Stephanie Erickson's Blog, page 13
November 25, 2012
Last Day of Black Friday Sale!
Ok people, today is the last day to get The Blackout for 99 cents!
I did the sale hoping to boost my ranking in the first 30 days, and it has helped, just not as much as I'd hoped. I wanted to be well under 10,000 by the end of the weekend, so that when I raised by price again I'd have some wiggle room and stay above 13,000. But, I haven't sold as many as I'd like, so I'm hovering between 11,000 and 13,000. Hopefully today will be an awesome sales day! Everyone go buy my book! And if you've already bought it, get your friends to buy it! :-)
I did the sale hoping to boost my ranking in the first 30 days, and it has helped, just not as much as I'd hoped. I wanted to be well under 10,000 by the end of the weekend, so that when I raised by price again I'd have some wiggle room and stay above 13,000. But, I haven't sold as many as I'd like, so I'm hovering between 11,000 and 13,000. Hopefully today will be an awesome sales day! Everyone go buy my book! And if you've already bought it, get your friends to buy it! :-)
November 21, 2012
Giveaway, and the Trouble with Reviews is...
Lots to talk about today! First is the giveaway of The Blackout and wonderful spotlight/interview on
Word Vagabond's
site today!!! They did a wonderful interview and a spotlight on the book in addition to hosting the giveaway! I can't wait to see how much interest it draws!
Also, the reviews are getting squirrely! My family has been unsuccessful at posting their reviews for whatever reason. But, I did get two more reviews today, bumping my count to 3! One of them is a 3 star though, so that may have made me cry a little. But, I'm still at 4.3 stars overall, so that's good.
My ranking seems to be holding in the low 20,000 range, which is amazing. With the reviews starting to come in, I hope it holds!
I
Also, the reviews are getting squirrely! My family has been unsuccessful at posting their reviews for whatever reason. But, I did get two more reviews today, bumping my count to 3! One of them is a 3 star though, so that may have made me cry a little. But, I'm still at 4.3 stars overall, so that's good.
My ranking seems to be holding in the low 20,000 range, which is amazing. With the reviews starting to come in, I hope it holds!
I
November 20, 2012
Hold Your Breath...It Seems to be Working...
So, everything I implemented yesterday with the book seems to be helping. I went from being ranked around 52,000 yesterday, to 19,000 this morning, and 25,000 right now.
What I did was beg people for likes and tags on the actual Amazon page. I also happened to get two reviews yesterday, so I'm not sure if that helped as well, or what.
Now, of course one of them isn't showing up, so I emailed Amazon about that.
On the bright side, they were both 5 stars!!! I'm so excited! Now, I just need more of everything! Can you say if you give a mouse a cookie?
What I did was beg people for likes and tags on the actual Amazon page. I also happened to get two reviews yesterday, so I'm not sure if that helped as well, or what.
Now, of course one of them isn't showing up, so I emailed Amazon about that.
On the bright side, they were both 5 stars!!! I'm so excited! Now, I just need more of everything! Can you say if you give a mouse a cookie?
November 19, 2012
Chatted With a Real Live Author Today
Today I spent some time on the phone with Shannon Mayer. She's got 9 titles on Amazon (1 just released last week, the same day as The Blackout), and most are rated at or above 11,000! So, I emailed her and asked her what her secret is! She generously called me and gave me all kinds of tips and tricks to help The Blackout succeed!!
One thing she really said was important is getting people to review, like and tag your book on Amazon. I know you guys are resistant to the review part, but the liking and tagging thing takes like 8 seconds. So, please do it! It really helps with sales and visibility!
Also, feel free to check out Shannon Mayer by clicking on her name. She was a tremendous help to me today, and I'm so excited to have been able to speak to her today! I'm pumped!
One thing she really said was important is getting people to review, like and tag your book on Amazon. I know you guys are resistant to the review part, but the liking and tagging thing takes like 8 seconds. So, please do it! It really helps with sales and visibility!
Also, feel free to check out Shannon Mayer by clicking on her name. She was a tremendous help to me today, and I'm so excited to have been able to speak to her today! I'm pumped!
November 16, 2012
Deciphering the Numbers
Still plugging away, and am absolutely glued to my sales ranking. I read yesterday in order to get listed on Amazon's Hot New Releases you have to be ranked above 13,000 in the first 30 days. It's unclear how long you have to maintain that, or if it's like a weekly average or what. However, getting listed on that would be a huge boost, and something I'm salivating for. I'm currently ranked 13,848, down from the 12,000s earlier today, but up from the 16,000 I was sitting at first thing this morning.
Playing the numbers game is such a roller coaster. Admittedly, it's not one I was prepared to ride. However, I'm on it now, and gonna give it the best ride I possibly can!
Playing the numbers game is such a roller coaster. Admittedly, it's not one I was prepared to ride. However, I'm on it now, and gonna give it the best ride I possibly can!
November 15, 2012
Trying to Keep the Momentum
Hi guys! Well, my sales ranking continues to fall as more and more of you have already purchased the book. As of this afternoon, my rank was 14,159. :-(
I need to find ways to reach out to strangers now! I'm trying hard to submit the book to bloggers etc. I think it just takes time. At least, that's what I hope. As more of you finish the book, I'm hoping you liked it enough to leave a review on Amazon for me, so strangers will be convinced it's worth the $2.99!
Fingers crossed guys!!
So far: 42 sales! Keep it coming!
In other news, I've started outlining the next one! Generally, I hate outlining, and try to avoid it. But, I found with writing The Blackout, it became difficult to keep track of everything, and in hind sight, an outline may have been helpful. So, we'll see how this goes!
I need to find ways to reach out to strangers now! I'm trying hard to submit the book to bloggers etc. I think it just takes time. At least, that's what I hope. As more of you finish the book, I'm hoping you liked it enough to leave a review on Amazon for me, so strangers will be convinced it's worth the $2.99!
Fingers crossed guys!!
So far: 42 sales! Keep it coming!
In other news, I've started outlining the next one! Generally, I hate outlining, and try to avoid it. But, I found with writing The Blackout, it became difficult to keep track of everything, and in hind sight, an outline may have been helpful. So, we'll see how this goes!
November 14, 2012
Patience? What's that?
So, we're now about 36 hours out from the release of the book. I've gotten 1 official commitment from a blogger to review the book! (Hey, it's a step in the right direction!)
My sales ranking has definitely been a roller coaster. Early this morning it was just above 7,000, which I was totally thrilled about. But now, it's sitting around 9,679. I sure hope it hasn't peaked already!! Keep buying it people! I have no idea how time will affect these numbers as more and more of my friends and family buy the book, and I become more reliant on strangers to buy it.
Next step: Getting reviews to propel sales for strangers! :-) (Ahem, hint hint, leave a review on Amazon when you're done reading it please!)
My sales ranking has definitely been a roller coaster. Early this morning it was just above 7,000, which I was totally thrilled about. But now, it's sitting around 9,679. I sure hope it hasn't peaked already!! Keep buying it people! I have no idea how time will affect these numbers as more and more of my friends and family buy the book, and I become more reliant on strangers to buy it.
Next step: Getting reviews to propel sales for strangers! :-) (Ahem, hint hint, leave a review on Amazon when you're done reading it please!)
November 13, 2012
It's Out! It's Out! It's Out!!
I can't believe it! It's officially available for sale on Amazon! So far, it seems to be doing fairly well, thanks to all my wonderful friends and family! It's currently ranked 12,085 among paid Kindle books, which I think is good for the first 12 hours post release.
So, I've been spending my day searching for reviewers and begging them to read my book! I've also attempted to enroll in the Goodreads author program, so hopefully they'll approve me for that!
This is all a learning experience and a new adventure! I'm loving every minute of it!!
So, I've been spending my day searching for reviewers and begging them to read my book! I've also attempted to enroll in the Goodreads author program, so hopefully they'll approve me for that!
This is all a learning experience and a new adventure! I'm loving every minute of it!!
November 12, 2012
It's Away!
Holy cow! I can't believe 3 years of work have come down to it! I've released The Blackout from my hot little hands. Amazon has it now and there's nothing I can do about it! No more tweaking, no more editing, no more polishing. It's done.
I'm so wound up about it! But at the same time, I'm nervous, and a little sad. It feels like sending my youngest out into the world. I just want to see her succeed!
Wish me luck sleeping tonight. Tomorrow is D-Day!
I'm so wound up about it! But at the same time, I'm nervous, and a little sad. It feels like sending my youngest out into the world. I just want to see her succeed!
Wish me luck sleeping tonight. Tomorrow is D-Day!
