Promo prices are going up... now what

[alhawke]

 
The new trend in promo marketing is to up their $ cost to authors. This is pretty unbelievable being that email promotions are weaker than ever.

In 2023, they're also going out of business. I lament the passing of two of my favorite go-to promo sites: FKBT and ebookbetty

What do you guys think?

I'm always looking into new ways to market. I cross-author market now on Bookfunnel. I'm considering selling my books on my own website. And I'm watching with interest the zoe-bub craze. Please chime in other marketing magic you're dabbling with.

I'll add some more I tried. I published audiobooks this year and tried my hand at trailers. So far, loved doing it, but a costly endeavor.

[Anarchist]

I've moved away from most email promo services. If they want me back, they'll need to allow the use of Amazon attribution links.

I'm 95% AMS, Facebook ads and my own email lists.

[Crystal]

It's a strange move from the promo services, raising their prices as they become less effective. I can only assume they have enough demand to justify it.

I look at these promotions the way I always do: is the price worth it for this particular promotion? This book, this stack of promotions, this free run, this goal?

I am truly boggled for the Freebooksy sites, which have started offering a membership... with extremely limited benefits. Why aren't they selling a membership that offers $25 off every promotion, as many promotions as you like? It's foolish IMO. But it's their business, not mine.

The problem with publishing is there are many people making emotional, rather than rational choices. (We all do it). Those people drive up costs and supply. Economists would like you to believe this is uncommon, but it happens in all industries. It just happens more in "cool" industries.

[alhawke]

The problem with publishing is there are many people making emotional, rather than rational choices. (We all do it).

That's true.

Well, I know promos. I've literally tried all of them. I think they still work somewhat, but I'm beginning to consider that ads might be becoming more effective. I feel like the power of ads has stayed status quo while the power of promos is dwindling.

I'm looking for any fresh marketing ideas. I'm beginning to think I have to try something out of the box.

[Lynn]

It's a strange move from the promo services, raising their prices as they become less effective. I can only assume they have enough demand to justify it.

I look at these promotions the way I always do: is the price worth it for this particular promotion? This book, this stack of promotions, this free run, this goal?

I am truly boggled for the Freebooksy sites, which have started offering a membership... with extremely limited benefits. Why aren't they selling a membership that offers $25 off every promotion, as many promotions as you like? It's foolish IMO. But it's their business, not mine.

The problem with publishing is there are many people making emotional, rather than rational choices. (We all do it). Those people drive up costs and supply. Economists would like you to believe this is uncommon, but it happens in all industries. It just happens more in "cool" industries.

I wouldn't assume they have the demand to justify a price hike. They could have, but the exodus from the market also hints that it isn't that profitable right now. So the ones sticking around could just be digging in their heels, and the price hikes and limited membership benefits could be an effort to make up for lost income.

But who knows. Maybe they're getting all the business that used to be spread around too much and are doing very well.

[Anarchist]

Well, I know promos. I've literally tried all of them. I think they still work somewhat, but I'm beginning to consider that ads might be becoming more effective. I feel like the power of ads has stayed status quo while the power of promos is dwindling.

The great thing about PPC ads (AMS, Facebook, etc.) is that you can track key metrics. Can't do that with newsletter promos.

There are other problems with newsletter promos. Few let you choose position. And many continue to make the mistake of creating emails that exceed Gmail's 102 kb limit. Doing this triggers Gmail to "clip" the message. So you might pay $50 for a spot only to not show up. (Even Bookbub occasionally makes this mistake with the "New Releases For Less" emails. And those spots cost hundreds.)

With newsletter promos, you pay. Then, you hope. When it's done, you scratch your head and wonder, "What the heck was my ROI?"

With PPC, you bid. You pay. You track. You optimize.

[alhawke]

There are other problems with newsletter promos. Few let you choose position. And many continue to make the mistake of creating emails that exceed Gmail's 102 kb limit. Doing this triggers Gmail to "clip" the message. So you might pay $50 for a spot only to not show up. (Even Bookbub occasionally makes this mistake with the "New Releases For Less" emails.

I didn't know about the memory limit. Tell me more. This would be if the reader opens the email via their browser only though, right? And I always thought that Mailchimp/Mailerlite and the like dwindle down the kb for their final email sent. I'm not sure how to track this. This could be a significant problem for my newsletter because I love sending graphics.

As far as tracking clicks, you'd think they'd allow this. BookRaid, the only promo company I know based on ads, gives those stats right after their promotion. And it's still a very worthy promotion company to use.

[Bill Hiatt]

I'm also inclined to think that the price hikes are the result of trying to make up for lost income rather than the result of high demand.

Every post I've seen recently comes down to the same thing--the promo sites are in general less effective than before. That would tend to discourage people from using them or from using them as much. Unless the results of people who post on forums are atypical for some reason, it would make sense to assume that demand for promo services is going down, not up. In that case, the price hikes are only hastening the end.

[The Bass Bagwhan]

I'd say promo sites are failing because they suffer from the same marketing saturation and the ensuing lack of effectiveness. They just can't suggest (never promise) the kind of results that could be achieved five years ago.
If you want to think outside the box, Facebook is probably your only option. It's the only ad format that lets you try different ideas, whereas AMS is obviously locked into a set formula.
For instance, I was thinking recently that to reach cozy mystery readers, I should target gardeners, or people who like cooking and baking. Yes, it's blatant and maybe even offensive stereotyping, but you can see the thinking ... you target a likely demographic that probably also enjoys reading (your genre) and yet has nothing to do with books. That way, your target focus can be tighter while staying away from the huge pool of FB ads targeting those readers directly. I'm sure people have done it before, and still do, but it was still a lightbulb moment for me.
Facebook ads can let you approach your target demographic from an entirely different angle. Mind you, I'm concerned that FB users in their entirety are a declining demographic due to age. That's going to be a problem in the not-too-distant future.

[Bill Hiatt]

That's not a bad suggestion. I may have to give it a try.

[Hopscotch]

Hmm, I've been closely studying Anarchist's posts ever since I joined WS and believe s/he has all the marketing answers and must be selling billions of books.  But this thread is the first time Anarchist dropped a pearl I can consider and use.  I appreciate it!  I also think we all should gang up on Anarchist to demand a few more pearls.

[writeway]

Promo sites have been going up since Covid. I use them regularly but outside of new releases I only promote my freebies now and the paid lists are still great for that. I stopped doing 99-cent sales for the backlist because I find you get way more mileage promoting a freebie than a 99-cent book (unless it's a new release). If you are promoting 99-cent sales then yes the sites aren't as effective for those. But we also have to remember, that they still work for many authors or authors wouldn't still be using them. I look at it like this: you are paying for exposure to readers not for direct sales. It's best to look at promotion in terms of exposure because if you expect immediate sales from every promo you will be disappointed. Some sites are better than others. If you can't afford ads or don't wanna bother with them then paid mailing lists are still a good alternative for those authors. Like me, I don't run ads anymore. They were a waste of time and money for me and I make more without them. I also believe they are the biggest racket in the world only designed to make FB, Amazon, or whoever you use for ads, money.

Also, it makes a difference if you are wide or in KU. If you are doing promo for a paid book, I find it much easier to move KU books than wide ones with paid mailing lists.

[alhawke]

Personally, I've had little sell through with free promos so I've pulled back in planning them. I'd be willing to give out thousands of books if it leads to many sales but lately it hasn't. Is it because I'm not in KU? I don't know. So it's 99c for me, ads, and lots of applying to BookBub.

[idontknowyet]

I've mostly stopped doing all the paid promo sites.

I do the big romance group free promos. Those have a trickle effect for sales and cost me nothing.

But most of the money seems to be in tiktok, fb, and ams when you can get them to work.