BOOK PROMOTION SITES--THE ONES THAT ACTUALLY WORK! > Likes and Comments
I used to scare my poor daughter with those coughing spells. You hang in there, Theresa. I hope they gave you something that will work for you. And I hope your promotions for your book are going well. I hope everyone's promotions are going well. If you have time, let us know for inspiration...
When I have what my dr. calls my allergic cough, he gives me a medfly dosage pack - a steroid. And sometimes he gives me a steroid shot on top of it. It's the only thing that gets rid of it.I just came from a book club appearance. It's the third year in a row these ladies asked me back to discuss each of my books. It was really nice. I'm not doing any promotions right now other than my own social media posts. I need to hoard every penny to pay my narrator. After I pay her, I'll set up another promotion.
Hope Theresa, Groovy, and Effie feel better. How fun and complimentary, Effie--to be invited back to a third book club meeting.
Effie, I hear you. A plumbing issue set me back about 1200 but hopefully it's fixed. The pitfalls of home ownership! Except I didn't buy this house, I inherited it, and it's not in the best condition.Well, on a more optimistic note...yesterday when I was reviewing my report for the month thus far I noticed that I had no page reads or activity on my book Woman Scorned. So...I decided to take a few minutes and post a quick ad on Instagram. Today I have a sale! Yes, it was only ONE sale...but it was from free advertising and that demonstrated that posting on Instagram DOES work!
Thanks, Michele, I'm not sick right now, but when it happens he gives me the steroid. Yes, the book club appearance was very nice. I had one last month too. I enjoy talking to small groups on a more personal level.
Effie wrote: "When I have what my dr. calls my allergic cough, he gives me a medfly dosage pack - a steroid. And sometimes he gives me a steroid shot on top of it. It's the only thing that gets rid of it.I jus..."
Yes, the dr. gave me predisone and an inhaler. My last dose of the steroid is tomorrow. I am recovering faster than when they just give me the inhaler (or a few times where I was given cough syrup and told to just keep taking my allergy medicine. Those times I had almost no sleep for days, if not weeks.) I've had a couple rough nights, but I've gotten a few hours sleep each night.
Glad your book appearance went well, Effie! My editor is nearing the end of my manuscript and the cover is coming along. I will be doing a cover reveal sometime early next month. I'm also starting to plan promos leading up to the actual book release.
I hope everyone else is doing well on any promos they have going on!
Good luck! Release Dates are exciting!
Effie wrote: "Good luck! Release Dates are exciting!"Thank you, Effie! This has been a long time coming. Lots of setbacks and whatnot, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!
A quick question about Bookbub . . . if I try to get a promo with them, do I have to wait 90 days to try and submit anything else, or just that title again? Trying to think ahead...
Thanks Effie and sorry Theresa.It is only every 30 days not 90 that you have to wait for Bookbub, and I am pretty sure it is only for that specific book.
Thank-you, Michele.And, I'm so glad everyone has something that helps them through the allergy season. Good health to you all.
And, Effie, that is so wonderful that the book club likes you and your work that much that they ask you back for a third time. That says a lot about you as an author. Congratulations. I have a question: How did you get invited to these book clubs? Did they seek you out, or did you do some research and contact them?
I can't wait to see all of your hard work, Theresa. Finally, right? I wish you all the best on its release.
Steven is correct about the bookbub timelines.Michele, I've made appearances to I think 4 different book clubs. This last one three separate times. I believe what happened in most cases was that one member read my book, recommended it to the book club and one nor more interacted with me on social media. It's evident that I live on Long Island and they asked if I'd be willing to attend the meeting when they discuss my book. Of course I said yes in all cases!
Sorry for all the pain/illness you guys have been mentioning. Well done for all pursuing your dreams and being a generally lovely lot despite of it, I know pain can be debilitating and lower interest and mood a lot!I hope things only improve!
Thank-you, Stephen. All the best to you, too, and your promotions.
Stephen wrote: "Thanks Effie and sorry Theresa.It is only every 30 days not 90 that you have to wait for Bookbub, and I am pretty sure it is only for that specific book."
Thank you for the well wishes for my recovery and for answering my question(s). I appreciate it!
Groovy wrote: "Thank-you, Michele.And, I'm so glad everyone has something that helps them through the allergy season. Good health to you all.
I can't wait to see all of your hard work, Theresa. Finally, right? I wish you all the best on its release...."
Thank you very much, Groovy!
Effie wrote: "Steven is correct about the bookbub timelines.Michele, I've made appearances to I think 4 different book clubs. This last one three separate times. I believe what happened in most cases was that ..."
Thank you for corroborating the bookbub timelines. I think I might try to get book 1 in again. I think I'll try to submit for Mid-September so there's (hopefully) plenty of notice to get it accepted.
Has anyone used and/or had any success using BookDoggy?
I’ve used them. It’s hard to say what my results were because it was on a day when I stacked promos. But I had good results for that day overall and people on the SPF group state they’ve had good results too. It’s only $12 for an ad so it’s a good risk.
That's good info. Thank you, Shannon. I was thinking the same thing - low risk, worth a shot. Thank you!
I've used bookdoggy. I think the results were just so so. But like the others said. It's so cheap, why not give them a try.
Brad wrote: "Has anyone used and/or had any success using BookDoggy?"I've also used bookdoggy but it wasn't lucritive for me - sold one book - I think with promo sites it depends on your genre, who is buying, what day you advertise etc. Trial and error.
So my kindle countdown ended and my results were the best I have every had. I managed to get in with a lot of the big promo sites (excpet ENT) and did very well on most days. Since this was my first $0.99 promo deal on Book One since I published Book Two I was hoping it would generate reg. price sales on the second book - it has :)Here are my results: August 8-14
Book Rebel/Just Kindle Books (Stacked) $58 - 6 books sold
Book Cave - $18 - 20 books sold
Book Barbarian (great for scifi/fantasy) - $30 - 24 books sold
Robins Reads - $60 - 49 books sold
Bargain Booksy (Deal of the Day - $80 - 52 books sold
Book Gorilla - $50 - 35 books sold
Book Bub (2 ADS) - approx. $75 - 11 books sold.
Total Sales - 197
Since the end of my countdown I am seeing sales on Book Two (17 so far) and am averaging about 1000-1500 KNEP a day (I believe this is the benefit you get from the Bookbub Ads - Kindle Unlimited readers).
I didn't make my money back but I got a lot of new readers and exposure and hopefully sales of the second book in the trilogy will continue because of it.
Whoa! Congratulations on your great numbers.
I agree with Michele--Wow! Good work, Jaci. 197 and still counting:) And that is the best way to look at it. You didn't make your money back, but drawing in new readers and getting all that exposure is worth it. One day you'll make your money back and more!I'm going to start promoting again. Hopefully, I'll be accepted by those sites, too.
Hope everyone else is doing well with their promotions!
Fantastic, Jaci! You will keep seeing results for a while. more KNEP and after sales.
Hi, what is KNEP? And thank you for the info.
Effie wrote: "Steven is correct about the bookbub timelines.Michele, I've made appearances to I think 4 different book clubs. This last one three separate times. I believe what happened in most cases was that ..."
Hi, how are you finding book clubs?
Groovy wrote: "Hi, EveryoneWelcome to our new home where we can continue our discussion on promotions that work; and how well your books are doing. Hopefully, this will remain a peaceful place where we can all ..."
Haven't used any book promotion sites due to tight funds. Also, not sure how to coordinate them to be beneficial. Sigh.
Shannon wrote: "So, the downloads have slowed down a bit so right now, I'm at 1,370 downloads. I am ranked #76 in the free Kindle store and I'm #2 in my category and my book was an Amazon top pick today. I've been..."Hi, how do I find out my download stats? I'm a newbie and completely lost. Thanks.
Hi, Tinthia, so glad you joined us. If you want to understand how to coordinate book promotion sites to your benefit, try to go back and read the earlier threads from Effie, Jaci, Theresa, Michele, and Marie Silk (hope I didn't forget anyone) look at how they lined up their promotion schedules and the good results of it. You will learn a lot. I'm new at this also, and it can get overwhelming at times. That's why I have to go back and keep reading. I wish you all the best.
Tinthia wrote: "Shannon wrote: "So, the downloads have slowed down a bit so right now, I'm at 1,370 downloads. I am ranked #76 in the free Kindle store and I'm #2 in my category and my book was an Amazon top pick ..."If you published on Amazon, go to the KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) page where you published the book. www.kdp(dot)amazon(dot)com. Go to reports. KNEP are page reads for your book if it's enrolled in KDP Select (exclusive to Amazon). A good resource for newbie indie writers is David Gaughran's blog.
Hi Tinthia,In my case, the bookclubs found me. There are bookclubs on Goodreads and facebook but it is hard to approach them to ask to read your book. It is possible though. I suggest engaging in some bookclubs and once you get friendly you may ask them if they would be interested in trying yours. Especially if you offer it to them for free.
Hi everyone, I hope you are all well! I don't have time to read through the threads as I have been gone for too long but I did just see Jaci's results - nice work!
Currently I am working on the poetry side of my work, I have two books coming out in the next few months, and I know it is a little different to the normal discussions, but I wondered if any of you knew of good sites/promotions to use for poetry?
I wish I knew, Mark. Sorry. I would try Google, though...I have a question: Does anyone use Kindle's Cover Creator for their ebooks? Is it free? Is it easy to use? Thanks.
Kindle's cover creator is free and easy to use. I originally used it for my first book cover which I later changed. You'll need your own front cover image. You can also use Canva which is free and gives you more options. I've also used CreateSpace templates.
Thank-you, D. :)
Amazon giveaways (NOT the same thing as KDP Select free promotions or the giveaways through Goodreads) look like they have changed recently.When I ran Amazon giveaways in the past, I was able to write a message to the entrants, like, "enter for a chance to win blah blah" and then another post-entry message. It looks like they have done away with these messages and now the giveaway pages are just product images with a click-to-enter button. Also it seems the sweepstakes run for 7 days instead of the sponsor being able to choose the start and end dates.
The good news is, Amazon seems to be slightly more generous with the stats it's displaying to the giveaway sponsor. In the past, I could only see how many entrants there were. Now I have a little more information to go on that makes these giveaways seem like decent bang for the buck.
I just had a giveaway finish for one of my ebooks. The total cost to me was $2.99 + tax (the cost of the ebook). Here are the results:
Entries: 268
Hits: 784
Product page visits: 38
Attributed sales: no data available
I highlighted the most interesting part. This means that my book's page got 38 visits from the giveaway. Those visits could have gone on to be sales or KENP. They only cost an average of 7 cents per click which is much less than I'm paying for AMS. So I think this can be a great low-cost form of advertising for ebooks.
Thanks for the info, Marie. Looks like Amazon giveaways are not available to UK authors (again, grrr) but sounds worth a try for US authors.
Oh, Marie, Congratulations! And thanks for the explanation.
Thanks for the info, Marie. It's interesting, but I haven't had great success with the amazon e-book giveaways. I usually giveaway 4 books and only one gets claimed. I don't get enough entrants. Unlike the print which I've had great success with. Giving the same amount of books away, my giveaway never lasts more than a day and all the books are claimed. I'm not sure why that is, but I might give the e-book giveaway a try again.
Jaci wrote: "So my kindle countdown ended and my results were the best I have every had. I managed to get in with a lot of the big promo sites (excpet ENT) and did very well on most days. Since this was my firs..."Wow, great job, Jaci! You have some impressive numbers. I have not tried Book Gorilla or Book Barbarian yet. Is there a favorite of yours outside of Bargainbooksy? I may have to look into those myself.
I have tried to submitting to ENT again. I have decided against Bookbub features because of money contraint.
Good for you, Marie:) I haven't done a giveaway in a long time, but thanks for the heads-up. So, you only gave away one book, and you got all those hits? That's impressive.I love doing Amazon giveaways. No matter how many books I put up, they are usually claimed before the day is over. That's fun!
Effie, you were hesitant about giveaways. What changed your mind? Also, I'm getting ready for the US Open. YESSS!!!! Please let me know when your daughter will appear so I can scream and clap for her:)
Theresa, I hope you get accepted to ENT, and your promotion goes really well.
Hi, I have a question about BookBub. Before submitting another request (and getting rejected AGAIN), I'd like to change the genre setting for my novel, and I can't figure out how. My book is suspense, but BookBub doesn't have a suspense category, so I choose thriller. I discovered that thriller is one of their most popular genres, and I'm wondering if I'm losing out to big-named authors. I was advised to label my novel with a genre that has a smaller audience. I logged onto BookBub, selected my profile and clicked edit. I can edit everything except the genre--which remains grayed out. Does anyone know how to edit your novel's genre? Thanks.
Michele when you actually submit I think you can choose your genre. Sometimes I choose women’s fiction and other times Romance. I don’t think it matters what you are listed as. Of course, I could be wrong. I’m not hesitant about amazon giveaways. I love them. I do them often. I just haven’t had any success with the ebook giveaways and great success with the print ones.
For the Amazon giveaways, I choose the "sweepstakes" option. This means that the giveaway runs for a set amount of time (7 days) and then the winner or winners are selected at the end. I don't think that increasing the number of prizes makes much of a difference as far as how many people will enter the giveaway. So I stick with 1 ebook as the prize to keep costs low and that way I can run giveaways more often, keeping my book visible throughout the month on the giveaways page. I don't expect that Amazon giveaways will be free (aside from the current cost of the prize only) for much longer, similar to the way Goodreads Giveaways changed from free to expensive for authors. This is probably a good time to try out the Amazon giveaway feature while costs are minimal.
For Bookbub featured deals, when you submit your book, you select the genre you want it featured in. Bookbub editors will decide what genre it will actually go in if they approve the book. One time I submitted my book in "historical mystery" and Bookbub approved it, but changed the category to "historical fiction".
Thanks, Marie, for confirming the BookBub info. (Effie, you were correct.) I haven’t submitted for awhile and will try again.
Thanks Groovy. It sucks, esp at night. I was diagnosed Friday. The coughing has muscles in knots, but I'm able to catch a few hours of sleep the last couple of nights. I''m glad you found something that works for you.