Last weekend I was checking replies to a question I’d posed to a Facebook group for UK horror authors about what had been the most successful marketing action they’d undertaken and I spotted a message about BBC Upload. The author told me it was a service where any creative can submit examples of their content to the service for use by local BBC radio stations.

After checking it out I recorded a couple of seconds of introduction then read out two pages of STOPPING POWER. The guidelines said to keep it raw, they were keen on home produced content, so despite tripping up on a few words, I submitted a single take and thought nothing more of it.

On Wednesday evening after dinner, with my laptop on my lap and about to watch some TV, I spotted an email from BBC Upload. They were going to play my clip out on BBC Radio Oxford! After reading the email again and then once more, despite thinking it was a mistake (especially as I submitted the clip to BBC Radio Berkshire) I downloaded their marketing collateral and tagged all of the names they asked to, including the the DJ, and posted on all my channels.

After quickly getting a two clapping hands reply from the DJ, I decided perhaps it wasn’t all a mistake and I had less than five minutes before I was going to be on the radio! There was no chance I’d listen to it live, hearing my voice would make me cringe too much, so I watched the TV with my wife and then when the hour slot was over, I skimmed the show on the BBC Sounds app. As I got to 8:40 the DJ introduced me!

Rushing off to the bathroom for a bit of solitude, I heard myself talking. They’d cut the intro and just played me reading, slip ups and all, but the reaction from the DJ was great and she said my name three times and the name of the book the same! It turns out the segment was about talent in Oxfordshire and Berkshire so that’s why I was included.

I don’t think anything will come of it, perhaps some people I meet at Oxfordshire events might have heard it, but it’s all pebbles in the pond as they say.

If you’re in the UK and you fancy a listen, then here’s the link and scroll to around 20:40 (or 2hrs:38mins into the recording) to hear how bad I was! https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0fsc6ss

WORK IN PROGRESS

I’m about 75% of the way through the current edit of THEIR RIGHT TO VENGEANCE and I can feel the end in sight! That’s all I’ve been working on since the last post and I need to keep my energies on it!

MARKETING AND PROMOTION

Sales are a bit slow but I’m still covering the costs of the adverts with page reads and audiobook sales. It’s odd because during all of my other ad campaigns for IN THE END sales have been very strong. This morning I’ve updated the ad again to change some of the targeting in hope I can get back to good performance again.

I put episode one of STOPPING POWER on free this week and heavily promoted it on social media and to my mailing list and got a decent number of downloads and at least two follow on sales of the complete season. This free book could have something to do with why I’m not getting so many sales, but who really knows.

EVENTS

This Saturday I will be at Romsey near the south coast of England. It’s another new one for me so I look forward to how it goes.

That’s about all for me today. I will catch you next week.