In January, I launched my third novel, What She Inherits. Unlike my first two books, I actually had a real plan for sending this one into the world. My plan had two parts: First, generate excitement, rally book reviewers, and spread the word about my book before its release through the following methods:
- I made the book available as a preorder on Amazon, Smashwords, and all the retailers to which Smashwords distributes.
- I invited friends and family to buy the paperback via Createspace in advance of the official release date.
- I listed the book on NetGalley the month before launch. (Want to find out about a way to get a discounted NetGalley listing? Email me.)
- I used BookRazor to target Amazon reviewers and offered free ebooks to those reviewers.
- I talked it up on my social media pages (while trying not to be annoying about it my followers).
Second, once the audiobook was up on Amazon and Whispersync was functioning to allow readers to switch back and forth between the ebook and audiobook, I made the book part of Kindle Select. Then, only when it had 20 good reviews on Amazon, I held my first Kindle Select Promotion and ran the book for free for 5 days. Using some strategic advertising (more on this later), I made the most of those free days and saw a long sales boost after the book when back to full price, so much so that I earned back everything I spent on advertising with some leftover.
The only other promotion I've ever done that had anything close to the impact on sales as this Kindle Select Promotion was a Bookbub listing I ran for Watch Me Disappear a few years ago. That time around, I discounted the book to $0.99, and I definitely had my single best week of paid sales, with over 300 ebooks sold, but there was no lingering boost from that promotion and Bookbub is so expensive, that I only netted about $10.
Let's talk numbers for a minute. My free days were from March 18 through March 22. Prior to those free days, I hadn't sold any ebooks via Kindle Direct Publishing for the month of March, although I had sold a handful of audiobooks and a few paperbacks.
Here's what happened during my free days:
March 18
- 2438 free ebooks downloaded
- Reached rank of 59 in the free Kindle store (Top 100! Woot!)
March 19
- 2458 free ebooks dowloaded, 25 audiobooks purchased, 2 paperbacks purchased, 1400 Kindle Edition Normalized Pages Read (KENP)*
- Reached rank of 45 in the free Kindle store
March 20
- 1692 free ebooks downloaded, 27 audiobooks purchased, 1424 KENP
- Hovered around 50 in thee free Kindle store
- 606 free ebooks downloaded, 18 audiobooks purchased, 1847 KENP
- Stayed in low 60s in top 100 free books
March 22
- 182 books downloaded, 2 audiobooks purchased, 1864 KENP
- Started day at 95 in 100 free books, ended the day off of the top 100 list
Key things to notice in these numbers:
- 72 readers bought the audiobook! Those are real sales, not free ones. Granted, they are cheap sales because it you buy the ebook--and free downloads DO count as purchases--you can get the audiobook for something like $1.99, but my audiobook's ranking shot up and new readers found my work, and were even willing to pay a couple bucks for it.
- My book got into the top 100 free on the first day and stayed in the top 100 almost the entire time, without the expense of Bookbub (yes, I paid for some ads, more on that later)
- KENP is how Kindle Select credits authors for books downloaded through the Kindle Owners Lending Library. Basically, if someone borrows a book instead of buying it, authors are paid based on only on how many pages people actually read, and we are paid at a rate of about a half a penny a page. The KENP kept going up all through the rest of March and has continued in April. By the end of the month, it was up to 21217, which a little quick math will you tell you earned me about $100.
- I also sold a few copies of my other books as well, no doubt thanks to traffic generated by the free promotion.
After the free days ended, traffic didn't stop, either. By the end of March, I had sold:
- 24 ebooks
- 86 audiobooks
- 5 paperbacks
So far in April, sales have continued:
- 11 ebooks
- 4 audiobooks
- 2 paperbacks
- 15383 KENP
I have done not one bit of advertising since March 20, and--to be clear--this kind of ongoing, gradual sales pattern is not normal for me. Typically my sales are sporadic and, honestly, few and far in between.
To promote my free days, I ran the following confirmed and/or paid listings:
March 18
- Kindle Nation Daily Free Book Highlighter
- BookSends
- ebookstage
- readfree.ly
- BookBasset
March 19
- Free Kindle Books and Tips
- BookGorilla
- Fussy Librarian
- OHFB
- BookGoodies
I also submitted to the follow free listings:
- Freebooksy
- Digital Book Today
- It's Write Now
- ereader cafe
- Kindle Book Promos
- eBooklister
- Free on Kindle Listing
- ebookhabits.com
- Ignite your book
- Reading Deals
It is a lot of listings, and that did take an investment of time, but it also paid off, and I will definitely use this type of promotion again in the future.
Also, to be honest, this experience is making me rethink my stance on Kindle Select. In the past, I've been vehemently opposed to it on principle (because it devalues writing, makes a two-tier system of authors that treats traditional and indie authors differently, and requires exclusivity), but given this experience, I have to consider the potential value and benefit to authors of enrolling in Kindle Select. Frankly, I sell almost no books on other vendors. So far in 2017, I sold only 5 books via Smashwords distribution. Further, I have realized I may need to compromise on some of my (many, loud) opinions and principles in this case. After all, self-publishing is my hobby, not my day job, and if Kindle Select simplifies my life and maximizes earning potential, for now, it's a good choice for me.
Have you tried free promotions? What's work for you? I'd love to hear your tips and experiences!
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