Should I run a social media giveaway?

“Do you recommend that I do a giveaway post?” -Diana Farid, author of Wave

Hi Diana,

It all depends on what your goal is for your giveaway. A giveaway alone won’t boost book sales, but it can be useful in other ways. For instance, if you are trying to grow your social media audience, running a boosted giveaway on Instagram where you ask all entrants to follow you and comment on your post will get you more followers on Instagram. Similarly, if you’re trying to grow an email list, requiring giveaway entrants to fill out an online form using their email address is a good way to do that. You can then use social media/your email newsletter to educate this new audience about your books and over time convert them into customers who buy your books. Some authors choose to partner up and do a joint giveaway with an author who writes in a similar genre so both authors benefit from each other’s audience.

If you’re not looking to grow your social media or email audience, a giveaway may not be the most impactful tool to use. I also don’t recommend doing a giveaway without some sort of boost behind it (either paying to boost it on social media or partnering with other authors) because otherwise the giveaway won’t reach the new audience you’re hoping to attract - you’ll just get your current audience.

Hope that helps!

~Megan