Sci-fi & Fantasy Newsletter Builder @ StoryOrigin

[C. Gockel]

This is for all subgenres of sci-fi, fantasy, and paranormal EXCEPT erotica. No nekkid man chests. No samples or previews but short stories are welcome. All mailing list sizes are fine, but only those with mailing lists of 2,000+ may have more than one book and are expected to produce at least 100 shares.

Click here to sign up: https://storyoriginapp.com/bundles/74cc46ac-6a9b-11ec-8a7b-bfca64e59fcb/info

[Jeff Tanyard]

...are expected to produce at least 100 shares...

Maybe I'm having a slow-brain day, but I have no idea what this means.  Is a "share" a download of somebody else's book?

[C. Gockel]

"shares" are the number of clicks you bring to the promo. Some authors with small lists bring in 100+ views every time, some people with huge lists send over only a handful. It probably has a lot to do with the quality of their newsletter, and if they bury the link, don't use images, etc.

[Jeff Tanyard]

"shares" are the number of clicks you bring to the promo. Some authors with small lists bring in 100+ views every time, some people with huge lists send over only a handful. It probably has a lot to do with the quality of their newsletter, and if they bury the link, don't use images, etc.

Gotcha.  Thanks.

That's pretty interesting about big lists only producing a handful of clicks.  I wouldn't have thought that was even statistically possible.  Sounds like I'm punching well above my weight when it comes to sending clicks to promos.

[LilyBLily]

"shares" are the number of clicks you bring to the promo. Some authors with small lists bring in 100+ views every time, some people with huge lists send over only a handful. It probably has a lot to do with the quality of their newsletter, and if they bury the link, don't use images, etc.

Gotcha.  Thanks.

That's pretty interesting about big lists only producing a handful of clicks.  I wouldn't have thought that was even statistically possible.  Sounds like I'm punching well above my weight when it comes to sending clicks to promos.

I did what I thought were a lot of BookFunnel group promos in 2020, mostly because they were free. I thought they might be worth trying but my eventual conclusion was that they kept me busy and erroneously imagining I was building brand awareness. The truth was almost nobody who saw those promos was interested in my books.

Although I had well over 3k people on my mailing list, the particular promos never got me more than a 113 click average for newsletter promos and a 62 click average for sales promos. (The first type is just for newsletter sign-ups and of course usually includes a freebie.) As these often--but not always--were discounted books, I consider my averages to be anemic. Was it the company I kept? The slant of the particular promos? My lack of social media presence? (Not that Twitter or Facebook posts sell books.) I did 18 promos total and I stopped when I kept seeing the same books showing up in the group listings. I was bored with them and I thought my newsletter people probably were, too. I could have kept going. At my current attrition rate, it will take me years to lose all the dead wood.

[C. Gockel]

"shares" are the number of clicks you bring to the promo. Some authors with small lists bring in 100+ views every time, some people with huge lists send over only a handful. It probably has a lot to do with the quality of their newsletter, and if they bury the link, don't use images, etc.

Gotcha.  Thanks.

That's pretty interesting about big lists only producing a handful of clicks.  I wouldn't have thought that was even statistically possible.  Sounds like I'm punching well above my weight when it comes to sending clicks to promos.

I did what I thought were a lot of BookFunnel group promos in 2020, mostly because they were free. I thought they might be worth trying but my eventual conclusion was that they kept me busy and erroneously imagining I was building brand awareness. The truth was almost nobody who saw those promos was interested in my books.

Although I had well over 3k people on my mailing list, the particular promos never got me more than a 113 click average for newsletter promos and a 62 click average for sales promos. (The first type is just for newsletter sign-ups and of course usually includes a freebie.) As these often--but not always--were discounted books, I consider my averages to be anemic. Was it the company I kept? The slant of the particular promos? My lack of social media presence? (Not that Twitter or Facebook posts sell books.) I did 18 promos total and I stopped when I kept seeing the same books showing up in the group listings. I was bored with them and I thought my newsletter people probably were, too. I could have kept going. At my current attrition rate, it will take me years to lose all the dead wood.

Huh. That's weird. I find the sales promos to be the cheapest advertising out there. I have also found sell-thru from the newsletters to be excellent, although I do usually "romance" them first, like this:

Short Story Giveaway > Permafree > Reduced (99¢ or $2.99) second in series > Full price book

Open rates to my welcome sequence are typically 44 - 49% which is pretty decent.

[alhawke]

I've had some great promos through StoryOrigin--one of which was by C. Gockel. Thanks! 
I send a newsletter monthly using Bookfunnel sales promos like ads. But I stopped StoryOrigin due to the expense.

Is StoryOrigin still worth the cost? I've considered going back only because I can offer my subscribers more authors to choose from (I do believe there's some interest fatigue when you keep hosting the same giveaway/sales promo). I have yet to run a ProlificWork promo only because there aren't a lot of authors participating there anymore.

[C. Gockel]

Is StoryOrigin still worth the cost? I've considered going back only because I can offer my subscribers more authors to choose from (I do believe there's some interest fatigue when you keep hosting the same giveaway/sales promo). I have yet to run a ProlificWork promo only because there aren't a lot of authors participating there anymore.

I think you'll get a variety of answers to this. For many authors, StoryOrigin's review promos and the newsletter swap features make it more valuable than Bookfunnel. That said, if you are looking to giveaway books in great volume, and can only afford one, BookFunnel is the better option.

I don't really need reviewers, as I've built up my own team over the years. My list is bigger than most of the authors in my genre on StoryOrigin, and the complications of a swapping, make that feature not valuable to me.

I will probably maintain my StoryOrigin subscription at the end of the year because I do think it gives me a chance to reach a slightly different audience and it fits my budget, however every author will have to make a different calculus. It maybe you want to subscribe on a month-by- month basis instead of for a full year.

[alhawke]

Thanks. I'm considering re-joining because it'd give me a different audience. For me, it'd be an add-on because I consider Bookfunnel the best out of all of them--for now, anyway. I guess I was spoiled when StoryOrigin was free.

[C. Gockel]

Thanks. I'm considering re-joining because it'd give me a different audience. For me, it'd be an add-on because I consider Bookfunnel the best out of all of them--for now, anyway. I guess I was spoiled when StoryOrigin was free.

Remember, if StoryOrigin doesn't have the promos you want, create the promo you want!