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Slapping a book on a blog is not all it takes to sell it. I know you know this, but I had to explore this book-marketing-101 concept further.

I mean, it seems like a logical idea, right? Create a blog, develop a loyal following, and they’ll buy your book. Easy, peasy!

But being the curious type, trapped in Post Book-Launch Stress Disorder, I decided to don my gumshoes. (BTW, thank you for all the awesome comments on PBLSD. I want to reply to each and every one, just gimme some time. Remember, PBLSD cannot be cured with two aspirin and a morning call.)

I opened my WordPress stats. In the last six months, this blog has had approximately 75,000 visits.

Wow, right? Amazing. I can’t believe it myself.

Six months ago is when I inserted links to pre-order THE MONSTORE in my blog column (so it appears on every page on this site) and on my books page. And guess how many clicks those links have had?

7,500? That would be about 10%—not too shabby. But no.

1,500? That would be about 2%. Still pretty respectable. When I was working in marketing, a 2% response to a direct mail offer was considered average. But, nope. Not even close.

Out of 75,000 visits, links to order THE MONSTORE have been clicked on only 355 times. That’s [almost] 0.5%.

But, I have no idea how many of those clicks turned into purchases. If it’s 2% like my direct mail experience has shown, then I’ve sold 7 books.

Kinda humbling, isn’t it?

75,000 visits = 7 books sold.

Now, I realize this is very unscientific. Any statistics professor would knock my knuckles with a ruler. People have other ways of purchasing books, and I know I’ve sold more than 7 books!

But, I wanted to demonstrate that slapping a book on a website is not all it takes. That don’t do diddly.

Boy, I’ve just realized this post is really not helping the PBLSD! (But maybe it will help you!)

BTW, if you do want to crawl inside THE MONSTORE, you can by clicking below. Ya can’t blame a girl for trying!

IndieBound.org
Amazon.com
BarnesandNoble.com
BooksAMillion.com
Chapters.Indigo.ca

“My two boys (3 and 6) loved this book. They wanted me to read it many times. Then they played Monstore games all afternoon. They made their own monsters (pom-poms, pipe cleaners, and googly eyes). They built Monstores with blocks. Then they made booby traps and trap doors with couch cushions. I can’t remember the last time reading one book led to such prolonged creative play.”

~ Amazon customer review