Author Topic: Build your own Bookbub: Final summer results at the end! (Read 40921 times)

DmGuay · « **on:** March 30, 2019, 05:12:06 AM »

UPDATE: RESULTS (LIVE UPDATES EVERY A.M.)

Free run on Jess, Rising, Book 1 of YA urban fantasy trilogy. Zon results posted every a.m., wide sales tallied at the end of each week.

May 13: sent newsletter announcing sale to mailing list of 518 people, posted notice on my blog.
Free downloads: 59
Sales of books 2/3: 2

May 14: Discount Book Man ($0), BookRaid (pay per click, $20 max)/ReadingDeals (free)
Free downloads: 649
Sales of books 2/3: 0
(honestly, this number blew my mind considering these weren't what I'd consider my strongest promo outlets.)

May 15: Fussy Librarian ($28)/ ManyBooks ($29)
Found out Zon didn't price match to free in Canada or Australia. Trying now to fix that. (Book IS free on all other retailers.)
Free downloads: 809
Sales of books 2/3: 5
*Best day on Kobo: 68 downloads*

May 16: GenrePulse ($17), fantasy category/ Ereader News Today ($40) paranormal cat/ BookDoggy ($18)
(Price now free in Canada and Australia!)
Free downloads: 1,078
Sales of books 2/3: 3
*Kobo: 55 downloads*

May 17: BookCave ($29)/ BookRebel ($31)
Free downloads: 1,093
Sales of books 2/3: 4
*Kobo: 53 downloads*
*Best smashwords day: 10 downloads *
*Nook/Barnes and Noble 44 downloads*

May 18, 19: no promos
Free downloads: Saturday 312, Sunday 121
Sales of books 2/3: 3

*** Week 1 results all retailers***
Amazon
Free downloads: 4,121
Paid sales book 2/3: 17
Kobo
Free downloads: 253
Paid sales book 2/3: 0
iTunes
Free downloads: 155
Paid sales book 2/3: 1
Nook
Free downloads:148
Paid sales book 2/3: 4
GooglePlay
Free downloads: 127
Paid sales book 2/3: 0
Smashwords
Free downloads: 40
Paid sales book 2/3: 0

Total free downloads: 4,844
Total paid sales: 22
Plus, 1 new review on Zon and 3 new ratings on Goodreads.
****************

Week 2 Promo Results

May 20: no promos booked
Free downloads: 95
Sales:1

May 21: Freebooksy ($100)
Free downloads: 1,516
Sales: 1
*Best Nook/ Barnes and Noble day with 65 downloads*

May 22: Robin Reads, ($65)
Free downloads: 1,076
Sales: 2 ebook, 1 paperback

May 23: no promo: Downloads: 241, Sales: 0 (AMS ad started, 2 downloads.) 2 new Amazon reviews, 1 new Goodreads review.
May 24: no promo: Downloads: 92, Sales: 3 , 2 new Goodreads ratings.
May 25: no promo: Downloads: 81, Sales: 0
May 26: no promo: Downloads: 73, Sales: 3 ebooks, 2 paperbacks

*********Week 2 Results, All retailers*************
Amazon
Free downloads: 3,174
Paid sales book 2/3: 10 ebook, 3 paperback
Kobo
Free downloads:67
Paid sales book 2/3: 0
iTunes
Free downloads: 101
Paid sales book 2/3: 2
Nook
Free downloads:132
Paid sales book 2/3: 0
GooglePlay
Free downloads: 53
Paid sales book 2/3: 3
Smashwords
Free downloads: 5
Paid sales book 2/3: 0

Total free downloads: 3,532
Total paid sales: 15 ebook, 3 paperback

***************Total Promo Results, all retailers****************
Total free downloads: 8,876
Total paid sales: 37 ebook, 3 paperback
New Zon reviews: 3, New Goodreads Ratings: 6

*****************************************
I hope all this information has been useful for you!
*****************************************

Total spend: $377
Sales as of 5/26: $78.83 (approx.)
"Loss"= $298.17
Price per download: Paid .033 cents for each free copy I gave away.

Anarchist · « **Reply #1 on:** March 30, 2019, 08:33:52 AM »

The thread is still available at archive.org.

Jeff Tanyard · « **Reply #2 on:** March 30, 2019, 05:17:08 PM »

Perhaps this will help:

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

DmGuay · « **Reply #3 on:** March 30, 2019, 11:50:30 PM »

Quote from: Anarchist on March 30, 2019, 08:33:52 AM

The thread is still available at archive.org.

Totally did that and it worked. Genius idea!

RappaDizzy · « **Reply #4 on:** March 31, 2019, 03:08:00 AM »

Take a look at the list of promotion sites Reedsy show as well to add to what Nicholas had in that great post.

https://blog.reedsy.com/book-promotion-services

Phronk · « **Reply #5 on:** March 31, 2019, 04:02:48 AM »

I did something very similar a while ago, and posted results in the other place. Hopefully this will help! https://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,255089.msg3553843.html#msg3553843

DmGuay · « **Reply #6 on:** May 01, 2019, 01:42:51 AM »

I "Built my own Bookbub" based on all the resources above ^^^

Free run on Jess, Rising, Book 1 of trilogy. I will post results.

Sites booked, plus the fees paid. This is my first free run on this book. Goal: To introduce the series to new readers now that it's complete.

May 14: Discount Book Man ($0), BookRaid (pay per click, $20 max)
May 15: Fussy Librarian ($28)/ ManyBooks ($29)
May 16: GenrePulse ($17), fantasy category/ Ereader News Today ($40) paranormal cat/ BookDoggy ($18)
May 17: BookCave ($29)/ BookRebel ($31)
May 20: none
May 21: Freebooksy ($100)
May 22: Robin Reads, ($65)
May 29: newsletter swaps (2, free)

Total spend: $377
book 1 downloads: TBD
book 2 sales: TBD
book 3 sales: TBD

Jeff Tanyard · « **Reply #7 on:** May 01, 2019, 05:54:25 AM »

Quote from: DmGuay on May 01, 2019, 01:42:51 AM

I "Built my own Bookbub" based on all the resources above ^^^

Good luck!

notthatamanda · « **Reply #8 on:** May 01, 2019, 07:21:52 AM »

What Jeff said!

Edit: I don't know if you maxed your budget out yet but Kobo has some promos that might fit you too.

Double edit: When are you planning on making it free? You'll have to get it free everywhere else and then possibly plead your case to Amazon. Don't rely on the "report a lower price" button. So give yourself some extra time on that.

Sorry for the edits, my brain, it's around here somewhere.

DmGuay · « **Reply #9 on:** May 01, 2019, 07:57:48 AM »

Quote from: notthatamanda on May 01, 2019, 07:21:52 AM

What Jeff said!

Edit: I don't know if you maxed your budget out yet but Kobo has some promos that might fit you too.

Double edit: When are you planning on making it free? You'll have to get it free everywhere else and then possibly plead your case to Amazon. Don't rely on the "report a lower price" button. So give yourself some extra time on that.

Sorry for the edits, my brain, it's around here somewhere.

I haven't gotten the promo tab for Kobo yet. It's on this week's to-do list. I figured I'll reset the prices wide at the end of this week, then send an email to Zon asking them to lower it to zero, on the promise that it isn't forever. Fingers crossed.

notthatamanda · « **Reply #10 on:** May 01, 2019, 08:03:53 AM »

Quote from: DmGuay on May 01, 2019, 07:57:48 AM

I haven't gotten the promo tab for Kobo yet. It's on this week's to-do list. I figured I'll reset the prices wide at the end of this week, then send an email to Zon asking them to lower it to zero, on the promise that it isn't forever. Fingers crossed.

I'm not sure you have to promise that, I just said I had promos coming up and they sent me the standard, okay we'll lower it but we'll raise it back up when we want. Best of luck to you.

Kid wants a llama.

DmGuay · « **Reply #11 on:** May 01, 2019, 08:06:46 AM »

Can I have a llama, too?

Thank for the tips on email the Zon.

I hail mary applied for a bookbub today, too. We'll see.

notthatamanda · « **Reply #12 on:** May 01, 2019, 08:27:36 AM »

VanessaC · « **Reply #13 on:** May 01, 2019, 06:46:04 PM »

Looks like a solid plan to me.

I haven't done a huge amount of promo, but I did find Freebooksy was awesome the first time I made book 1 free - I'm in KU, so this was a 5 day free run. From memory well over 2,000 downloads (I want to say about 2,500, but can't be sure) on the Freebooksy day, which too me into the top 20 free on Amazon. This was great for me as a shiny new author with three books out and almost no reviews.

I did a second Freebooksy run about 6 months later when the whole series was done, and that was still good, although perhaps half the first run.

Suspect it depends on the time of year, etc, etc.

Having just been rejected for Bookbub again, I'm considering building a promo stack a bit like yours, although probably less organised as I'm fairly lazy ...

Very best of luck with it, and look forward to seeing the results.

Fee · « **Reply #14 on:** May 01, 2019, 10:51:39 PM »

Good luck with it. That's a really great lineup. I applaud your organisational skillz

LilyBLily · « **Reply #15 on:** May 01, 2019, 11:17:06 PM »

Good luck!

DmGuay · « **Reply #16 on:** May 01, 2019, 11:25:24 PM »

Well, Bookbub rejected me so I gotta make lemonade!

Simon Haynes · « **Reply #17 on:** May 02, 2019, 01:05:39 AM »

Thanks for this list - there are several there I've never heard of.

PublishingWithLove.com · « **Reply #18 on:** May 08, 2019, 06:24:19 PM »

Quote from: Anarchist on March 30, 2019, 08:33:52 AM

The thread is still available at archive.org.

Any chance you could link it? That's literally exactly what I plan on doing soon if Bookbub rejects one of my books again (400+ reviews, 4 1/2 average rating, submitted 3 times all rejected...)

Meanwhile they accepted one with 40 reviews and a hard 4....

Simon Haynes · « **Reply #19 on:** May 08, 2019, 11:17:45 PM »

My most recent acceptance was for a book with 10 reviews on amazon.com and a 4.0 average.

I don't think reviews are relevant to BB, unless they're ALL ones and twos. Professionalism of cover & interior, maybe how many other books the author has (since they make a cut from all sales generated by their links), how the author's previous BBs fared (if any). Tons of variables, in other words. They obviously look at Goodreads ratings/reviews as well.

PublishingWithLove.com · « **Reply #20 on:** May 09, 2019, 06:43:16 AM »

I think personally that they give a hard no to those with many ARC reviews visible, which is odd as they are pretty standard. This is just a suspicion based on personal accepts and rejects.

DmGuay · « **Reply #21 on:** May 10, 2019, 01:35:46 AM »

Of course now I'm having trouble getting Zon to price match to zero. Yay. I thought I had plenty of time, but go time is next week!

notthatamanda · « **Reply #22 on:** May 10, 2019, 01:59:58 AM »

Okay, good luck. If you want let us know exactly what you have done so far, maybe we can make suggestions. A lot of us have been there. It's super stressful, hang in there.

Edit: This is what I sent them when I had to do it. It took a couple of days, but I can't remember how many. Used the contact support button.
Incidentally when pulling this up I realized I misspelled my own last name. Must not have had a lot of sleep that week.

Hello Amanda,

I've now price matched your Kindle eBook, "*" to 'Free' ($0.00) on 'All' Amazon Kindle Store marketplaces.

You can expect the updated price ($0.00) to reflect within 72 hours on Amazon.

Thank you so much for sharing the pricing information of your book.

Regards,

Siyam
Kindle Direct Publishing
http://kdp.amazon.com
=============================
Connect with KDP and other Authors and Publishers:
Like us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/KindleDirectPublishing
Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/AmazonKDP
Community: https://kdp.amazon.com/community/forum.jspa?forumID=9
Resources: https://kdp.amazon.com/help

Visit Amazon Author Insights for guidance from other authors and experts on writing, publishing and marketing: http://amazonauthorinsights.com/?ref=aai_kdp_help

Hi,
I have a free promo coming up, can you price match this book to zero? I tried reporting it but it hasn't worked yet. Thank you for your help.
ASIN: *
Sincerely Amanda *

DmGuay · « **Reply #23 on:** May 10, 2019, 02:04:53 AM »

Quote from: notthatamanda on May 10, 2019, 01:59:58 AM

Okay, good luck. If you want let us know exactly what you have done so far, maybe we can make suggestions. A lot of us have been there. It's super stressful, hang in there.

The first time I asked, I made the mistake of saying I had scheduled a promotion and that's why I needed it lowered, and I got the canned response that only KU books can be promo priced to Zero. My bad.

Yesterday, I sent a second message with the specific wording "price match to free" complete with links to free on other retailers, and was told 'we'll look into it.' I've heard this is the canned response. It's been about 24 hours and the price hasn't gone down yet. I just hope I get get sorted by MOnday!

notthatamanda · « **Reply #24 on:** May 10, 2019, 02:08:55 AM »

My example is from a year ago, so I don't know. So sorry.

Simon Haynes · « **Reply #25 on:** May 10, 2019, 02:43:03 AM »

Did you use the 'price match' link on the KDP page?

Click Contact Us at the bottom of the dashboard, then tick 'Amazon Product Page' and then tick 'Price Match'.

Then click 'Send us an email' and the contents are prefilled with the stuff they want.

That's how I request a price match. It should go straight to the right person that way.

DmGuay · « **Reply #26 on:** May 10, 2019, 03:15:48 AM »

Quote from: Simon Haynes on May 10, 2019, 02:43:03 AM

Did you use the 'price match' link on the KDP page?

Click Contact Us at the bottom of the dashboard, then tick 'Amazon Product Page' and then tick 'Price Match'.

Then click 'Send us an email' and the contents are prefilled with the stuff they want.

That's how I request a price match. It should go straight to the right person that way.

I did. They said they wouldn't 'decide' until tomorrow and it still shows as full price. Ugh.

notthatamanda · « **Reply #27 on:** May 10, 2019, 04:12:50 AM »

Fingers crossed for you.

Simon Haynes · « **Reply #28 on:** May 10, 2019, 03:05:23 PM »

Yep, good luck. Hope it's sorted quickly.

DmGuay · « **Reply #29 on:** May 14, 2019, 03:37:32 AM »

It took 3 emails to Zon and finally a phone call to tech support but book 1 is finally set to FREE!

I was handwringing for a while there. Phew!

I will update later this week as the results come in.

notthatamanda · « **Reply #30 on:** May 14, 2019, 03:45:19 AM »

RBC · « **Reply #31 on:** May 14, 2019, 06:04:11 AM »

Looking forward to see how this goes. Hope it brings good sales and email subs.

DmGuay · « **Reply #32 on:** May 15, 2019, 03:33:02 AM »

Hi all. The free run plus promo has begun, and I will be posting results every a.m. in the original post at the start of the thread. Let's see how this goes.

notthatamanda · « **Reply #33 on:** May 15, 2019, 03:49:01 AM »

Best of luck.

Simon Haynes · « **Reply #34 on:** May 15, 2019, 12:49:20 PM »

It all looks very organised. Congrats for setting it all up, and here's hoping the results really pay off.

Captain Cranky · « **Reply #35 on:** May 15, 2019, 02:02:16 PM »

Quote from: DmGuay on May 15, 2019, 03:33:02 AM

Hi all. The free run plus promo has begun, and I will be posting results every a.m. in the original post at the start of the thread. Let's see how this goes.

This is for Jess, Rising? I took a look on Amazon, and for me it is showing as $2.92 in the US store and $4.21 in the AU store. Is it just me?

DmGuay · « **Reply #36 on:** May 15, 2019, 02:16:17 PM »

Yes it is. And thanks for the heads up.

It's showing free in the US and UK for me, but not free in Canada and Australia??
Gah! I've had nothing but trouble price matching to free from Zon!! I will call them in the A.m. and see if I can get them to match the other countries to free.

If there is a bright side, it is free internationally on the wide sites like Kobo.

Captain Cranky · « **Reply #37 on:** May 15, 2019, 02:46:12 PM »

Sorry to add more stress

I did notice it was free on Kobo though, and grabbed it.

I do hope the price matching gets sorted for you soon :-)

ETA: decided to remove boring sh*t I mentioned about my book. It has nothing to do with anything

Ghost5 · « **Reply #38 on:** May 16, 2019, 04:50:48 AM »

As a side note regarding your March 14 results, I've never used Discount Book Man, but I DID have outstanding results with BookRaid--way more than I thought I'd ever get.

DmGuay · « **Reply #39 on:** May 16, 2019, 04:54:19 AM »

Quote from: Captain Cranky on May 15, 2019, 02:46:12 PM

Sorry to add more stress I did notice it was free on Kobo though, and grabbed it.

I do hope the price matching gets sorted for you soon :-)

ETA: decided to remove boring sh*t I mentioned about my book. It has nothing to do with anything

No added stress. I'm glad you told me! Canada has been resolved, set to zero and I got the email that they are working on Australia. I'd rather know than not, so thank you!

I think I did Bookraid two years ago, when the book came out, but didn't have great results. I gave the cover on Book 1 a facelift since then, and finished the trilogy, so maybe that can account for the difference.

Captain Cranky · « **Reply #40 on:** May 16, 2019, 09:27:46 AM »

I'm still seeing Amazon US with a price too, which makes me wonder if that's because they can detect I'm in Australia? If the Aussie store hasn't been set to free yet is it possible I'll keep seeing a price in the US store until it's done? Just curious..

Simon Haynes · « **Reply #41 on:** May 16, 2019, 11:54:03 AM »

Quote from: Captain Cranky on May 16, 2019, 09:27:46 AM

I'm still seeing Amazon US with a price too, which makes me wonder if that's because they can detect I'm in Australia? If the Aussie store hasn't been set to free yet is it possible I'll keep seeing a price in the US store until it's done? Just curious..

Yes, they can detect we're in Australia. If you visit any US kindle page with a browser that is not logged in to amazon, you get a popup offering to jump to the AU store instead.

DmGuay · « **Reply #42 on:** May 16, 2019, 11:58:21 AM »

I'm working on the Australia price. They price-matched Canada right away but not Australia. Gah!

Captain Cranky · « **Reply #43 on:** May 16, 2019, 12:57:44 PM »

Quote from: Simon Haynes on May 16, 2019, 11:54:03 AM

Quote from: Captain Cranky on May 16, 2019, 09:27:46 AM
I'm still seeing Amazon US with a price too, which makes me wonder if that's because they can detect I'm in Australia? If the Aussie store hasn't been set to free yet is it possible I'll keep seeing a price in the US store until it's done? Just curious..

Yes, they can detect we're in Australia. If you visit any US kindle page with a browser that is not logged in to amazon, you get a popup offering to jump to the AU store instead.

Yeah sorry, I should have been clearer. I'm aware they can detect my location, I meant if the US price is free, but the AU one is still paid, when I go to the US site will it show as paid rather than free...because it was showing as free in the US store for others but not me. That was still the case a couple of hours ago, but I've just checked and the US store is now showing the book as free, and AU is still paid. I was just wondering why some were seeing a US store price of free and I wasn't...not sure if I'm explaining myself very well lol

ETA: is it plausible that when Amazon make a price change in the US store, it's not system-wide straight away, that maybe there are multiple servers that have to individually update with the new info? Is that a thing? Is it possible I was routed to a server that didn't have the price updated quite yet?

Denise · « **Reply #44 on:** May 16, 2019, 11:40:21 PM »

Quote from: DmGuay on March 30, 2019, 05:12:06 AM

UPDATE: RESULTS (LIVE UPDATES EVERY A.M.)

May 14: Discount Book Man ($0), BookRaid (pay per click, $20 max)/ReadingDeals (free)
Free downloads: 649
Sales of books 2/3: 0
(honestly, this number blew my mind considering these weren't what I'd consider my strongest promo outlets.)

That number is incredible. Congratulations! It'll just keep going up with the better promotion services. Thanks so much for your generosity posting this.

DmGuay · « **Reply #45 on:** May 17, 2019, 12:28:58 AM »

Quote from: Denise on May 16, 2019, 11:40:21 PM

Quote from: DmGuay on March 30, 2019, 05:12:06 AM
UPDATE: RESULTS (LIVE UPDATES EVERY A.M.)

May 14: Discount Book Man ($0), BookRaid (pay per click, $20 max)/ReadingDeals (free)
Free downloads: 649
Sales of books 2/3: 0
(honestly, this number blew my mind considering these weren't what I'd consider my strongest promo outlets.)

That number is incredible. Congratulations! It'll just keep going up with the better promotion services. Thanks so much for your generosity posting this.

I'm happy to post this. Someone did the same on the other board and it helped me tremendously. Maybe someone can glean something from my free run, too.

VanessaC · « **Reply #46 on:** May 17, 2019, 02:33:57 AM »

Looks like it's going really well so far, even with the price issues, and I suspect will only get better!

Congratulations.

DmGuay · « **Reply #47 on:** May 17, 2019, 09:43:06 PM »

Okay. Bumps have been ironed out. The book is now free on Zon in US UK AU and Canada. Phew.
Today is the last day of paid promo for the week. I've got nothing booked on the weekend, but will report the week's total downloads on wide sites like Kobo/iTunes/Googleplay etc. (I peeked, there are some.) as well as any Zon "tail' over the weekend.

Thanks for following along! I'm happy with the free downloads. Of course I wish for more sales of books 2 and 3, but oh well. My goal here was to relaunch the trilogy now that it was complete and give it one last big visibility bump before focusing my efforts on my new WIP. As far as visibility goes, I'm close to breaking the top 100 in the Zon free store, so if I can do that, who knows?

Simon Haynes · « **Reply #48 on:** May 17, 2019, 11:37:28 PM »

Hope everything is still going well!

I know there were issues with price matching, and I had to go through the process myself today. Figured I'd share exactly what I did in case it helps anyone:

I've pasted a copy of my message to KDP below, with all formatting intact, as well as their reply. It was very fast, and there were absolutely no quibbles or maybes or delays.

What I sent them (each numbered line matches their requirements):

Subject: Please can you price match these two titles.

Submit one request for all of your price match for one or multiple titles here. For us to consider matching prices, the website selling your book at a lower price must be based in the same country or region as the Kindle Store selling your book. Follow the example below.

Example: ASIN, Amazon.com, competitor link, [correct price]

Select type of request: Add Price Match

1. B003NSBPJQ, amazon.com, https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/loss-leader-short-story, 0.00
2. B003NSBPJQ, amazon.co.uk, https://www.kobo.com/uk/en/ebook/loss-leader-short-story, 0.00
3. B003NSBPJQ, amazon.ca, https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/loss-leader-short-story, 0.00
4. B003NSBPJQ, amazon.com.au, https://www.kobo.com/au/en/ebook/loss-leader-short-story, 0.00
5. B004QS93I2, amazon.com.au, https://www.kobo.com/au/en/ebook/the-desolator-short-story, 0.00
6. B004QS93I2, amazon.ca, https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/the-desolator-short-story, 0.00

What they replied with:

Hello,

Thanks for sending us the links to the other sites and we've price matched it from our end. The updated price should show up on Amazon within 48 hours time.

Thanks for using Amazon KDP.

Simon Haynes · « **Reply #49 on:** May 17, 2019, 11:41:23 PM »

Oh, and when they resolve anything I always hit the YES it was helpful, give them 5/5 for everything and leave a personalised comment. I'm sure it goes into the record of whoever was assisting, which might eventually get them a pay bump or a promotion or something. Maybe.

News:

Author Topic: Build your own Bookbub: Final summer results at the end! (Read 40921 times)