How and Why to Host Giveaways: Interview with Ya Author Callie Thomas

We all know marketing is a must. One of the tools authors can use to gain traction is hosting a giveaway. Today I’m talking with YA author Callie Thomas about her experiences participating in and running giveaways.

DJS: Tell us a little about why you decided to do giveaways, and what are some of the benefits. 

CT: I love doing giveaways and offering something special for my readers. It’s a great way to give back to my followers, network with other authors, and hook new readers that might have been on the fence before. Giveaways are a great marketing technique that can be just affective as ads to get your name and books in the public eye.

DJS: What should an author expect to gain from running a giveaway?

CT: Usually there is something a contestant must do in order to get their name put in the drawing pool. It can be anything from signing up for a newsletter, following social media accounts, viewing an author page or book page, or just sharing the giveaway with people they know. The best thing an author can expect is to gain followers on social media platforms. In this way, they can get to know you better and learn more about your books. There is a need to earn a reader’s trust before they make a purchase, and it might take seeing posts about an author’s books numerous times before they purchase anything.

DJS: It seems there are endless possibilities for giveaways. The ones that are a little different seem to stick in my mind. What’s some of the most unique giveaways you’ve seen?

CT: I’ve seen some weird giveaways! I’ve seen ones for virtual Zoom meetings with the author, copies misprinted books, and having a character named after or based on the winner. Personally, I like to stick with ebook or signed paperback giveaways versus monetary giveaways. Gift cards can attract giveaway hunters who are only looking for free handouts. Unfortunately, they aren’t interested in your books, only freebies. Don’t use #giveaway or similar hashtags or you’ll attract freebie hunters.

DJS: With all the demands on author’s time, effort, and funds, marketing can be a real drain, stealing time from writing. How can authors maximize their return of investment regarding giveaways?

CT: Start small and stay within your budget. If you are giving away a book, choose one that is a series starter. This can lead to the purchase of the other books in your series. Try to make the giveaway as easy as possible. The more complicated the instructions, the less entries you’ll have. Make sure you are posting about the giveaway in your socials and interacting with participants. Be patient! Remember that it takes time to grow your audience.

Don’t forget to factor in worldwide readers. It costs more to ship outside of your country, but make sure to do a giveaway for them everyone once in a while to show them appreciation, too.

DJS: Do you have any recommended resources or tips for authors who want to do a giveaway?

Having a good platform to use for giveaways is a must. Make websites or other methods of entering easy to navigate. Even with the best prizes and amazing marketing, if the user can’t figure out how to enter it’s all for nothing. I recently switched to KingSumo (https://kingsumo.com/) and have been enjoying their product.

Thanks so much for sharing this information with us, Callie!

Callie Thomas was born in California but moved away immediately after, living in more places in the United States than she can remember. Even now, she can’t stay in one spot. Callie has been writing since middle school when her teacher caught her writing stories instead of vocabulary words in her 7th grade English class. Callie recently published her first Vella series, A Forest of Stolen Memories & A Sea of Golden Chains, and has more books in the works.

You can visit Callie’s website at www.authorcalliethomas.com.

Donna Jo Stone writes YA contemporary novels about tough issues but always ends the stories with a note of hope. She blogs at donnajostone.com.