postings without being overbearing.  My experience with this type of contest has taught me how much work is involved in self-promotion.  It's almost like a full-time job.  

The 2 weeks and 5 days of marketing garnered me 132 votes.  “Not bad,” I thought.  But the winner, Gregory G. Allen, received 2006 votes!  That's impressive.

Under the circumstances, I was pleased that I ranked 84 out of 398 and managed to stay in the top 100 rather than the bottom 100. 

Thank you to everyone who voted for me and shared my story to others.

I put a lot of effort into my marketing, but not enough to reach 2000+ people.  That just goes to show that I need a different marketing strategy or make more friends!