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Paid Promotions - A Case Study of Experience
Of the above, BookGorilla, BargainBooksy & BookZio kicked things off, and BookHounds showed up late but gave a kick-along.I couldn't detect an impact from GenrePulse.
Not bad at all!Moreover, now that you have two books in the series, you may see an additional spike within a week or two in sales of your 2-nd book, once those who bought the 1-st will finish reading it..
The more books in the series the more cost- effective these promos probably become.
Nik wrote: "Not bad at all!Moreover, now that you have two books in the series, you may see an additional spike within a week or two in sales of your 2-nd book, once those who bought the 1-st will finish read..."
That's my thinking too.
Tim wrote: "Hi Graeme. Just read through this thread and it is an invaluable resource for book marketing. My fingers are crossed for you, mate, that your investment and persistence pays off. I may well follow ..."Thanks Tim, allowing for tail sales I'll have a better idea how this all works out in about a week.
End of day 3.[1] (cost $50) BookGorilla ASA on May 20th (Weak response - ditch).
[2] (cost $40) BargainBooksy ASA on May20th (Good Response - retain)
[3] (Cost $29) BookZio (Std + Feature) ASA on May 20th (Weak response - ditch).
[4] (Cost $40) BookHounds (Fantasy, SupernaturalSuspense multi-genre) ASA on May 20th. (Good Response - retain)
[5] (Cost $17) GenrePulse Fantasy ASA on May 20th (Weak response - ditch).
[6] (cost $15) eBookSoda Fantasy ASA on May 21st (Weak response - ditch).
[7] (cost $40) BargainBooksy ATW on May21st (Good response on ATW (as $2.99 is not an optimal discount price) - retain)
[8] (cost $10) Booktastic ASA on May21st (Weak response - ditch).
[9] (cost $21) DroppedPriceBooks Fantasy ASA on May 22nd (Weak response - ditch)
Have all executed and I've rated effectiveness above.
Currently siting on
ASA: x30 sales
ATW: x10 sales.
Useful sites so far (for Fantasy genre)[1] BargainBooksy
[2] eReaderNewsToday
[3] BookHounds
Need to retest BookBarbarian with a paid sale promo (last one was free) in my next promo cycle in late June/early July.
I'll see how
[10] (cost $29) Reading Deals ASA on May 23rd-24th.
Performs over the next couple of days.
Interesting, looks like the 2-nd day returned with much more comparable sales of the 2-nd book...
I think likely due to the BargainBooksy add run on the 21st.I'm pleased with the ATW sales, however I've carried a lot of passengers on this one wrt ASA sales - I don't mind that (once) it allows me to correct going forward.
I admire the approach, Graeme, and I hope you end up with useful marketing info. I rather suspect that it varies between genres, though, and what ads work in one genre might not be optimal in others.
Hi Ian,Absolutely correct - finding 'best' channels to your audience is critical.
Looked at the Amazon rating and it looks like you have at least a couple of books sold recently on Amazon US of the first book and at least one of the second, so hope sales are going strong
Hi Nik,Both books went up the ratings. Sold 3x ASA today and 1x ATW.
I had too many underperforming adds, so overspent by 2x.
However, I will sharpen my spending on those sites that have performed.
All done. Winding down now.Currently siting on
ASA: x32 sales
ATW: x10 sales.
Averaging 180 Kindle Page reads across both books from May the 14th to May 23rd.
Hope the massive promo has lasting effect
The lasting effect will be more targetted spending.
Graeme Rodaughan wrote: "The lasting effect will be more targetted spending."Also, but steady pages read as well as late sales might also come handy
Yeah, it's all good.My very next step is to apply for a BookBub feature which I will do tomorrow when I reset my prices back to their normal settings.
However, I'm going to lift ASA from $2.99 to $3.99 to provide a larger discount when I do discount.
Well done, Graeme! I tried Genre Pulse a few months back but it seemed like I was being sent in a loop of "advertise with our site too" from obscure sites I had never heard of, all stemming from getting an ad with GP. I'm not entirely sure where GP gets their clicks from considering there is no place to actually sign up for a newsletter. It's all trial and error to find which of these sites is worth it of course :).
Thanks Marie,Just got my 2nd knock back from BookBub. Which only took 2 days from submission. That's OK, I probably need at least 10 knock backs before I get an acceptance.
Graeme Rodaughan wrote: "Thanks Marie,Just got my 2nd knock back from BookBub. Which only took 2 days from submission. That's OK, I probably need at least 10 knock backs before I get an acceptance."
Great attitude Graeme :D
Building the next campaign for mid-late June based on the following sites.eReaderNewsToday (Used before)
BargainBooksy (Used before)
BookHounds (Used before)
BookBarbarians (Used before for a free promo. This will be first paid promo)
BookSends (New)
I started with submitting with eReaderNewsToday this morning. They give you a range of dates to pick and slot you in. So I will wait until they give me a date.
I will then anchor on that date and park my other promotions around it.
Eldon wrote: "Great attitude Graeme :D ..."BookBub basically operate at 1 submission per month, as you are not allowed to submit more often than that.
If it actually goes to 10 attempts before I get an acceptance, I'll have "The Dragon's Den" published which is an advantage.
Graeme Rodaughan wrote: "Eldon wrote: "Great attitude Graeme :D ..."BookBub basically operate at 1 submission per month, as you are not allowed to submit more often than that.
If it actually goes to 10 attempts before I..."
I'm a little surprised by how fast they responded; usually takes a week I thought. You ever considered a bookbub ad?
Just after a feature. I'm not sure if the quick rebuff indicates anything - I'm not going to worry about it.
Great thread, Graeme - am following all this with great interest!
Hi Leonie as a SF writer, my results are probably highly applicable.
Graeme Rodaughan wrote: "Hi Leonie as a SF writer, my results are probably highly applicable."Most definitely. I'm with a small press, so my publisher and I work things out together, generally. We've had some success with a paid Facebook add, on Facebook, but so far, the best thing I can say is to finish the trilogy. That resulted in a sudden surge of sales for me.
Yes. I think there are a number of readers who prefer to see a series ended before they jump in. Plus I think ending a series supports your credibility as an author.
Graeme Rodaughan wrote: "Yes. I think there are a number of readers who prefer to see a series ended before they jump in. Plus I think ending a series supports your credibility as an author."I agree. I've been waiting over twenty years for an author to finish a particular trilogy, and it hasn't happened! Now, I view books that the author brings out with a kind of 'meh...' attitude, despite having an abiding love for the original books of theirs I read. Nothing worse than being left hanging!
Leonie wrote: " I've been waiting over twenty years for an author to finish a particular trilogy, and it hasn't happened! Now, I view books that the author brings out with a kind of 'meh...' attitude, despite having an abiding love for the original books of theirs I read. Nothing worse than being left hanging! "
20 years! Oh my goodness!
Hi Graeme. I have followed your incredible efforts at promos; it's a bit like being at NASA and tracking a space mission. Have you got the figures for a. Downloads to sales
b. Cost per sale from promos
So far?
Another question I have; did you use free proos before you went to paid ads?
I'm not familiar with all the sales outlets you mention, I presume they are all online outlets? I wonder if you ever considered a paid ad in one of your national press outlets in a Review Section?
I know that would take a bit longer but my gut feeling is that it would generate more sales per dollar - and then you could cover other nationals?
A lot of question and I know a lot of time is being used by you to generously share your experiences. You deserve to get there. But, as you will know, any business takes two years to get going.
Good luck
Hi P.K.Yes $cost per sale is a key metric, along with total sales. KDPs new interface for their reports is very useful.
My 2nd to last promo ran at about $3.7 per sale, my last promo was about $7+ per sale - too many passenger sites that didn't move any books - since ditched.
I'm trying to anchor my next promo with EReaderNews and waiting for a date response from them.
Once I have a date, I'll load the other useful sites on top of that date to get a layering effect.
The obvious aim is to get the $cost per sale to be less than the average royalty per sale.
I did use free sites for promotion - didn't work - virtually no sales. Once I went to paid sites for promotions I started getting sales and KU reads.
I'm sure we all admire and appreciate your incredible determination, Graeme and we will all be watching the Final Solution. But, like all business, in the end it all comes down to the product doesn't it. I know in commerce advertising can gender huge sales initially but if the product is not good enough more people will find that out sooner. What have you done to test whether or not your books are good enough to warrant the expenditure? You must be confident so how did you test that? And I presume yours is a niche market. Do any of the promo sites you used target that market or are they aimed at readers generally? Sorry, a lot of question but I'm sure they are ones you have asked yourself. cheers
P.K. wrote: "What have you done to test whether or not your books are good enough to warrant the expenditure?"Not to cut in or anything...but I'm currently reading Graeme's first book A Subtle Agency and I can vouch for the fact that it's worth the expenditure!! A ripping good yarn full of action and intrigue :) You should check it out P.K., you won't be disappointed.
Thanks Eldon, I will do that. Sci-fi isn't my blag but I'm always ready to taste anything good.
Thanks Eldon. I will do that. Sci-fi isn't my blag but I'm always willing to try something new if it's good
I've tried to book an advert with EReadersNewsToday and got knocked back twice.I'm putting them to the side and attempting to place an advert with Booksends. Just waiting to see if I have been accepted by them.
Noting that Booksends is somehow affiliated with Book Butterfly which I have not used, but about which I have not heard much that is good. I will locate the first booksends add that I place by itself so I can clearly assess effectiveness.
Eldon wrote: "P.K. wrote: "What have you done to test whether or not your books are good enough to warrant the expenditure?"Not to cut in or anything...but I'm currently reading Graeme's first book A Subtle Ag..."
Thanks Eldon.
P.K. stylistically the books are action, spy, thrillers, but set against an urban fantasy (vampires and very occasional magic) backdrop occuring approximately 10 years in the future (sorta sci-fi feel at times).
Well - that was quick.Now have 2 adverts booked in.
[1] (Cost $35) Booksends for ASA on Fri the 23rd June
[2] (Cost $40) Bargainbooksy for ASA on Sat the 24th June
ASA will be discounted from $2.99 to 0.99.
ATW will remain at normal price of $5.99.
Both in the fantasy genre.
That's the budget for this month.
Hope your promos will enjoy a cumulative effect of growing recognition and branding among prospective customers/readers
Hey Graeme, I'm curious how you found the Booksends and Books Butterfly connection. Booksends has presented decent results for me but I steer clear of Butterfly for certain reasons.
Marie Silk wrote: "Hey Graeme, I'm curious how you found the Booksends and Books Butterfly connection. Booksends has presented decent results for me but I steer clear of Butterfly for certain reasons."After I submitted my advert with Booksends I was redirected back to the Booksends homepage where an advert was presented in a type of pop-up 'front and center' for Book Butterfly.
Perhaps it is as simple as Book Butterfly advertising with Booksends?
Oh I see, thanks Graeme. I'm not sure if they are run by the same guys or just selling advertising space, but it's always good to keep on top of these things :).
World, Writing, Wealth
Books mentioned in this topic
BookBub Ads Expert: A Marketing Guide to Author Discovery (other topics)A Subtle Agency (other topics)
A Subtle Agency (other topics)
A Subtle Agency Omnibus (other topics)
A Subtle Agency Omnibus (other topics)
More...
[1] (cost $50) BookGorilla ASA on May 20th
[2] (cost $40) BargainBooksy ASA on May20th
[3] (Cost $29) BookZio (Std + Feature) ASA on May 20th
[4] (Cost $40) BookHounds (Fantasy, SupernaturalSuspense multi-genre) ASA on May 20th.
[5] (Cost $17) GenrePulse Fantasy ASA on May 20th
Have all executed. There will probably be some tail sales over the next couple of days for these.
Current results are
A Subtle Agency: 21 sales.
A Traitor's War: 3 sales.
ASA hit a high of 72 on (paid) Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers & Suspense > Supernatural > Vampires
4 more days to go.