The new release launch for How to Self-Publish Without Going Broke came and went. Over the course of six days where my book went on sale for only 99 cents, I’ve seen a significant jump in sales, the release of the paperback format and the production of my audiobook which is slated for a late summer release. For a hot minute I even claimed the #1 spot in hot new releases for authorship reference on Amazon which was one of my two categories! But with all good things, they usually come to an end. Through this experience I learned a lot about what worked and what didn’t when it came to strategies to promote my discounted book.
To help me determine which marketing strategy would produce the most sells, I decided to try a different method each day of the 6-day book launch. With the exception of Amazon ads which played consistently through the five days, I would only be featured on one site. Would having two variables make it more challenging to determine how much of the sales were coming from the promo site? Not really. With Amazon ads, the ad campaign dashboard would only show me the sales that are the direct result of someone clicking my ad and buying my book. With less variables at play, I could better determine the success of each promo site.
Here’s a breakdown of the results per day.
Day 1: Bargain Booksy
The first day of the campaign I chose to feature my book on Bargain Booksy. I chose to be featured for the Self-Help and How-to categories.
Results: That day I got a total of 11 sales that day.
Day 2: eBook Hounds
Results: The next day my grand total came in at 8. This is the first day I took careful note of my sales rank for my respective categories. I note my sales rank this day because this was the best day in terms of sales rank.
Authorship: #14
Authorship reference: #20
Day 3: Digital Book Spout (BKnights)
Results: My grand sales total was 5
Day 4: Nothing
Results: My book was not featured on any particular site that day. Not surprisingly my sales was 0 that day on Amazon.
Day 5: Book Reader Magazine
Results: I got a total of 2 sales that day. One of the two sales was for the paperback which was purchased by someone I knew so really Book Reader Magazine only gets credit for one of those sales.
Day 6: Facebook (ads)
This day I used almost exclusively just Facebook ads. I tried to tailor my ads to not only the U.S. but other English-speaking countries like the UK, Canada, and Australia. Later I expanded my audience to India which also has a sizeable population that speaks English. I got a lot engagement (clicks and likes) from my ad from young users (between 18-24) from India!
Result: I closed out my launch with just 2 sales.
Show me the Results
- I got a total of 28 sales
- The biggest callout was that nearly all of my sales were made on Amazon. Wasn’t too surprised by this finding.
- Because I was actively promoting the eBook it also came as no surprise that the vast majority of my sales was for the eBook which is what I wanted.
- Most of my sales stemmed mostly from the promo sites with the exception of one sale that was from my Amazon ad campaign (can’t recall the exact date). I will add that a little of word of mouth no doubt nudged a few people in the groups and spaces I belong to on Goodreads, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Reddit to check out my book.
- As I mentioned earlier I made it briefly on the hot new release list for authorship reference on Amazon which was a big deal for me considering it was my first time hitting that list.
Biggest Winners and Losers (in terms of sales)
Granted sales is not the only determining factor (e.g. reviews) but it is a big one because that’s the most concrete way of measuring the success of a book launch. These are the biggest winners and losers for my how-to book.
Winner: Bargain Booksy – I noticed the most sales after using their channel. The pricing and submission requirements were very reasonable even if you don’t have a lot of reviews. They also have sizable distribution group for nonfiction (size =72,000), along with other genres so I feel that books of other genres have a good chance of finding the right audience.
Loser: Book Reader Magazine- the pricing was reasonable (I even used a coupon code to knock off an extra $10, bringing my total price to $10. In terms of sales I only got one sale after being featured on Book Reader Magazine. While I think other genres may fare better on this site, I didn’t get the traction I was hoping for. If you do decide to use this site make sure you have other promos running that day.
Lessons from my launch
In retrospect my launch didn’t have the biggest closing I would have wanted. Truthfully, for an ideal launch you want your sales to steadily grow with each day of the launch. You should have the same if not more sales the last day of your launch than the first day. Why is that important? Because a steady sales growth tells Amazon your book is primed for sustained long-term growth vs. a one day spike. The performance of your book in its first 30 days of release is a critical factor in not only being included in important lists such as hot new releases but the impact that being on such lists will have in terms of exposure. Essentially Amazon and similar sites would be marketing for you to potential readers in your chosen category.
This strategy for my launch was risky having the book be only featured on one site per day. If I were to perform this experiment again, I would choose promo sites that had more subscribers or more site traffic. The biggest obstacle booking the promo sites with more “fire power” was not getting enough reviews on time. Promo giants like BookBub (as picky as they are) have a large number dedicated readers, lots of site traffic, and offer tailored promotions to their subscribers based on genre/subgenre. That’s why I hear so many positive experiences from ones that managed to snag a BookBub ad. The pricing is very expensive as your promo will depend on how many countries you choose to promote in and the genre itself. For example if you choose to place an ad for 99 cent book that falls under how-to or self-help and wanted to promote it in the U.S. alone, expect to pay $560!
Thankfully other sites were not nearly as expensive as BookBub. However even other sites like Robin Reads, eReader IQ, and BookSends required at least 5 or more reviews. Unfortunately at the time of starting my launch I was short one customer review when I was running my promo which put me at a disadvantage. I did get my 5th customer review which happened to be a glowing 5-star review a few weeks after the launch but hey I can’t be mad.
Why do I share my results?
The main reason I’m being transparent about my results is because I want you to learn what sites to use for your next launch. Here are some of the biggest takeaways I learn from my book launch results.
- Secure at least five reviews before your official launch. This is absolutely critical. I can’t stress this enough! Certain sites particularly BookBub will not accept your book if it doesn’t match their criteria including garnering enough reviews. Not only should you have 5-10 =reviews but for sites like BookBub they are interested in your average star rating. So gather as many reviewers as possible. Expect that even the ones that promise to leave a review will forget. This number can vary but expect that 20% of people will not only agree but follow-through with their review.
- Have your book featured on at least one promo site for each day of your launch. Having one promo site per day will allow you to better determine the success of each site. If your book can be featured on a site for more than one day even better!
- If you want to boost your sales potential, secure as many featured ads/promos for your book. Stack more than one on a given day for optimal results.
As my case study shows, the success of your launch really depends on multiple factors so results will vary considerably between writers. Some writers may even experience better success on some of the sites I listed earlier due to how popular the genre is, the categories you choose, how attention-grabbing their cover is and how well-written their blurb is. Overall my launch far exceeded the launch of my first book which is a noteworthy accomplishment. While I have nothing to brag about I’m feeling closer to mastering the tools and fine-tuning the execution of the steps I set out. Expect a future post where I give a more detailed breakdown of some of these promo sites so you can make an informed decision on which ones are worth using.
Now that I know which sites worked for me I’m curious to read what sites worked for you in the comments below.
Writer's Nook 