For the uninitiated, Goodreads is like LinkedIn for authors and readers. It has millions of users accessing from across the world and it’s one of the best platforms you can use to reach out to your target audience. On Goodreads, readers list the books they’ve read and rate them; create lists of some of the best books in a particular category; and connect with other readers to know what they’ve read. The chain just keeps growing, allowing you to take advantage of the reader base you’ll find on this source. However, for some reasons, Goodreads has been used minimally by authors here. So, now, we’ll see how an author can make the best use of Goodreads (apart from other social networks) to create a buzz for his or her book and increase its sales. Check it out.
Author Program
Goodreads has a program called the Author Program, where authors can create a profile on Goodreads and use it to promote their books. The service is available for authors with published books and those whose books will roll out soon. The Author Program is completely reader-centric and will fetch your book a better reach. Using the Author Program, you can opt for advertising options to reach millions of readers, run book giveaway campaigns to create a buzz, and interact directly with readers and participate in discussion forums. Since the audience you are targeting is readers, the lead conversion ratio is bound to be high as well.
Listopia
Listopia, in Goodreads terminologies, means a list that has almost all possible categories and genres of book covered. Readers add books to relevant lists and vote. Listopia then lists top voted books in one particular category. Add your book to a category that you find appropriate along with other books on the same genre. Choose ten books in the selected category and start voting. Ask your readers to vote for your books to gain more popularity. The more vote your book gets, the higher it will rank in the list.
Interact
Having an author page on Goodreads is not just enough. You need to interact with your readers and reach out to them. On Goodreads, you can do several activities that catch the attention of your readers. For instance, you can publish a blog and share it with your followers, advertise your book, share other articles you’ve written, conduct a quiz about the book you’re publishing, and do video posts. The more you’re active on Goodreads, the more you’ll create a buzz about your book.
Ask for Reviews
Goodreads is one of the best places to receive honest reviews for books. Since people on this platform are genuine readers, reviews will be authentic and reach thousands of other readers. Connect with your readers and communities on this platform, give them a copy of your book, and ask them to give a review. The more the reviews, the more your book will get added to readers’ ‘to read’ list.  Brace yourself for some negative reviews as well. But hey, this is a fruitful effort.
Book Giveaways
With the book giveaway feature, you can give away your print book for free to readers and get reviews from them. In this, you set a definite period of time up to which the giveaway campaign will run. Goodreads then randomly selects winners and notifies you of their contact details. You’ve to then send them the copy of your book for a review. If you don’t have a print book, Goodreads offers the Events option where you can set up book launches, go on a blog tour, and conduct e-book giveaway programs.
Goodreads offers loads of options for authors to make use of and connect with readers. Try some of these to boost the sales of your book. There’re loads of opportunities awaiting you on Goodreads.