Paid Promotions - A Case Study of Experience

[Graeme]

Graeme wrote: "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 S..."

Results for the 27th-28th SEPT ASA-O promo. 2303 downloads of ASA-O.

[Leonie]

That's a lot of downloads!

[Nik]

Nice! How did it translate into post-promo sales?

[Graeme]

Leonie wrote: "That's a lot of downloads!"

Thanks, Leonie.

[Graeme]

Nik wrote: "Nice! How did it translate into post-promo sales?"

Still to see. Because ASA-O is a big book, 660+ pages, I expect on sales to take awhile.

But what does happen is ongoing sales and reads of ASA-O.

[Nik]

Graeme wrote: "Nik wrote: "Nice! How did it translate into post-promo sales?"

Still to see. Because ASA-O is a big book, 660+ pages, I expect on sales to take awhile.

But what does happen is ongoing sales and reads of ASA-O. ..."

Cool, hope you'll have decent return and many new fans for your series

[Graeme]

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).

EDIT (17th/Sept) Didn't get this. I'll try again in 4 weeks t..."

Next attempt to acquire a BookBub feature deal begins on the 14th Oct with ASA-O.

This failed too. Next effort will be on 14th November.

[Graeme]

Graeme wrote: "[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...."

Next major Promo for ASA FREE (Series) is locked in for the 14th November.

My other books will be at their standard prices, so we'll see if that defrays the cost more than the first time.

[Graeme]

TECHNIQUE: Adding bonus samples of the next book to the end of all my ebooks in an attempt to 'entice,' readers to buy the next book.

Deployed on ASA-O, TDD, and TDG.

ASA, and ATW are pending (EDIT 21/Oct/20) Now done and operational.

Now I have ASA -> ATW -> TDD -> TDG -> TCW and ASA-O -> TDG -> TCW linked via bonus samples at the end of each Kindle book to help readers 'read on.'

[Marie Silk]

Graeme wrote: "TECHNIQUE: Adding bonus samples of the next book to the end of all my ebooks in an attempt to 'entice,' readers to buy the next book.

Deployed on ASA-O, TDD, and TDG.

ASA, and ATW are pending."

I haven't popped into this thread for awhile as I'm not on goodreads much anymore, but just wanted to say it's awesome you're still promoting and I hope you've seen lots of sales. Did you ever get a Bookbub feature?

[Graeme]

Thanks Marie,

I have the 'mental preparation,' that this is an ultra-marathon not a sprint.

Regarding sales, what I can say is this - the Amazon cheques are almost a monthly occurrence now.

What surprises me is that ASA-O still dominates revenue, so I'm still struggling to bring readers all the way through the series. I hope the addition of 'bonus samples,' will assist with that.

[Graeme]

I haven't got a Bookbub feature yet, but I ping them on the 14th of every month now with a new request for ASA-O.

So, we'll see what happens.

[Nik]

Marie Silk wrote: "I haven't popped into this thread for awhile as I'm not on goodreads much anymore..."

No, no, no, Marie, you can't orphan us like that :) Come visit more frequently

[Scout]

Yes, Marie, stick around. I enjoy your posts!

[Marie Silk]

Thank you Nik and Scout, I hope all is going well for you. Graeme, wishing you all the best on your Bookbub submissions :). I had a great result with a Freebooksy *Series* Promotion recently. Maybe worth looking into?

[J.J.]

Scout wrote: "Yes, Marie, stick around. I enjoy your posts!"

Nik wrote: "Marie Silk wrote: "I haven't popped into this thread for awhile as I'm not on goodreads much anymore..."

No, no, no, Marie, you can't orphan us like that :) Come visit more frequently"

Add me to this chorus.

[Graeme]

Nik wrote: "Nice! How did it translate into post-promo sales?"

Regarding the post promo sales impact of the ASA-O promo on the 27th-28th September.

Counting the period from the 27-Sept to 03-Nov.

24 direct sales, 13x ASA-O, and 6x ASA, 3x TDG, and 2x TCW. So most sales are of the first books in the series.

Remarkably, 5 of the ASA sales were for the paperback, 4 of those on one day.

17,103 KNEP for the same time frame. Most of which are ASA-O and TDG.

Royalties for the timeframe is around $90 USD for October.

Still hoping to see more TDG and TCW come through in November.

[Graeme]

2nd Run of the FreeBooksy Series Promo locked in for the 14th November. ASA KDP FREE locked in for the 13th to 17th of November.

[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. I.e.

ASA FREE (for 4 days)
ATW, TDD at $2.99
TDG at $3.99
TCW at $4.99

[Graeme]

2021 Promos.

Considering the standard 3 month/90 day gap on a per book basis.

ASA-O, in January (approx. 10-11th), April, July, October. (2 day free blocks) - Budget $1000
ASA, in February (approx. 20-24th), May, August, November (5 day free blocks) - Budget $600

Apply for a BookBub feature for ASA-O each month, reserve a 3 day free block for this in each 3 month ASA-O KDP cycle - Budget $500 (1x feature).

So, a promo about every 6 to 7 weeks.

[Nik]

Systematic and ambitious plans. Best of luck, Graeme!
Not for a hollow compliment, but I don't understand how your series don't overtake The Vampire Chronicles already...

[Graeme]

Nik wrote: "Systematic and ambitious plans. Best of luck, Graeme!
Not for a hollow compliment, but I don't understand how your series don't overtake The Vampire Chronicles already..."

Lots and lots of competition....

[Marie Silk]

Good luck on your plan :) I think regular promotions are so important for the Amazon ranks radar so our books can retain some visibility. I aim for every 5-8 weeks as that's where I see the most efficiency.

[Graeme]

Marie Silk wrote: "Good luck on your plan :) I think regular promotions are so important for the Amazon ranks radar so our books can retain some visibility. I aim for every 5-8 weeks as that's where I see the most ef..."

Thanks, then I'm getting into the ball park.

[Graeme]

Targeting the next ASA-O free promo for Wednesday the 13th of January 2021.

[1] (Cost $85 ($122 AUD)) Robin Reads (Feature) for ASA-O on the 13th January 2021 (Booked 14/Nov/20)
[2] (Cost $90 ($129 AUD)) FreeBooksy (Thriller) for ASA-O on the 13th January 2021 (Booked 18/Nov/20)
[3] (Cost $55 ($79 AUD)) BookBarbarian (Free Book of the Day) for ASA-O on the 13th January 2021 (Booked 19/Nov/20)
[4] Attempting to add eReaderNewsToday for the 13th or 14th.

I will allocate 2 free days to this promotion.

[Graeme]

Targeting a Bookbub feature for ASA-O with a request on the 146th of November.

Registered at Bookbub on the 16th?

[Graeme]

Graeme wrote: "Targeting a Bookbub feature for ASA-O with a request on the 14th of November."

3 days later still under review - crossing fingers and toes.

EDIT: No. Notified on the 20th Nov 2020.

[Graeme]

Attempting a 'full blooded,' Booksends feature for the 12th of December 2020.

Title: A Subtle Agency Omnibus
Genre: Free Book of the Day
Date: December 12, 2020
Add-Ons: +Facebook +eReaderIQ +BookRunes

Approx. $200 USD to do this - I'll see if I get it. I'll put one of my left over FREE days for ASA-O on this promo if it goes through.

[3] (Cost $200 ($286 AUD)) BookSends (Free Book of the Day) for ASA-O on the 12th December 2020 (Booked 19/Nov/20)

KDP FREE day locked in for the 12th December 2020

EDIT (20/Nov): Since I didn't get a BookBub, I'm increasing the FREE period here from 1 to 3 days. From the 12th to the 14th December inclusive.

[Graeme]

Separating Booksends out will allow me to evaluate their performance before investing further money into them as they are a new addition to my stable of sites I promote with.

[Leonie]

Graeme wrote: "Graeme wrote: "Targeting a Bookbub feature for ASA-O with a request on the 14th of November."

3 days later still under review - crossing fingers and toes."

Hoping!

[Graeme]

Indeed, Leonie.

[Nik]

Graeme wrote: "Separating Booksends out will allow me to evaluate their performance before investing further money into them as they are a new addition to my stable of sites I promote with."

Good luck with them and would like to hear back your impressions from their performance!

[Graeme]

Thanks, Nik.

[Papaphilly]

Graeme wrote: "Separating Booksends out will allow me to evaluate their performance before investing further money into them as they are a new addition to my stable of sites I promote with."

How many sites do you promote on?

[Graeme]

Hi, Papaphilly

The following.

Consistently:

Freebooksy
BookBarbarian
RobinReads

When I can get them:

eReaderNewsToday

Hoping to:

BookBub:

Evaluating:

Booksends

There are plenty of other sites I've used. Early Bird Books/The Portalist is excellent, but to expensive. The others gave poor to non-existent results.

[Papaphilly]

Is about books sold or dollars and cents to you? Do you look to the next set of books on this set of books?

[Graeme]

It's about building an audience and visibility to prospective readers.

Im running at negative ROI while I build the audience.

Realistically, that could last forever.

However I believe in the value of my stories and I will continue to promote them while that belief lasts.

[Papaphilly]

Good luck with it.

[Graeme]

Thanks, Papaphilly.

[Graeme]

Graeme wrote: "Graeme wrote: "Targeting a Bookbub feature for ASA-O with a request on the 14th of November."

3 days later still under review - crossing fingers and toes.

EDIT: No. Notified on the 20th Nov 2020."

Not this time. I'll try again in December.

[Nik]

Graeme wrote: "Hi, Papaphilly

The following.

Consistently:

Freebooksy
BookBarbarian
RobinReads

When I can get them:

eReaderNewsToday

Hoping to:

BookBub:

Evaluating:

Booksends

There are plenty of other s..."

What venues out of those mentioned perform the best from your experience, if you can single out their specific contribution?

[Graeme]

In cost effectiveness, as follows.

eReaderNewsToday
Free(Bargain)Booksy
BookBarbarian
RobinReads

Early Bird Books/The Portalist will move a lot of books, but costs a lot to do so.

Booksends - still evaluating.

BookBub - best of breed, not yet used.

[Graeme]

Graeme wrote: "2nd Run of the FreeBooksy Series Promo locked in for the 14th November. ASA KDP FREE locked in for the 13th to 17th of November.

[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. I.e.

ASA FREE (for 4 days)
ATW, TDD at $2.99
TDG at $3.99
TCW at $4.99..."

Results attributable to the promotion.

ASA - 559 downloads
ATW, and TDD, 5x sales each.
TDG, and TCW, 4x sales each.

Similar result to last time on a revenue basis. I.e. Spend $150, get $60+ back. Defray total cost down to approx. cost of a standard FREE promo.

I'll run this again in February, but in the 'Thriller,' genre, which I have used before with Freebooksy. They have now added the opportunity to do Thriller Series Promos.

[Graeme]

3nd Run of the FreeBooksy Series Promo scheduled for the 11th February 221. ASA KDP FREE scheduled for the 11th to the 15th of February 2020.

[1] (Cost $150 ($211 AUD)) FreeBooksy (Fantasy/Paranormal Thriller Series Promotion) for ASA FREE on the 11th February 2021.

All subsequent books at their normal prices. I.e.

ASA FREE (for 5 days)
ATW, TDD at $2.99
TDG at $3.99
TCW at $4.99

Confirmed by WWM. (21/Dec/20) Locked in the 5 free days on KDP.

Note that I'm swapping from Fantasy to Thriller. I tend to do better in the Thriller genre at FreeBooksy.

Probably run some ASA BookBub adverts at the same time.

[Graeme]

Attempting a 'full blooded,' Booksends feature for the 12th of December 2020.

Title: A Subtle Agency Omnibus
Genre: Free Book of the Day
Date: December 12, 2020
Add-Ons: +Facebook +eReaderIQ +BookRunes

Approx. $200 USD to do this - I'll see if I get it. I'll put one of my left over FREE days for ASA-O on this promo if it goes through.

[1] (Cost $200 ($286 AUD)) BookSends (Free Book of the Day) for ASA-O on the 12th December 2020 (Booked 19/Nov/20)

KDP FREE day locked in for the 12th to 14th December 2020

This will run in 8 days time. It will be a good opportunity to assess BookSends effectiveness on it's own.

[Nik]

Graeme wrote: "Attempting a 'full blooded,' Booksends feature for the 12th of December 2020.

Title: A Subtle Agency Omnibus
Genre: Free Book of the Day
Date: December 12, 2020
Add-Ons: +Facebook +eReaderIQ +Book..."

Hope it works well and would appreciate hearing back your results and impressions

[Graeme]

Thanks Nik, much appreciated.

[Graeme]

Applied for a Bookbub ASA-O FREE feature on the 15th Dec 2020

[Graeme]

The [1] (Cost $200 ($286 AUD)) BookSends (Free Book of the Day) for ASA-O on the 12th December 2020 (Booked 19/Nov/20)

Pulled 808 downloads of ASA-O. KNEP impact remains to be seen.
Not a bad result, but a little bit expensive for 800+ downloads.

[Jeffrey]

Graeme wrote: "The [1] (Cost $200 ($286 AUD)) BookSends (Free Book of the Day) for ASA-O on the 12th December 2020 (Booked 19/Nov/20)

Pulled 804 downloads of ASA-O. KNEP impact remains to be seen.
Not a bad resu..."

I'm pulling for you, Graeme. Good luck keeping it going.

[Graeme]

Jeffrey wrote: "Graeme wrote: "The [1] (Cost $200 ($286 AUD)) BookSends (Free Book of the Day) for ASA-O on the 12th December 2020 (Booked 19/Nov/20)

Pulled 804 downloads of ASA-O. KNEP impact remains to be seen...."

Thanks Jeffrey.

Overnight success is a journey of a thousand steps...