Everyone wants a free book. Goodreads leverages giveaways for your marketing benefits. It is easy, it works, and it only cost you the number of books you choose to give away.

Goodreads provides a fun place to list the books you have read, want to read, and are reading. It provides author pages for readers to follow. It is also home to Goodreads Giveaways where authors can list their books for readers to enter to win a free signed copy. Well-known authors and indie authors are using Goodreads Giveaways to promote their books.

My giveaway garnered 346 entries in just eight days. Each person is asked to add the book to their Want to Read list. In fact, readers must unselect the box for it not to be automatically listed among their Want to Read books. Adding books to this list widens your book’s exposure to their friends.

I selected to giveaway three books, but you can select as few as one. I have seen authors list as many as ten. It is also up to you as to how long you run your giveaway. The longer you select the more people you reach. You can also repeat your giveaway or do one for a different book at a later date.

When Goodreads had randomly selected my three winners, I signed each book with a note congratulating the winner. I tucked three promotional bookmarks into each book so each winner could keep one and give two away to friends.

Getting set up is easy. Here is how:

• First join Goodreads at goodreads.com.

• Create an Author Profile

• Link your Profile to your book(s) via ISBN number(s).

• Be sure to link the e-book version as well as the hard copy.

• Link your Facebook account so that your Facebook followers can follow your Goodreads Page to learn more about your book and reading habits.

• Then click Browse on the menu bar and select Giveaways.

Peruse the various genres to familiarize yourself with the best selection for your book. Enter to win a few books while you are at it. Goodreads allows you to list your book in two categories. On the top right-hand side of this page, you will see the option to list your giveaway. Simply select this option and complete the form. Goodreads will review your submission and inform you when your giveaway is live. Select a date a week out so that you can appropriately advertise your giveaway on social media.

After your giveaway has run its course, Goodreads will inform you of the winners and their addresses. Be creative with your packaging to ensure the winners have a memorable experience receiving your book in the mail. Shark Tank’s Lori Greiner stresses that “packaging is everything.” Once the books are in the mail, log into Goodreads to mark the books as mailed. There you will find a helpful graph showing the stats on your giveaway.

One last promotional feature that I’ve put to good use on Goodreads is their book quotations. Click your profile picture so that the menu drops down and then select My Quotes. On the right, select Add a Quote and list quotes from your book. Invite your readers to add their favorite quotes from your book as a fun promotional challenge.

You are all set now to have a fun beneficial experience running your Goodreads Giveaway.