World, Writing, Wealth discussion
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Stats and Marketing Results
Marie wrote: "Ginger wrote: "Marie & Tim, You are both so inspiring. Thanks so much for sharing your promoting experiences. I'll be having my first Kindle Countdown starting this week on Friday and I've learned ..."Thanks Marie. It starts tomorrow. I'll send you the link this afternoon. Let me know when you would like me to do the same for you:)
4 weeks post-promo and my ranks have really dropped. The best I was able to do over the the weekend was 48K, but now all of my books are sitting at 100K-200K. I am eager for my promo to start but it is still a week away. I started a goodreads giveaway to hopefully drum up interest while I'm waiting for the KDP promo to start. The GR giveaway starts in a couple days. I submitted for the first time to My Book Cave for the upcoming free promotion. They have some pretty strict rules and I'm not entirely sure they will feature me, but their service is free for now. Another thing to consider when you submit to these ebook marketing sites is that some of them prefer to feature you if you run your promo for 2+ consecutive days, instead of 1 day only, like my promotions are. My Book Cave is one of them. Also regarding the sites that do not want to feature your book if it is priced over 2.99: this was in the submission guidelines for My Book Cave:
"Basically, with the exception of permafree books, we prefer books that have had no price changes within the past 40 days or longer. We do not promote books listed over $2.99, and that price point is rare."
https://mybookcave.com/submission-gui...
Marie wrote: "4 weeks post-promo and my ranks have really dropped. .."Can be just August, Marie...
Yeah, I don't know what was up with the weekend, but thankfully my books went back up today. Book 1 is in the top 20 of its category and it usually means that the others will soon follow. Fingers crossed :). The page reads on Kindle Unlimited have dropped quite a bit over the last 10 days. Maybe this means I have gotten most of what I will get from facebook and twitter marketing for now. By the way, if anyone is wondering how long a new release is considered a new release on Amazon: I just noticed that they booted my book 4 off the "hot new releases" list after 30 days. Good to know :).
How long do you think before they stop giving your books a boost b/c they're new? 4 wks when they drop you from the new list? How many days ago did you notice that your books started to drop significantly?
Sales have been tapering over the last 10ish days...10 days ago was the first day this month that I had zero sales, and since then I've been averaging 2-3 sales/day. I think that my book being on the new release list was helpful but probably minimally responsible for sales this month. Today so far I've had 4 sales, 2 of which were for book 1. That was encouraging as most of my sales this month have been for the sequels. It looks like 90+% of readers who buy the first book go on to buy the rest in my series, which I really appreciate :).
Did the drop in sales coincide w/ the drop in ranking or did the sales drop lag the rankings drop?
There seems to be a lag between sales and ranks, sometimes a few hours, sometimes a full day.
I ran a $.99 Kindle Countdown for my novel from last Thursday (August 18th) through Tuesday (August 23rd). I think the strategy I used (layered promotions) was pretty effective -- at least it far exceeded my expectations (I sold more than 300 books/literary fiction which, as a genre, is a tougher sell than some). I posted all the details (Book Promotion 2016/Priming the Pump) on my website http://gingerbensman.com/category/i-w...
Thanks to everyone for sharing their strategies and successes!
Hi Ginger,Thanks a lot for sharing! Some very helpful and interesting data. Very well done on improving the ratings and I hope it'll have the lasting effect, resulting in more sales as an echo.
You have very good sales during the promo days and I wonder whether the price was a factor. Strictly on the economic side with 1$ price and 35% royalties, the output of those sales isn't as significant as it could've been with 3$ and 70% royalties. That's the question for me here.
On top of that I believe there is also an 'August' factor.
My utmost respect for daring and sharing!
I am so glad you posted your results, Ginger! Well done! Nik, when using a Kindle Countdown, you get 70% royalties on 99 cents. If you manually lower your price to 99 cents, your royalties are reduced to 35%.
Thanks, Marie, good to know!Who has experimented with different price and similar promos to see how, if at all, this factor influences sales. Because with that kind of costs a higher price could've improved dramatically the financial result
Nik wrote: "Thanks, Marie, good to know!Who has experimented with different price and similar promos to see how, if at all, this factor influences sales. Because with that kind of costs a higher price could'v..."
here's the nitty-gritty details:
https://kdp.amazon.com/help?topicId=A...
Thanks for detailing all of that, Ginger! These kinds of posts are such a service to indie authors, and can hardly be found anywhere else.
I couldn't agree more that we indie authors need to help and support each other. I'm glad you found the info useful:)
Nik wrote: "Hi Ginger,Thanks a lot for sharing! Some very helpful and interesting data. Very well done on improving the ratings and I hope it'll have the lasting effect, resulting in more sales as an echo.
Y..."
Nik, I've seen the "August factor" mentioned several places. What's up with August? Is it a notoriously bad (or good) month to promote?
Ginger wrote: "Nik wrote: "Hi Ginger,Thanks a lot for sharing! Some very helpful and interesting data. Very well done on improving the ratings and I hope it'll have the lasting effect, resulting in more sales a..."
Summer is in general a bad month for online sales across the board. August is particularly bad since 1) many people are on vacation and 2) kids are headed back to school.
Internet traffic starts to pick up in September and starts to really get stronger when day light savings time ends in October.
Michael wrote: "Ginger wrote: "Nik wrote: "Hi Ginger,Thanks a lot for sharing! Some very helpful and interesting data. Very well done on improving the ratings and I hope it'll have the lasting effect, resulting ..."
Looks like we all should be planning promotions for the fall. Thanks for the clarification.
@Miss Ginger: Thank you so, so, sooo much for sharing! And great job!!Re: The August Factor...
I guess we could look at our rankings...? I mean, if sales drop a bit but rankings stay the same, then everyone's affected, yes? No? Maybe? Haha!
Ginger wrote: "Nik, I've seen the "August factor" mentioned several places. What's up with August? Is it a notoriously bad (or good) month to promote?..."Michael already answered that and I can only second his opinion, that biz is usually 'slow' in August at least in Northern Hemisphere, but might be much better in Southern - Australia, South Africa, New Zealand. Maybe members from there will clarify
Thanks for sharing, Ginger. My reading of that is that you probably lost money during the promo, but as others have noted, August is probably not good. Makes me think nervously about my latest, which is scheduled to start one Sept 1 :-( . The problem starts if you get even fewer sales.
Ian wrote: "Thanks for sharing, Ginger. My reading of that is that you probably lost money during the promo, but as others have noted, August is probably not good. Makes me think nervously about my latest, whi..."I did lose money, probably about $80, but I'm continuing to get KENP reads and make some modest sales of my book, now at full price. If I end up with a few reviews to boot, I'll count this promotion a success. I went into the promo with no expectation of even breaking even. Getting visibility with even 300 readers is very exciting to me. Is your promotion a Kindle Countdown? I'll watch for it:)
Ginger wrote: "Ian wrote: "Thanks for sharing, Ginger. My reading of that is that you probably lost money during the promo, but as others have noted, August is probably not good. Makes me think nervously about my..."Yes, it is a kindle countdown starting Sept 1, to 99c. The book is "Red Gold", about fraud during the colonisation of Mars. Basically the fraud has many of the characteristics that were prevalent prior to (and partly a cause of) the 1988 stock collapse. It is SF to the extent it is set on Mars, and that determines some of the ways things are done (In my opinion, it is more realistic than "The Martian", but of course I am biased.) but basically it is a thriller in an exotic setting.
Ginger wrote: "If I end up with a few reviews to boot, I'll count this promotion a success. I went into the promo with no expectation of even breaking even. Getting visibility with even 300 readers is very exciting to me...."Ginger, I hope promo's collateral effect, will bring a stream of sales at full price, reviews, word of mouth and many pages read on KU, so you might recoup all the costs and end up in solid pluses! The most important thing is that you are satisfied with its results
Ian wrote: "my latest, which is scheduled to start one Sept 1..."Hope it goes well and good luck with it, Ian!
Nik wrote: "Ian wrote: "my latest, which is scheduled to start one Sept 1..."Hope it goes well and good luck with it, Ian!"
Thanks, Nik
Nik wrote: "Ginger wrote: "If I end up with a few reviews to boot, I'll count this promotion a success. I went into the promo with no expectation of even breaking even. Getting visibility with even 300 readers..."Thank you, Nik, for your good wishes. Now, to keep writing that next book. This group is a great forum and support!
Michael wrote: "Summer is in general a bad month for online sales across the board. August is particularly bad since 1) many people are on vacation and 2) kids are headed back to school. Internet traffic starts to pick up in September and starts to really get stronger when day light savings time ends in October."
Thanks so much for sharing this Michael, it's very encouraging for me. I did a Countdown deal a couple of weeks ago and was a bit disappointed with the sales - though at least I got some. I'll do another one when the next 90 day cycle starts and hopefully I'll be more adept at marketing by then.
Yesterday was the big day (one day free promotion of the first book in my series), and here is my story:I planned for this free promotion for over a month, and it went wonderfully. I submitted and was accepted by the following marketing sites, listed in descending order of which ones I estimate were most effective:
Freebooksy $85
Robin Reads $45
Bookzio $19
Bookscream $5
Ebook Hounds $10
Book Raid FREE
Free99books FREE
Digital Book Today FREE
My Book Cave FREE
Submitted by unknown return:
Best ebooks Free FREE
Kindle Book Promos FREE
Freebooks.com FREE
Ebooklister FREE
Ebookstamp FREE
Ebookasaurus FREE
Bookhippouk- was turned down for not enough UK reviews
Armadillo books FREE
Addicted to ebooks FREE
Also:
1 status post to goodreads
2 posts to goodreads topics for Free books
Posted to Facebook groups for Kindle, and free books
From Facebook and Goodreads, I got 120 clicks (not necessarily downloads)
Posted 2X to Twitter via AskDavid: 215 clicks (not necessarily downloads)
Total cost of promotion: $164
Total downloads: 5,700+
Ranks in Kindle Store during promotion: #20 in Top 100 Free
#2 in Historical Fiction
#1 in Teen U.S. Historical Fiction
Book 1 is selling fast today and has earned the #1 Best Seller badge, which is really exciting! I listed my recently finished Book 5 for pre-order just before I began this promo, hoping for sales of the sequels to spill over into pre-order sales. I have not seen many preorders today, but I am guessing/hoping that I will over the next few weeks :).
Wow, Marie, this looks like a well organized and successful campaign! Thanks for sharing.
Marie thank you very much for sharing your experience and good tips.I wish you a very nice day
Ciao
Marie wrote: "I listed my recently finished Book 5 for pre-order just before I began this promo, hoping for sales of the sequels to spill over into pre-order sales. I have not seen many preorders today, but I am guessing/hoping that I will over the next few weeks :). "i've read that pre-orders are great in that they build up anticipation and since your book gets a boost when it first goes live, then it could even give you a bigger boost.
Ian wrote: "Nik wrote: "Ian wrote: "my latest, which is scheduled to start one Sept 1..."Hope it goes well and good luck with it, Ian!"
Thanks, Nik"
go for it! no explorer ever got anywhere sitting at home.
Marie wrote: "Yesterday was the big day (one day free promotion of the first book in my series), and here is my story:I planned for this free promotion for over a month, and it went wonderfully. I submitted an..."
Thanks, Marie, for such precise and comprehensive info.
It's like reading a serialized guide to successful self-publishing. I guess at some stage you can just collect your posts here, bundle them together in chapters and launch on Amazon as a guide. Will probably be a success too, because I'm not sure many successful authors offer this level of transparency and practical, workable info. We, as WWW, will require only a small part of royalties -:)
Marie wrote: "Is it clear yet what ranks means as far as units downloaded or gross sales total? Obviously for free downloads, they are going off of units downloaded. Do you suppose it is the same for paid rank..."
Marie, I found this link on goodreads for authors that have had a bad experience with KDP select; is this the platform you used?
Nadia wrote: "Marie, I found this link on goodreads for authors that have had a bad experience with KDP select; is this the platform you used? "
Hi Nadia! All of my books are enrolled in Kindle Select. During each 90 day enrollment period, you can have 5 "free promotion" days or 5 days of a "kindle countdown". I've been using the free promotion option. I have not had a bad experience with KDP Select.
I've noticed a recurring pattern with my promotions this year and thought some of you might be interested (numbers are approx):1K Free downloads = 25 unit sales the following day (full price) = 2 Amazon reviews within the week, 5 goodreads ratings/reviews
I've become a little disenchanted with the "wait for your book to sell and the reviews will come in naturally" model. Yes, they will. Eventually. Preferably not posthumously...
Edited: to add that review rate for Amazon and Goodreads differ
Marie wrote: "1K Free downloads = 25 unit sales the following day (full price) = 2 reviews within the week"That's fascinating. That is the rate for a direct mail campaign.
2% is the standard. You're doing 2.5% off the downloads and a conversion rate of 10% on the reviews.
Interesting how humans think and respond no matter if it is a US Mail letter, email or free book download.
Marie wrote: "I've noticed a recurring pattern with my promotions this year and thought some of you might be interested (numbers are approx):1K Free downloads = 25 unit sales the following day (full price) = 2..."
Interesting statistics. Thanks, Marie.
Have anyone else tried to quantify free promos consequences?
I tried two, admittedly a long time ago. Downloads: 0.6k, 1.5k; reviews:none within an acceptable time; sales attributable to the exercise: maybe1-2. By attributable, I mean in addition to what statistics told me I should expect anyway. I considered that exercise a waste of time.
I have just edited my post to reflect that the reviews I mentioned were specifically Amazon reviews. I do get quite a bit more goodreads ratings and reviews than on Amazon. For goodreads I estimate 5 ratings/reviews per 1K free downloads.
Ian wrote: "I tried two, admittedly a long time ago. Downloads: 0.6k, 1.5k; reviews:none within an acceptable time; sales attributable to the exercise: maybe1-2. By attributable, I mean in addition to what sta..."Hmm... You have solid d/l numbers, which means the books evoke interest. Should've had a higher sales conversion results. How long ago?
Good to see people keeping track of their marketing stats! I noticed when you put in that your doing a Countdown or Free Day on sites that allow it you get a ton of traffic but when you mention it on Facebook or Twitter normally it goes virtually unnoticed. I suppose running a Facebook or Twitter ad would help but I haven't done so. I'm going to run a Facebook ad for sales in hopes to get a good flow.
Nik wrote: "Ian wrote: "I tried two, admittedly a long time ago. Downloads: 0.6k, 1.5k; reviews:none within an acceptable time; sales attributable to the exercise: maybe1-2. By attributable, I mean in addition..."About three years ago
Here is another number for you. Of course this number fluctuates based on number of subscribers, but Amazon just sent me an email saying there is $15.4 million in the KU pool. At $9.95/subscription, I imagine this means there are a minimum of 1.5 million KU subscribers.edited to add minimum # of subscribers
Thanks, Marie. Why, they distribute the entire amount they charge for subscription?
Nik wrote: "Thanks, Marie. Why, they distribute the entire amount they charge for subscription?"Hi Nik, good point. I should have said "at least" 1.5 million subscribers, but when all is said and done, the number might be closer to 2 million.
News on latest promo:This wasn't my best, but still had some nice results. At the last minute, I decided to put the sequels of my book on a countdown deal for 99 cents to coincide with the free promotion of my first title. I was curious how many more books would sell this way. Turns out, a lot more. Now I am kicking myself for not trying it my last promotion, haha. To compare:
August promo (day of): 5700 downloads, 28 unit sales of sequels at 2.99
Sept promo (day of): 2000 downloads, 67 unit sales of sequels at .99, 11 pre-orders 2.99
Here are the sites I listed with (my genre is historical fiction):
Book Gorilla $50
Book Sends $50
Book Tweeters/Ebooks Habit $14.25
Free Kindle Books Tips $25
BK Nights/Digital Book Spot $11
Sweet Free Books $7
Book Scream $5
Digital Book Today FREE (website feature only)
Free99books FREE (featured in newsletter)
Armadillo FREE
Freebooks.com FREE
Kindle Book Promos FREE
Sent out 3 tweets on AskDavid at 4am, 4pm, 7pm, resulting in 1766 clicks (not necessarily downloads of course)
Posted in approx 30 Facebook groups resulting in 59 clicks (not necessarily downloads)
Posted 1 status update to goodreads and in 5 goodreads threads
The 2000 downloads put my book's rank at #83 in the Free Kindle Store. Today it is #2 in its paid subcategory.
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