Goodreads is a social network specifically for authors and readers. It has over 20 million members and is one of the most visited websites in the world. Why is Goodreads so popular? Because it helps people find the next book they want to read. Think of it like Pandora Radio or Spotify, but for books instead of music.

When you get on Goodreads as a reader, you list the books you have read along with a star rating and an optional review. Then as you connect to your friends, you can see the books they read and their ratings for those books.

But, it gets better than that.

You can also vote on lists of your favorite books. Goodreads has a feature called Listopia where people publicly vote on the top books on all manner of lists. Curious what the best Amish fiction book is? There is a list for that. Curious what is popular in Christian Contemporary Romance? There is a list for that too. The more votes a book gets, the higher it ranks on the list.

The best way to learn Goodreads is to sign up at www.goodreads.com and then start exploring. The website will walk you through the process of getting started. There is no cost to signing up, and figuring it out is a lot of fun!

So have you signed up? Great. Here are some ways you can Goodreads for marketing.

1. Setup an Author Page

Cost: 1-2 hours

Getting an author page is the first step to connect with your readers on Goodreads. Think of this as your Facebook page but on Goodreads. Creating an author page will give you statistics about your books and will give your readers a place to see what you are up to and what you are reading.

You can find out how to join the Goodreads Author program. This page has detailed instructions that will walk you step by step through the setup process.

2. Ask Your Readers to List Your Books on Listopia.

Cost: 30 minutes

The Listopia section of Goodreads has a list for every kind of book imaginable. Make sure your books are on the appropriate lists. You can find this section at http://www.goodreads.com/list.

Often the difference between 30th and 10th on these lists is only a few votes.  So the more your readers vote teh higher your books will rank.

3. Advertise

Cost: 1-3 hours + $50-$500

This is optional but worth the effort. Goodreads has a powerful book-advertising program that allows you to target people who have highly rated specific authors. Are your books similar to James Scott Bell? You can target his fans with an ad for your book.

You can also use this tool to target people who have rated your books in the past. You may have fans who loved your other books and who have no idea about your latest book. Goodreads allows you to connect with those readers.

The ads can cost as little as $0.15 per click. This is one of the cheapest ways to let your readers know about your new book.

4. Give Books Away

Cost: 1 hour + books + shipping + $119

On average,