HOW much?
I was never the least bit fascinated by figures, but now I’m running my own global company, I have to be. And I’m finding it interesting!
Nice pic? Here’s what I had to do to drive a book up to the top of the US iBook store’s romance section (and tenth in their whole store that day.)
On October 6th I invested in a Bookbub promotion. Bookbub is the world leader in online book advertising. You tell them what you’re interested in and they’ll send you 1 – 4 deals each day ONLY for that genre. It’s very hard for authors to get accepted, so readers know they’re being offered successful books. It works like crazy. It’s also not cheap.
OK, they agreed to offer my boxed set of three Wellington novels for 99 cents. Ridiculously good value. Bookbub charges $US734 for a one-day space for a 99 cent book. That’s $NZ1023. Ow!
Bear in mind I’m entirely indie. I have no kindly publisher offering me their promotional money and international clout. So what else am I going to do to make this go well enough to cover the awful cost?
A free ad in Read Free.ly, which is very supportive of indie authors. A Choosy Bookworm ad for $US48 ($NZ68.56). An ad three days after the BookBub on EReader News Today, which costs $US55 ($NZ78.85). And a ‘Deal of the Day’ on FreeBooksy/BargainBooksy five days after the Bookbub which is $US125 ($NZ177.25).
