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Paid Promotions - A Case Study of Experience
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Graeme
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Jul 16, 2020 02:52AM
Indeed, Nik.
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Building the next ASA-O promo for the 26th-28th September. (3 days FREE only)[1] (Cost $55 ($82 AUD)) BookBarbarian (Dark Fantasy) FreeBookOfTheDay for ASA-O on Sunday the 27th Sept 2020.
[2] (Cost $90 ($132 AUD)) FreeBooksy (Thriller) for ASA-O on Sunday the 27th Sept 2020.
[3] (Cost $65 ($95 AUD)) RobinReads (Fantasy) for ASA-O on 27th Sept 2020 (Booked 28Jul2020)
Looking to add in
[4] (Cost $40) eReaderNewsToday (Fantasy) for ASA-O on the nnth Sept 2020.
[5] Possibly BookSends...
What I will do is target this down to a single day 'FREE,' (27th) which I will block with three of my KDP free days - leaving 2 free days left to pitch a Bookbub Feature Deal during the quarter.
Noting that eReader and BookSends both have a 30 day limit for booking promos - I will attempt to book them around August 29th.
Just clocked over $100 USD royalties for July. One of the best months I've had for awhile, and currently running forward with momentum.Plus Amazon UK are sending me their first cheque which will land at the end of the month with 100+ GBP.
Indeed, congrats, Graeme! It's about time you start seeing returns of the investment
Thanks Leonie.I've also got a Freebooksy series promotion starting mid August, with a bit of luck my current momentum will still be alive at that time.
By having both ASA and the ASA-O omnibus, I can run a promotion every 6 weeks instead of every three months by alternating between them. This could create a way to sustain momentum amongst readers rather then stitching together islands of sales with droughts inbetween.
As I mentioned above, I'm pulling the ASA-O promos into a single day to allow me to keep 'FREE,' days spare in each 3 month KDP cycle for a Bookbub feature (which I can apply for once in every four weeks).
The next ASA-O KDP cycle begins on the 17th of Sept - so I'll submit my first attempt at a bookbub feature just before that date.
For you independents, have you tried to find agents and publishers or doe sit not work like that any longer?
I tried once back in 2016 without success, and then went the Indie route. I haven't looked back.
I'm with small press. It's a nice experience.I did try agents right at the beginning, but finding an agent in Australia who accepts speculative fiction is rather tricky.
I'm running a 'Fantasy/Paranormal,' ASA Series Promo with FreeBooksy on the 15th of August.I'm curious as to what the results will be.
Indications are good: REF: https://www.writtenwordmedia.com/seri...
Graeme wrote: "Next promotion now set up.ASA will be FREE for 3 days from the 14th to the 16th August inclusive.
[1] (Cost $150) FreeBooksy (Fantasy/Paranormal Series Promotion) for ASA FREE on the 15th August..."
I'm varying this as follows.
ASA will be FREE for
[1] (Cost $150) FreeBooksy (Fantasy/Paranormal Series Promotion) for ASA FREE on the 15th August 2020.
ATW, and TDD will be reduced to 0.99 for the five days, and
ASA Free from 14th to 18th August has been locked in.
So, a series purchase will cost just under $8 USD.
Let's see what happens.
Thanks Nik, I'm very curious about this one.
July royalties came in at $148 USD with the majority coming from ASA-O sales, followed by TCW and TDG.75% on KU reads, and the rest on direct sales.
55% were ASA-O sales/reads.
Presumable, the TCW, TDG tail will fatten up (or not) over August.
Becoming a sizable income. Hope it keeps growing and will soon surpass unemployment corona allowance:)
Fortunately, I'm not unemployed.However, it almost pays for the August promo on the 15th.
Break even is my first goal.
I know. It’s just reaching that level an author can supposedly claim being able to live off of writing
If someone wants to live half-starved in a dingy garret - well $12K per year might do it....
Where do you think the term starving artist comes from?....8^)
Graeme wrote: "[1] (Cost $150) FreeBooksy (Fantasy/Paranormal Series Promotion) for ASA FREE on the 15th August 2020.ATW, and TDD will be reduced to 0.99 for the five days, and TDG (3.99) and TCW (4.99) TDG, and TCW will be reduced to $2.99 for the five days. ..."
August 15th Promo - RESULTS.
ASA: 717 FREE.
ATW: 17 at $0.99 ($0.35 royalty = $5.95)
TDD: 15 at $0.99 ($0.35 royalty = $5.25)
TDG: 9 at $2.99 ($2.09 royalty = $18.81)
TCW: 8 at $2.99 ($2.00 royalty = $16.72)
Total Royalty = $46.73.
This generated less than a 1/3 of what it cost to run during the promotion. I'll check ATW and TDD on sales or KU reads as attributable to this prom, but based on past experience it is unlikely to get anywhere near break even from such a low base.
Given that WrittenWordMedia published a blog post on previous results for this particular promotional format it seems that I've got a very low result this time.
"The aggregated Fantasy / Paranormal promo data is based on 12 promos. 83% (10 out of 12) Fantasy promos were ROI positive."
REF: https://www.writtenwordmedia.com/seri...
Overall, disappointing relative to expectations, but based on net cost, very similar to a standard FREE promo with this site for overall download numbers.
The next promo is already under construction.Building the next ASA-O promo for the 27th-28th September. (2 days FREE only)
[1] (Cost $55 ($82 AUD)) BookBarbarian (Dark Fantasy) FreeBookOfTheDay for ASA-O on Sunday the 27th Sept 2020.
[2] (Cost $90 ($132 AUD)) FreeBooksy (Thriller) for ASA-O on Sunday the 27th Sept 2020.
[3] (Cost $65 ($95 AUD)) RobinReads (Fantasy) for ASA-O on 27th Sept 2020 (Booked 28Jul2020)
[4] (Cost $50 ($72 AUD)) BookSends (Action & Adventure) for ASA-O on the 27th Sept 2020.
What I will do is target this down to a single day 'FREE,' (27th) which I will block with two of my KDP free days - leaving 3 free days left to pitch a Bookbub Feature Deal during the quarter.
Targeting a Bookbub feature for ASA-O is the main reason I created ASA-O, it now has 12 ratings on Amazon and it's next KDP cycle (with FREE days) begins on the 17th of Sept.
I will submit a feature request on the 15th of September and then monthly thereafter until I get an acceptance.
Wonder if lower than expected returns follow from the same promotional venues sort of "exhausting themselves" - after all their readership growth is hardly meteoric and after a few promos the interested public would have grabbed the book? Maybe making a bigger pause in btw promoting on the same site is better? And then it's August - considered less powerful month promotion wise
On a side note, I do follow this even if I'm not posting. So don't feel like you're talking to yourself here if no one's engaging because I'm definitely watching from the sidelines.
J.J. wrote: "On a side note, I do follow this even if I'm not posting. So don't feel like you're talking to yourself here if no one's engaging because I'm definitely watching from the sidelines."Thanks, J.J.
Nik wrote: "Wonder if lower than expected returns follow from the same promotional venues sort of "exhausting themselves" - after all their readership growth is hardly meteoric and after a few promos the inter..."Hi Nik, it's possible, but I assume people (mostly) read their subscription emails only when they are specifically looking for a new book to read.
Yes, that can be, however some maybe open them to see what's new regularly and there might be few more patterns... Some maybe even never open
Attempting to add the following promos to the ASA-O FREE promo on the 27th-28th Sept.[4] (Cost $40) eReaderNewsToday (Fantasy) for ASA-O on the 27th Sept 2020.
[5] (Cost $50) BookSends (Action & Adventure) for ASA-O on the 27th Sept 2020.
I should know the results within a week.
Added.[4] (Cost $50 ($72 AUD)) BookSends (Action & Adventure) for ASA-O on the 27th Sept 2020.
Just pinged Amazon. ASA is currently free in the Netherlands.https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B01FS73TXY
In the absence of any promotion.
Graeme wrote: "Just pinged Amazon. ASA is currently free in the Netherlands.https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B01FS73TXY
In the absence of any promotion."
Nice!
Just an update on the BookBub promotion that happened back in the first week in June - I'm still seeing steady sales at the end of August. And the buy through has been around 60% for the second and third books as well. (No price drop there.)In addition, some steady sales on the new fantasy as well, which was much of the point of the BookBub promotion.
Also, there has been a nice uptick in reviews, with close to 100 on Book 1 of my Frontier series.
It certainly seems that BookBub is an excellent place to promote a series if you can score a deal.
Graeme wrote: "Awesome results, Leonie."I really hope you score a BookBub deal, Graeme!
Leonie wrote: "Graeme wrote: "Just pinged Amazon. ASA is currently free in the Netherlands.https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B01FS73TXY
In the absence of any promotion."
Nice!"
It's a mistake.... but I picked up a single Free download but it's supposed to be $0.99. For some reason Amazon have a glitch.
Graeme wrote: "Leonie wrote: "Graeme wrote: "Just pinged Amazon. ASA is currently free in the Netherlands.https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B01FS73TXY
In the absence of any promotion."
Nice!"
It's a mistake.... but I..."
😳
Well, it's not the end of the world... but I expect Amazon to follow my pricing intentions.
The next promo, ASA-O is finalized. ASA-O free for the 27th-28th September. (2 days FREE only)[1] (Cost $55 ($82 AUD)) BookBarbarian (Dark Fantasy) FreeBookOfTheDay for ASA-O on Sunday the 27th Sept 2020.
[2] (Cost $90 ($132 AUD)) FreeBooksy (Thriller) for ASA-O on Sunday the 27th Sept 2020.
[3] (Cost $65 ($95 AUD)) RobinReads (Fantasy) for ASA-O on Sunday the 27th Sept 2020
[4] (Cost $50 ($72 AUD)) BookSends (Action & Adventure) for ASA-O on Sunday the 27th Sept 2020.
eReaderNewsToday declined my book this time.
So, a 1 day stack.
Leaves 3 FREE days in the KDP quarterly cycle (Begins September the 17th) to pitch for a feature deal at Bookbub.
EDIT (17/Sept) KDP FREE Promo locked in for the 27th and 28th Sept.
Graeme wrote: "Graeme wrote: "[1] (Cost $150) FreeBooksy (Fantasy/Paranormal Series Promotion) for ASA FREE on the 15th August 2020.ATW, and TDD will be reduced to 0.99 for the five days, and TDG (3.99) and TCW..."
I'm going to attempt to run another of these series promotions in mid November for ASA+.
But this time, all the subsequent books will be at $2.99. To see if it generates more revenue. The actual bottomline was not too bad as there were some more on sales and KNEP reads. Very similar to a standard FREE promotion on that site. If I can defray the overall cost a bit more, that will improve the (-ve) ROI (i.e. lower it...)
Hi, Papaphilly, I make 80% of my revenue from Kindle Unlimited reads as opposed to direct book sales. I'm currently running at approx $100 US per month on revenue, and spending closer to $150 per month on advertising and associated costs.
So 60 to 70% of break-even.
To safely break even I'd need to double my revenues.
Papaphilly wrote: "Ouch"NP.
It's an ultra-marathon - not a sprint.
Graeme wrote: "I'm going to attempt to run another of these series promotions in mid November for ASA+.But this time, all the subsequent books will be at their normal prices. To see if it generates more revenue. The actual bottomline was not too bad as there were some more on sales and KNEP reads. Very similar to a standard FREE promotion on that site. If I can defray the overall cost a bit more, that will improve the (-ve) ROI ..."
[1] (Cost $150 ($215 AUD)) FreeBooksy (Fantasy/Paranormal Series Promotion) for ASA FREE on the 14th November 2020.
All subsequent books at their normal prices.
EDIT (19/Sept) KDP FREE locked in for the 13th to 17th of November.
Applied on the 14th Sept for a Bookbub Feature for ASA-O, pending response.(Not expecting success... Features are very hard to get).
EDIT (17th/Sept) Didn't get this. I'll try again in 4 weeks time.
Graeme wrote: "Applied on the 14th Sept for a Bookbub Feature for ASA-O, pending response.(Not expecting success... Features are very hard to get)."
I wish you luck nonetheless Graeme!
Hi Jeffrey,The way I'm structured now. I can ping Bookbub with a request every month until I get accepted.
The Omnibus volume is explicitly designed to meet their needs.
The only variation I may need to do is go wide again, by dropping out of Amazon KU. That would be a short term hit as I get most of my revenue from KU and most of that is from ASA-O.
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