Which Email Promotions still work?

[sidk]

Some of you know me from Kboards, so I will start of my first topic with a cross-post from there. Something I need advise on as I am just getting back into writing and publishing after a hiatus of nearly two years. I don't know if the results of the old promo sites still hold. I am looking to launch a Mystery/Thriller a month down the road and appreciate any input on email promotions that might deliver good results.

[Jeff Tanyard]

KU, or wide?

Is this a standalone, or is it part of a series?  If it's part of a series, which number is it?

Are you looking to promote a free book, or will it be a discounted book?

[notthatamanda]

Jeff's questions are the same ones I would have.

I never made email promotions work for a standalone book.  The email promotions have also lost their luster for me for my permafrees, but they are two and four years old, so that may be part of it.  Whatever you do, don't use the one with Butterflies.

[PermaStudent]

Some of you know me from Kboards, so I will start of my first topic with a cross-post from there. Something I need advise on as I am just getting back into writing and publishing after a hiatus of nearly two years. I don't know if the results of the old promo sites still hold. I am looking to launch a Mystery/Thriller a month down the road and appreciate any input on email promotions that might deliver good results.

If it was me...

I'd launch into KU, and wait until you have 3-5 books in the series out before throwing money at advertising. Cost is recouped on sell through. If you can really do one a month, you might even consider dropping the first three all at once and then do monthly thereafter. Go wide if KU income isn't what you want.

For advertising, BookBub is still on top (I've heard--still never had one for myself), and if your books can be read out of order, all the better: if one is rejected, submit the next right after. After BookBub, my most effective are Freebooksy, ENT, and Robin Reads. I've done some Amazon Ads and heard others have had success with Facebook ads, but they require more time investment and there's a learning curve.

[Maggie Ann]

I use Fussy Librarian for my three permafrees on a rotating basis. Save a little money that way, too. I keep my prices at 99c so I need a lot of sell-thru to make a profit. Sell-thru usually pays for the ad or close to it, but my profit comes from audiobook whispersync purchases.

I also have an AMS ad running but I haven't put any effort into it. I should pay more attention to it, I know.

[ashleycapes]

For me, promoting a fantasy title that's wide:

Bookbub (of course)
Fussy Librarian
ENT
Bargain Booksy
Book Barbarian (these guys have a thriller equivalent that I like too)
Freebooksy

My KU titles go okay with the same line up too, though diminishing returns have certainly impacting me for the last couple years, especially as my books are old now.

[alhawke]

For me, promoting a fantasy title that's wide:

Bookbub (of course)
Fussy Librarian
ENT
Bargain Booksy
Book Barbarian (these guys have a thriller equivalent that I like too)
Freebooksy

My KU titles go okay with the same line up too, though diminishing returns have certainly impacting me for the last couple years, especially as my books are old now.

That's about it. There are countless others that I use, but those are the main ones that are most affordable and efficient.

It always matters genre. I think I remember seeing some specific to mystery/thriller, or it might have been promos on Story Origin. Story Origin is another area you can cross promote. Good luck and welcome to Writersanctum. I'm a newbie here too.
 

[Bill Hiatt]

The last time I did really well with email newsletter promos was toward the end of 2016. They still generate sales for me, but typically not very many from any one promo site. I still occasionally put together a large group of them, and I move about as many books as ENT used to move by itself.

To expand on what alhawke mentioned, there are some "free" (in the sense that there's no additional charge beyond the basic fee) promotions not only through Story Origin, but also through Book Funnel. It may or may not be worth joining just for sales promos, but if you're already using the newsletter builder, try a sales promo or two, and you might be pleasantly surprised. Unfortunately, SO provides no statistics in terms of how many clicks each book gets. BF promos vary widely, for me from about 3% conversion from clicks to sales to 20% conversion. My current ones were 9 and 13 the last time I checked. That doesn't end up being a huge pile of books, but if you're already paying for the basic plan on BF, you can join as many sales promos as you want for no additional cost, so there's always some ROI.

[Maggie Ann]

The last time I did really well with email newsletter promos was toward the end of 2016. They still generate sales for me, but typically not very many from any one promo site. I still occasionally put together a large group of them, and I move about as many books as ENT used to move by itself.

To expand on what alhawke mentioned, there are some "free" (in the sense that there's no additional charge beyond the basic fee) promotions not only through Story Origin, but also through Book Funnel. It may or may not be worth joining just for sales promos, but if you're already using the newsletter builder, try a sales promo or two, and you might be pleasantly surprised. Unfortunately, SO provides no statistics in terms of how many clicks each book gets. BF promos vary widely, for me from about 3% conversion from clicks to sales to 20% conversion. My current ones were 9 and 13 the last time I checked. That doesn't end up being a huge pile of books, but if you're already paying for the basic plan on BF, you can join as many sales promos as you want for no additional cost, so there's always some ROI.

Do you do the sales promos for freebies, discounted or full-price books?

[LilyBLily]

I joined a BookFunnel promo for KU books only. So far, one read-through of the title listed. None of the promo information suggested that discounting was involved. Eh. it's a nearly four-year-old book, but still.

[Bill Hiatt]

The last time I did really well with email newsletter promos was toward the end of 2016. They still generate sales for me, but typically not very many from any one promo site. I still occasionally put together a large group of them, and I move about as many books as ENT used to move by itself.

To expand on what alhawke mentioned, there are some "free" (in the sense that there's no additional charge beyond the basic fee) promotions not only through Story Origin, but also through Book Funnel. It may or may not be worth joining just for sales promos, but if you're already using the newsletter builder, try a sales promo or two, and you might be pleasantly surprised. Unfortunately, SO provides no statistics in terms of how many clicks each book gets. BF promos vary widely, for me from about 3% conversion from clicks to sales to 20% conversion. My current ones were 9 and 13 the last time I checked. That doesn't end up being a huge pile of books, but if you're already paying for the basic plan on BF, you can join as many sales promos as you want for no additional cost, so there's always some ROI.

Do you do the sales promos for freebies, discounted or full-price books?

Discounted. I'm sure the rates for free downloads would be higher than for sales.

That's assuming we're talking about newsletter promos. If we're talking about sales promos on places like BookFunnel, they don't offer a free option. (I suppose in part because free reader magnets are already used to attract subscribers in the newsletter promotion.) (See below.) The one time I tried a sales promo on BF at full price was when I only got the 3% conversion rate, and the initial clicks were far lower as well.

[Joe Vasicek]

In my experience, none of the promotion sites earn back except for BookBub featured deals, and lately the BookBub international only deals haven't been earning out either. But I've run a little more than half a dozen featured deals in the past year, most of them international only, so that could eplain why the effectiveness has been diminished.

I write science fiction.

[sidk]

KU, or wide?

Is this a standalone, or is it part of a series?  If it's part of a series, which number is it?

Are you looking to promote a free book, or will it be a discounted book?

My bad, should have provided more information. It is KU, standalone but it will grow into a series in the future but each book will still be a whole story unto itself. And it will be discounted.

I'd launch into KU, and wait until you have 3-5 books in the series out before throwing money at advertising. Cost is recouped on sell through. If you can really do one a month, you might even consider dropping the first three all at once and then do monthly thereafter. Go wide if KU income isn't what you want.

I do have a few other books, I just haven't gotten around to putting them in my signature. But not too worried about that, just want to have a good launch to begin. And Bookbub is a dream in the mists...

[Jeff Tanyard]

KU, or wide?

Is this a standalone, or is it part of a series?  If it's part of a series, which number is it?

Are you looking to promote a free book, or will it be a discounted book?

My bad, should have provided more information. It is KU, standalone but it will grow into a series in the future but each book will still be a whole story unto itself. And it will be discounted.

In that case, I wouldn't bother with newsletters just yet.  I know that's kind of a discouraging thing to say, but I think AMS is probably your best bet for a single book in KU.  Generally speaking, newsletters are most effective with free books in a series. 

Get a couple more books in the series out, use your free days for newsletter promos, and then you're cooking with gas.

If you want to go ahead and try anyway, though, then check out Nick Erik's page:

https://nicholaserik.com/promo-sites/

[Lorri Moulton]

I joined a BookFunnel promo for KU books only. So far, one read-through of the title listed. None of the promo information suggested that discounting was involved. Eh. it's a nearly four-year-old book, but still.

There are free, discounted, KU only, and full priced sales promos.  It may take a while to go through the promo lists, but it's worth it IMHO.

[LilyBLily]

Let me toss this in, just to show you how things can be manipulated.

I recently received a newsletter from an author whose books I love. She has a new one out and she was offering it at 99 cents. I bought it, but I felt bad for her because I would have been perfectly willing to buy it for $3.99, the regular list price. The only advantage to her of offering that huge discount was if a large number of people on her mailing list immediately bought the book because it was 99 cents and the rank in the Amazon store rose substantially. But as we know, positive replies to mailings hover at very low percentages. So it was a gamble for her.

So she upped her chances. She ran an Amazon ad for the new book. She also offered the first book in the series free, and the first four books in the series in an omnibus at 99 cents, again, basically free. I felt she left a lot of money on the table to gamble that rank or the bargain prices would make up for selling the latest in her series and four other books at a reasonable price.

And yet...today her new book has a #1 Bestseller tag in "Tudor Historical Romance." It's also high in the ranks as a "Victorian Historical Romance." She writes Regencies, and this story takes place during Napoleon's last stand, but somebody at Amazon doesn't care.

So, diddling with the price, using false categories, getting newsletter sales to boost ranking, adding in an Amazon ad, and basically giving away four more books got her this wholly inaccurate tag and she's under 2k in the whole Amazon store and in the top 100 in the fake categories. Which presumably will give her much more visibility in the store, and eventually will result in more sales.

This really makes me want to rend my garments and wail to the moon. If I were looking for a Tudor historical romance, this book would not be it. And I love her books.

[Bill Hiatt]

I joined a BookFunnel promo for KU books only. So far, one read-through of the title listed. None of the promo information suggested that discounting was involved. Eh. it's a nearly four-year-old book, but still.

There are free, discounted, KU only, and full priced sales promos.  It may take a while to go through the promo lists, but it's worth it IMHO.

Thanks! I'd never noticed the free promos on BF. I don't usually do free, anyway, but it's nice to know the option is there.

And yes, it's worth going through all of them. At the moment, BF has the biggest variety available. (StoryOrigin is still building. Prolific Works has dwindled from the glory days of Instafreebie.)

[Bill Hiatt]

Let me toss this in, just to show you how things can be manipulated.

I recently received a newsletter from an author whose books I love. She has a new one out and she was offering it at 99 cents. I bought it, but I felt bad for her because I would have been perfectly willing to buy it for $3.99, the regular list price. The only advantage to her of offering that huge discount was if a large number of people on her mailing list immediately bought the book because it was 99 cents and the rank in the Amazon store rose substantially. But as we know, positive replies to mailings hover at very low percentages. So it was a gamble for her.

So she upped her chances. She ran an Amazon ad for the new book. She also offered the first book in the series free, and the first four books in the series in an omnibus at 99 cents, again, basically free. I felt she left a lot of money on the table to gamble that rank or the bargain prices would make up for selling the latest in her series and four other books at a reasonable price.

And yet...today her new book has a #1 Bestseller tag in "Tudor Historical Romance." It's also high in the ranks as a "Victorian Historical Romance." She writes Regencies, and this story takes place during Napoleon's last stand, but somebody at Amazon doesn't care.

So, diddling with the price, using false categories, getting newsletter sales to boost ranking, adding in an Amazon ad, and basically giving away four more books got her this wholly inaccurate tag and she's under 2k in the whole Amazon store and in the top 100 in the fake categories. Which presumably will give her much more visibility in the store, and eventually will result in more sales.

This really makes me want to rend my garments and wail to the moon. If I were looking for a Tudor historical romance, this book would not be it. And I love her books.

I can see why you would feel that way, but to be fair, the fact that her book is in the wrong categories doesn't mean she put it there. it could just as easily have been Amazon, unless this author has a history of behavior like that.

The author is obviously using the other strategies, but by themselves, they aren't evil. Whether they have a good ROI is hard to judge without knowing all the facts. Do the extra sales from increased visibility compensate for the lower price point and extra advertising? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, if the author isn't deliberately miscategorizing, there's no ethical violation.

Some people say they get better results from new releases at full-price. Others say the opposite. That's another one of those questions where the answer may be a big, fat, "It depends."

It's also worth noting that the pricing strategy involved is one often pursued by people shooting for the bestseller lists. In a number of cases, a $0.99 box set was used. Of course, for that to be the motivation, the author would need to be wide.

[sidk]

In that case, I wouldn't bother with newsletters just yet.  I know that's kind of a discouraging thing to say, but I think AMS is probably your best bet for a single book in KU. 

Not discouraged, because I plan to back up the promos when they end with AMS ads. AMS will bring up the rear guard 

Book Barbarian (these guys have a thriller equivalent that I like too)

I couldn't find the Thriller equivalent of Book Barbarian. Does anyone know what this is called or their website?

[alhawke]

In that case, I wouldn't bother with newsletters just yet.  I know that's kind of a discouraging thing to say, but I think AMS is probably your best bet for a single book in KU. 

Not discouraged, because I plan to back up the promos when they end with AMS ads. AMS will bring up the rear guard 

Book Barbarian (these guys have a thriller equivalent that I like too)

I couldn't find the Thriller equivalent of Book Barbarian. Does anyone know what this is called or their website?

This was killing me because I just ran across it, so I looked it up for you. It's Book Adrenaline.
https://bookadrenaline.com

[Sailor Stone]

BookRaid just did quite well for me with over 800 clicks and then over 500 downloads of a first in series free promo I completed last week. For just 20 bucks.

[notthatamanda]

BookRaid just did quite well for me with over 800 clicks and then over 500 downloads of a first in series free promo I completed last week. For just 20 bucks.

Do you mind me asking what the genre is?  Thanks.

[Sailor Stone]

BookRaid just did quite well for me with over 800 clicks and then over 500 downloads of a first in series free promo I completed last week. For just 20 bucks.

Do you mind me asking what the genre is?  Thanks.

Not at all. It was in literary fiction.

[notthatamanda]

Thanks!

[sidk]

This was killing me because I just ran across it, so I looked it up for you. It's Book Adrenaline.
https://bookadrenaline.com

Thanks, much appreciate. Applied and got accepted  , fingers crossed.