CodeRanch Book & Software Promotions - Information for Authors and Publishers
We schedule Promotions for any book or software that we feel will appeal to our users. This obviously includes coding / programming books and might include books on software design, modelling tools, programming paradigms, frameworks, user interface tools, etc ... It includes software including
testing tools, IDEs and programming utilities. We do not do Promotions on topics unrelated to Programming or Software Engineering.
We prefer to do promotions on new books or software, that is, published within the last six months. If the book or software is of particular interest, we may make an exception to this guideline.
Note: new rule effective August 1st - authors must make at least one post at least a week before the promo. The author can either do so in a technical forum or in the
introductions forum (ex: hi, i'm looking forward to my promo coming up). Note that if the author is an active user, any post within the last three months is sufficient. If the author does not post, CodeRanch may cancel the promotion. If the other still does not post by the time we kick off the promotion, CodeRanch will cancel the promotion.
All promos are now listed as tentative until the author registers for an account, makes a post and the author or publisher tells us. (If the author has posted anything in the last 3 months it counts. The promo date is guaranteed until a week before.If the author has not posted a week before, we may or may not give that slot to another book/publisherIf the author still has not posted when we are ready to kick off the promo, we will cancel it.
CodeRanch Provides
A promotion on one the highest traffic, independent sites dealing with Programming. See our statistics. We average over 100,000 unique visitors each week.An email announcement at the start to all registered users of CodeRanch. This mailing is currently going out to over 130,000 registered CodeRanch users.A banner ad to direct traffic to the forum with the promotion.A text ad on the top of the main forum page to direct traffic to the forum with the promotion.A sticky thread atop the relevant forum to call attention to the promo of the week.A mention on the twitter.com/coderanch feedAdministrators and Moderators involvement to assist the Author.Selection and announcement of the winners and collection of the winners mailing address.
Publisher Expectations
Coordinate the scheduling of Promotions between CodeRanch personnel and Authors. Note that we request two weeks notice in advance of the promo to set things up.To send out four books, one to each address (anywhere in the world - we understand some countries get ebooks) of four winners that we have selected for the promotion.If enough time is available before a promotion, scheduling a book review (or manuscript if the book isn't published yet) with CodeRanch Personnel is advisable. Additional value can be obtained with 'See what our own Sally Software-Engineer had to say'. Reviews can be scheduled by emailing Book Review Coordinator. - bookreviews AT javaranch DOT com
Author Setup Steps
Set up your user Profile in the Forums area; fill in as much information as possible.Authors must make at least one post a week prior to the promo. The author can either do so in a technical forum or in the introductions forum (ex: hi, i'm looking forward to my promo coming up). Note that if the author is an active user, any post within the last three months is sufficient.Optionally: Add a signature to the Authors profile that will promote your book.
Author Expectations
Spend a little time familiarizing himself/herself with our software and culture prior to the promotion. Post new Topics and respond to our member's questions.Tuesday to Friday spend around 30 minutes a day, or more if you wish to really boost your engagement, responding to posts and promoting your book.For each post, check the box 'Show Signature: include your profile signature.' The more you post, the more you promote your book.
The general scenario breaks down to:
The Author expresses an interest in doing a promotion for a given date.If CodeRanch is interested in promoting the book, the Publisher and CodeRanch personnel schedule it.The Author creates his/her profile on the Big Moose Saloon.The Author spends time familiarizing themselves with the Forums.CodeRanch personnel send out announcements of the promotion.From Tuesday to Friday, the Author posts to the forum, promoting the book.On Friday, CodeRanch Personnel select the winners and notifies the Publisher.The Publisher mails/emails a copy of the book to each winner.
Awards
Jolt Productivity Award
About.com's Java Best of the Net Award
"In honor of the exceptional online
Java Certification-related resource"
Check the main
BookPromotions page for the schedule.
For questions about this page or to schedule a promotion, contact: bookpromotion AT javaranch DOT com