Authors-Readers Connect discussion

So I did a few promos with Bookstagramers on (you guessed it, Instagram) for a decent chunk of change.There's a couple reviewers still reading the book. I was hoping it might get me some exposure and readers out of the deal ahead of my next release.

I admit, at first I was excited, but then I added up what I've spent recently and nearly had a heart attack. It added up fast and with with dubious return.

Now I also have every book reviewer on Instagram ( it seems like messaging me to do a promo with me. Some of them are pretty pushy. Seems like quite a few are from India.

Anyone go this route before? I wonder if I made a mistake trying to do this...

It's a problem, and some are probably scams. It's hard to weed out the genuine, though. I'd block any unsolicited ones and only go with those you contacted.
I've had loads of emails like this, too, although not from asking. Many have exactly the same wording but different names. The emails I put into spam and block the sender. I don't know how to do this on Goodreads, though.

V.M. wrote: "It's a problem, and some are probably scams. It's hard to weed out the genuine, though. I'd block any unsolicited ones and only go with those you contacted.
I've had loads of emails like this, too,..."

Thank you for your reply. I appreciate it. They're messaging me through Instagram messaging so I know how to delete them. If I have to, I'll start blocking them.

A couple of them were done very well and I was happy with what they did, but I got into wondering if most of their followers were other bookstagrammers since I had a bunch of unsolicited offers since then. Considering how much money I've already put into it, I think I'll decline others for the foreseeable future.

Theresa wrote: "So I did a few promos with Bookstagramers on (you guessed it, Instagram) for a decent chunk of change.There's a couple reviewers still reading the book. I was hoping it might get me some exposure a..."

Paying for ads or promos on Instagram isn't practical, at least not from what I've seen and heard. If you have book reviewers messaging you then that is shady and more than likely a scam especially if they are from India*most scams come from there it seems).

I'm by no means an expert in fact I don't spend money on ads but when I do I go with Amazon. There are way more reputable sources out there. Best of luck to you!

Justin wrote: "Paying for ads or promos on Instagram isn't practical, at least not from what I've seen and heard. If you have book reviewers messaging you then that is shady and more than likely a scam especially if they are from India*most scams come from there it seems). ..."

Thanks Justin. I probably should have come on here earlier asking for advice. I was trying to do something new/different, to vary my marketing routine. Yes, many of requests are coming from Indian Bookstagrammers. A few even looked all good and legit, but now I'm not as sure. Red flags went up when I was flooded with requests after working with a few of these reviewers and I wondered how many of their followers were legit readers. Now I'm afraid I may have gotten suckered by a couple. At least it wasn't a horrendous amount of money. I'm not going to go with any others.

I appreciate everyone's thoughts. (feeling kind of stupid....)

More generally, I've heard that one should never pay for book reviews (although there are some legit places that charge for them), in part because Amazon doesn't like paid reviews and might remove them. Not that I'm an expert on this, but I think that's probably correct.

Dale wrote: "More generally, I've heard that one should never pay for book reviews (although there are some legit places that charge for them), in part because Amazon doesn't like paid reviews and might remove ..."

Yes, you are correct, Dale. I've turned down several Bookstagramers who pitched themselves as guaranteeing a 5 star review. A few tried to play coy about Amazon's rules and I deleted them. I'm not paying for a review, but for them to do a promotion of a pretty mock-up with props on their Instagram feed for their followers. (And gosh, some of them really are fancy) Somebody described it as a "stationary book tour." Some discuss or review the book as a Instagram feed thing only.

Still, there were so many who proposed "promoting" the book(s) with guaranteed reviews that it's quite annoying at this point. I delete handfuls of them a day. I might get to a point of actually blocking some.

Theresa wrote: "Still, there were so many who proposed "promoting" the book(s) with guaranteed reviews that it's quite annoying at this point. I delete handfuls of them a day. I might get to a point of actually blocking some. "

Yeah, I've been getting a few of those emails lately. Not too many, but it definitely seems to be on the upswing for me.

Dale wrote: "Yeah, I've been getting a few of those emails lately. Not too many, but it definitely seems to be on the upswing for me. ..."

I think if one of them sees any sort of mention of a sale, promotion or review, they all crawl out of the woodwork in hopes of scamming you. At least that's my guess at this point.

Theresa wrote: "I think if one of them sees any sort of mention of a sale, promotion or review, they all crawl out of the woodwork in hopes of scamming you. At least that's my guess at this point."

Or they crawl Goodreads groups and pull names from them. Or maybe author websites.

Dale wrote: "Or they crawl Goodreads groups and pull names from them. Or maybe author websites. ."..."

Yep, I can see that happening too.

I'm sorry you went through that, Theresa. I just wish it was as easy getting reviews from actual readers. I've done so many promotions and sold A LOT, but you can't tell by my reviews. If someone has some tips on that, I'd appreciate it.

Groovy wrote: "I'm sorry you went through that, Theresa. I just wish it was as easy getting reviews from actual readers. I've done so many promotions and sold A LOT, but you can't tell by my reviews. If someone h..."

Thanks, Groovy. It was a little frustrating, because I *should* have known most of it was fake or too good to be true, but I got too distracted by the "shiny carrot."

Reviews are extremely hard to get. Honestly, I would just be happy with a steady influx of sales. That is difficult for me to achieve as well when things aren't on sale. That's where I hoped promoting through bookstagramers would help. Well, I guess I was bound to get burned sometime. I am doing a lot of deleting on my Instagram direct message lately.

Theresa wrote: "I appreciate everyone's thoughts. (feeling kind of stupid....) ..."

Don't. Sometimes you just have to give things a shot. If you made a list of all the different places to spend your advertising budget...well it would be a really long list, and it's hard to decide where your money is going to work.

I've used some Fivver services, a few book listing services, and some others. I don't think that I received any ROI on those , but they didn't cost much either. I probably spent more on Amazon and Bookbub ads with much the same result.

I appreciate the feedback and advice here as well.

Leon wrote: "Don't. Sometimes you just have to give things a shot. If you made a list of all the different places to spend your advertising..."

Thanks Leon. I appreciate your kind words and there's alot of truth to that. I keep thinking I should do Amazon or Bookbub ads, but I hear they are pretty hit or miss.