Saturday, December 18, 2010

Author Talli Roland Visits

It’s my pleasure to welcome author Talli Roland as the special guest blogger here today at Thoughts in Progress.

Many may know Talli as a fellow blogger from across the pond blogging at Talli Roland or from her recent Amazon Web Splash. Her debut book, THE HATING GAME, has just been released in e-book and will soon be out in paperback. Talli stopped by today talk about her book and her successful Web Splash.

When independent press Prospera Publishing decided to release my debut novel THE HATING GAME as an ebook ahead of its paperback launch next year, immediately I started thinking what I could do to generate buzz. Like most debut novelists, I didn’t have big marketing bucks to hire a publicist. But I did have time – and an extensive network of online friends on blogs, Facebook and Twitter that I’d developed.

With over two thousand contacts, I had a small army available to help me spread the word about my December 1 launch. If I could get even fifty people out of those two thousand to buy on that day, my Amazon Kindle rank would shoot up, potentially helping my book break into the top 100 Bestsellers on the day of its release. All I needed to do was let people know about my mission to take on Amazon.


I wasn’t comfortable requesting people buy my book outright, so instead I asked them all to post about my quest on the same day:
December 1. By splashing my news across the Internet in a co-ordinated campaign, not only would I be generating word of mouth but also (hopefully) sales. From September through to the day before my launch, a steady stream of bloggers, Facebookers and Tweeters signed up to let their contacts know my mission by posting a blog, Facebook status or Twitter status – all linking to my novel on Amazon. 

Early morning on release day, I checked my sales rank on Amazon: number 806 on Amazon.co.uk and 7,192 on Amazon.com. I hoped THE HATING GAME might break into the top 200 in the UK and maybe, if I was lucky, the top 100. Over the next few hours, more and more people began tweeting about my Take On Amazon quest using #TheHatingGame hash tag, posting links to their blogs, reviews and more. People started to retweet, I could barely keep up with the hash tag and blogs being posted, and my Amazon rank began to rise. By 10 a.m., I was at number 149 in the UK Paid Kindle Store. Before 11 a.m., I’d hit number 86. I was now on the Amazon Top 100 Bestseller list!

The tweets, blog posts and reviews kept coming and my rank continued to rise.  At 11 a.m., THE HATING GAME was the top book on Amazon UK’s Movers and Shakers, a whopping 17,829 per cent increase in sales rank from the previous day. By 2:30 p.m. it reached number 25 in the UK and was starting to creep upwards on Amazon.com, too.


By the end of the day, THE HATING GAME had reached number 24 on Amazon UK and 460 on Amazon.com, with hundreds of blogs, tweets and shared Facebook links from friends and strangers alike. My debut novel was now an Amazon Kindle Bestseller on the day of its release – with no marketing money spent and masses of social media power. Who needs a big budget when you can rely on the help from your virtual friends around the world?

Talli, thanks for sharing this with us today. I think your Web Splash proved that word of mouth (via the internet) does have a big impact. And it was fun to participate in.

Now, Talli is about to embark on a blogfest in January. It was inspired from a recent post of her’s. The blogfest is one she and fellow blogger, DL Hammons, are co-hosting, so drop by their blogs are find out more about this unusual event. Talli blogs at http://talliroland.blogspot.com and tweets @TalliRoland on Twitter. THE HATING GAME is out now as an ebook on Amazon for £1.90/ $2.99 and will be released next year in paperback. 


35 comments:

  1. Talli, thanks for guest blogging here today and for explaining how your Web Splash came about. Good luck with the new blogfest in January.

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  2. The whole experience must have been so thrilling for you, Talli. I was happy to be a part of it and I'm so glad your campaign worked so well. You're an inspiration!

    Jai

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  3. Mason, thank you so much for having me and for all your support!

    Jai, it was indeed thrilling. But I couldn't have done it without all the help from fellow bloggers. Everyone has been so wonderful. :)

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  4. The WebSplash day was a total success, and I'm glad that I was a part of it. It was amazing to watch the meteoric rise of The Hating Game on the Kindle charts. Congratulations to Talli :D

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  5. Best of all is that The Hating Game is a wonderful novel. I am nearing the end and do not want it to finish.

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  6. I'm so thrilled Talli's blogsplash was so successful. It was great fun taking part and so good to know The Hating Game is getting the publicity it deserves.

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  7. Mason - Thanks for hosting Talli.


    Talli - Congratulations on such a wonderful blog splash! What a creative idea, and it worked! I mean steal that idea when my own work-in-progress is done if it gets accepted...

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  8. Talli did a fabulous job on the websplash!! It was fun to watch the numbers rise all day! :)

    I've been busy and have missed the blogfest - thanks for the link!

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  9. Hoping to find some time this weekend to read more of The Hating Game. Enjoying it so far!

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  10. Congrats again on your web splash Talli - your organization and detail was very impressive!

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  11. Thank you so much again, everyone, and a big thanks to Mason for having me here.

    Really, it was all the bloggers and tweeters who made my Web Splash so wonderful!

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  12. The internet has become such an amazing tool for writers. Talli, you are really to be commended for understanding and using the virtual world to help launch your book! Cheers to you :)

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  13. Talli, The Web Splash was so cool and beneficial for you. Your books looks like a great read.

    Mason, thanks for hosting. You're the best!

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  14. thank you Mason and Talli!!! That was a fun day!! I was so excited to have been part of it too!! Yay for Talli! Take care
    x

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  15. It was your incredible organization in compiling the post info and linkage, as well as your networking skill and winning personality that made this websplash such a success. Seriously, Talli, you're an inspiration to all of us.
    Thanks to you and Mason for this post.

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  16. I'm so glad it worked out beyond your expectations, Talli!

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  17. I followed this splash with interest--thought it was a great marketing approach and I'm glad to hear it worked out so well for Talli!

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  18. Was glad to be a part of Talli's Blogsplash!
    And I can testify that the online community makes a big difference!

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  19. It was a fun day for a lot of bloggers/readers! I think Talli had a very successful marketing strategy. Her book sales in the UK & US are still going strong!

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  20. Talli's splash was amazing, and I was so happy to be a part of it!

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  21. WE have a wonderful group of blogger/writers and I'm so happy to support any new (or old) writers out there. I'm enjoying the book.
    CD

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  22. Thank you Mason and Talli. It was an exciting day for us all. We were all praying it would end up towards the top of the bestseller list and it did!

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  23. It was great to be a part of her Websplash--and her book made the bestseller list!

    Great post, Mason and Talli!

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  24. The Web Splash was a fun idea, and proved to be very effective. Congratulations to Talli for the successful promo event. And thanks to Mason for hosting Talli here.

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  25. "with no marketing money spent and masses of social media power. Who needs a big budget when you can rely on the help from your virtual friends around the world?" Inspirational!

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  26. I'm pretty sure that most people would agree with what I'm about to say. People were more than happy to help Talli on her launch, not because she asked, but because she is so darn nice!

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  27. Thanks everyone for stopping by. Talli, the Web Splash was a great idea and a lot of fun for all of us. Looking forward to your blogfest next month. That one should be interesting too.

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  28. The websplash was amazing. It was inspiring to see Talli's success and fun to play a small part in making it happen.

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  29. You deserve this success. You put not only hard work but more importantly masses of enthusiasm into this marketing campaign. To be honest, it felt more like a fun game to us bloggers than a campaign. Well done, Talli :-)

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  30. Very excited about how all this has worked out for you, Talli! Keep up the good work cause you are inspiring me to stay on the ball and win at this writing game!

    :-)

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  31. I think it is wonderful that Talli did so well. She is a supportive blogger and deserved the return support.

    May I take this moment to wish you a happy, healthy New Year. Enjoy the festive season.

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  32. Not only was I glad to have participated in such a well-orchestrated event...I ended up with a fantastic book to boot. :)

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  33. Yay, Talli! I'm reading her book now, and it is so great. That was a cool, warm and fuzzy day when she soared up the charts. What a great blogging community!

    Thanks, Mason and Merry Christmas! :o) <3

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  34. Hi Mason and Talli .. it was such a fun time - just watching it all unfold .. and to think the book has been epublished, will be published next year .. great news ... and really Happy Christmas to you both .. Hilary

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I'd love to hear your thoughts on today's post. Thanks for dropping by.