UK Amazon Kindle Forum discussion
General Chat - anything Goes
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What do you think about a UK Bookbub?
I think there are a number of sites that already perform that function, including our own Rosen's Indie Book Bargains. So my instant reaction is going to be, what can *you* do for me that they can't?Okay, they don't have the kind of traction that Bookbub has, but you're only going to get that if you *are* Bookbub.
I'd like advertising with guaranteed returns ;~)
As a reader, I can't say I'm interested in clogging up my email with yet another notification about book deals, thanks.
That's what strikes me, how many people actually buy on the strength of these notifications?
I'm signed up to 3 or 4 of these, and have bought from all of them. The only bit that sounds interesting is the by genre bit.
It's all about the USP (unique selling point). I have thought about ways to promote ebooks a lot. There are loads of things out there but nothing with that extra wow factor that will get people engaged.
However there is a need for something to fill the space in ebook world left vacant by the big paper book publishers
What matters in not what writers think about it, but what readers think about it and what it can do for them and if enough of them can be arsed to sign up for it. And - more importantly - carry on with it once they sign up. Even high email sign-up rates rarely carry on into continued engagement unless those who sign-up feel they are getting a good deal.Savvy writers won't sing-up until the readership is there and readers won't sign unless there are a load of the books they like at a price they like there.
One of these kinds of sites that has recently started, ebook-soda, was advertised on this groups threads,and looks very professional. They are rightly offering free placement in order to get it up and running. I put one of my books on there without reducing the price and as expected didn't see a single sale from it (good job it wasn't paid advertising). I recently put the free book on there and saw a minor bump in downloads that day, which may have been coincidental as there have been days with no advertising when the downloads have been greater.
As a reader, I have one daily email (from Indie Book Bargains) and I read all the blurbs on there. I haven't the time to read more. I'd end up mass deleting the emails which is a waste of everybody's time. I have bought books from there and I write short reviews for those I've read too. There's such a thing as too much information!
Maybe what is needed is some sort of website where people who love books could get together and talk about them in groups or something like that.
I'm considering doing some proper display advertising on websites when my most recent book gets its cover tweak at the end of the month. I'm just not sure where to put my money.
Andrew wrote: "I'm considering doing some proper display advertising on websites when my most recent book gets its cover tweak at the end of the month. I'm just not sure where to put my money."From the research I've done - mainly reading writer's blogs and listening to self-publishing podcasts - advertising doesn't work most of the time. The only thing that does seem to work is a mailing list.
As Tim Grahl said in the latest self-publishing podcast there is no point in trying to flog your wares to all and sundry, especially by intruding on their space.
He says what you need to do is find people who you think will like what you have to offer and 'invite' them into your world as it were, and apparently - though I haven't tied it - yet - the best way is by inviting people to sign up for a email newsletter.
the podcast is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Db6WGv...
David wrote: "Maybe what is needed is some sort of website where people who love books could get together and talk about them in groups or something like that."Yes! Let's do that! But let's charge people to join.
I reckon a pound of bacon per annum.
Patti (baconater) wrote: "Yes! Let's do that! But let's charge people to join.I reckon a pound of bacon per annum. "
Now that is a great business model.
Kath wrote: "Unless you're the pig."It depends upon the pig and how it envisages its career in the future.
Unless it's looking for 'Short' it's out of luck, career-wise.
Tim wrote: "I think there are a number of sites that already perform that function, including our own Rosen's Indie Book Bargains. So my instant reaction is going to be, what can *you* do for me that they can'..."Could you please send me a link to Rosen's site? I would like to learn more.
Kath wrote: "Unless it's looking for 'Short' it's out of luck, career-wise."Unless in porcine theology, bacon is seen as a higher state of being.
David wrote: "I'd like advertising with guaranteed returns ;~)"How do you define guaranteed returns? If you mean breaking even with how much money you spend, then even Bookbub rarely does that. But if you mean getting hundreds of downloads from your promotion, then I'll try to make a website that is that effective.
Patti (baconater) wrote: "As a reader, I can't say I'm interested in clogging up my email with yet another notification about book deals, thanks."What if it's an email that links to book deals from UK authors? Bookbub doesn't do that.
Desley (Cat fosterer) wrote: "I'm signed up to 3 or 4 of these, and have bought from all of them. The only bit that sounds interesting is the by genre bit."Bookbub also emails you book deals by genre. I'm planning to do that too. What I'm asking is are you a UK reader who would like to get UK book deals?
David wrote: "What matters in not what writers think about it, but what readers think about it and what it can do for them and if enough of them can be arsed to sign up for it. And - more importantly - carry on ..."I completely agree.
Andrew wrote: "Saturated market, no interest here."Really? I know that there are tons of Bookbub copycats in the US. But I've hardly come across a UK book deal emailing site. If there are, can you give me some examples?
John wrote: "Andrew wrote: "Saturated market, no interest here."Really? I know that there are tons of Bookbub copycats in the US. But I've hardly come across a UK book deal emailing site. If there are, can you give me some examples?"
I expect so.
I can't be bothered though, to be honest.
I'm on a tablet computer at the moment and I find links difficult but you could Google Indie Book Bargains - or find them on Facebook.
Kath wrote: "As a reader, I have one daily email (from Indie Book Bargains) and I read all the blurbs on there. I haven't the time to read more. I'd end up mass deleting the emails which is a waste of everybody..."Can I ask if you're allowed to choose the genres you want in the email? Because I would understand how you can't have the time if the email just consisted with every bargain book they have for that day.
But what if you can shorten the email by getting only the genres of books you like? And if you're a UK reader, you'll only get UK book deals?
For new releases you can stipulate the genre.
John wrote: "But what if you can shorten the email by getting only the genres of books you like? And if you're a UK reader, you'll only get UK book deals?"I don't know how unusual I am, but I don't find genre a particularly interesting way of choosing books. I was subscribed to bookbub for a while, and I am subscribed to a couple of other UK-specific sites, either through email or (Preferably) RSS and I don't find them particularly useful. Covers don't interest me much, blurbs don't interest me much & as I said genre is of limited relevance.
I usually pick books by authors I know, for authors I don't know it is by personal recommendation by people I know (online or offline) and whose judgement I trust.
I suppose an email list is a good idea - if you get it right - but it is not the way I'd buy books, unless there was something on there one day which I'd heard about elsewhere and noticed it there. Even then I'd probably side-step the list unless its offers were good and exclusive.
What David said.But remember, John, you're asking people on a UK readers (well, for the most part) book group.
The reason we hang around here is cuz we know we'll get good reccies from one another.
A fair few laughs as well.
The reason I like IBB is because Rosen features many of the authors I know and, because I know Rosen, I trust her to reccie worthwhile books.
John wrote: "Tim wrote: "I think there are a number of sites that already perform that function, including our own Rosen's Indie Book Bargains. So my instant reaction is going to be, what can *you* do for me th..."http://www.indie-book-bargains.co.uk
I get a daily free books email from kuf http://www.dailyfreebooks.co.uk/It's not just UK authors, but is Amazon uk and you can select genres.
I often "buy" books via there.
Patti (baconater) wrote: "Here is the link to her great site.http://www.indie-book-bargains.co.uk/"
Thank you for the link
Tim wrote: "John wrote: "Tim wrote: "I think there are a number of sites that already perform that function, including our own Rosen's Indie Book Bargains. So my instant reaction is going to be, what can *you*..."Thank you
Thank you for the responses, you guys. But to be honest it's starting to get a little discouraging. Now I learn that there are actual sites that are currently doing what I'm thinking of doing.I really thought that this would be a good way to differentiate myself from Bookbub, since there were many people who complained that Bookbub doesn't provide a UK link.
Are there any other UK readers out there who would like to give a response? I need as much info as I can before I decide whether or not to make a UK website.
I'm afraid that whenever I sort of investigate this area I find so many websites that I just lose the will to live and give up :-(However, just to add that there might be a place for a tightly focussed newsletter. Purely SF or Purely Chick lit or whatever. But trawling through yet another website, sorry but it doesn't appeal :-(
Indie Book Bargains has the functionality of some of the US sites like Bookbub and ENT, but it lacks the readers.The last thing authors need is any more small time book sites, because we end up spending hours repeatedly entering book details into site after site, just to net one or two free downloads.
What we need is one definitive voice.
If anybody has any great ideas about how to increase the IBB readership ten fold, I can provide the service authors want.
I used to pay for Facebook ads to gain followers to the IBB Facebook page but I stopped bothering because Facebook only shows each offer to about 100 of our 3,700 follows.
The IBB daily newsletter isn't genre based. Why?
1. DailyFreeBooks (a site owned by KUF) already runs a decent customisable newsletter and I didn't want to tread on Lou's toes when forum mods do so much for us.
2. Genre is becoming less and less relevant as indie authors tread the way into the publishing future. For example, Tollesbury Time Forever was voted best indie book of 2013 and it's virtually impossible to classify.
Rosen wrote: "If anybody has any great ideas about how to increase the IBB readership ten fold, I can provide the service authors want."Off the top of my head, how about asking authors to put a link in the back of their books for mutual benefit?
I agree with what you say about genre.
Back when I used to submit poetry to poetry magazines I remember it was often said that the only people who bought or subscribed to those magazines were people hoping to get published in them.It often seems to me now that a lot of these schemes to get 'your' book in front of readers' suffer from the same problem, that those who sign up, subscribe or whatever are writers searching for those elusive readers, rather than the actual readers themselves.
It is just as on Twitter, fArsebook and whatever social media is this week's social media flavour of the month, writers end up following other writers, seemingly in the hope that there must be a writer somewhere out there who knows where all the readers are hiding and knows how to tempt them out into the open.
David wrote: "Back when I used to submit poetry to poetry magazines I remember it was often said that the only people who bought or subscribed to those magazines were people hoping to get published in them.It ..."
Certainly seems to be true of Twitter and Facebook. :/
I think I learned a lesson with Twitter, so with Facebook I've tried to be more discriminating. Whilst I don't refuse writer friend requests, I do try and link up with people who I know and who aren't writers.
Rosen wrote: The last thing authors need is any more small time book sites, because we end up s..."Wow, the legendary Rosen herself commented on my thread.
To be honest, before I started this research into a UK book deal site, I hadn't heard of Indie Book Bargains.
But now I hear about you everywhere. You're like the UK equivalent of Bookbub. There are a lot of authors out there who are loyal to you.
Sorry, but I don't have any advice on how to increase IBB's subscribers. How many subscribers do you have? Because I don't think anyone expects another site to have 2 million subscribers like Bookbub.
Me, I'm just hoping to some day get 50,000 subscribers.
Anyway, thank you for the tip that Facebook ads don't work. I'll think of something else for marketing if I decide to launch my own UK book deal site.
She also has hundreds (thousands, I hope!) of loyal readers.
Jim wrote: "I think I learned a lesson with Twitter, so with Facebook I've tried to be more discriminating. Whilst I don't refuse writer friend requests, I do try and link up with people who I know and who are..."Certainly most of those who follow me on Twitter seem to be wither writers or those hoping to sell the authorial shovels to those prospecting for those elusive gold nuggets that are readers. As my follower count has increased, it seems I spend less and less time on Twitter. These days it just announces my blog posts to an indifferent world.
As for Farcebook, we've never got on - a sort of mutual incomprehension.
Yes I let the automatics deal with Twitter for me, occasionally they draw my attention to somebody mentioning me and I respond appropriately
David wrote: "Off the top of my head, how about asking authors to put a link in the back of their books for mutual benefit?"Good thought, but Amazon, iTunes and Smashwords would all make you remove it.
I'm thinking of creating a website that is similar to Bookbub, but it will link to only UK book deals.
If you're unfamiliar with Bookbub, it's a site that emails you discounted or free Kindle books in the genres that you choose.
I'm asking you guys because I want to know if there are enough UK readers out there who would like a website like this. Is anybody interested in this?