54- Hitting the USA Today Bestseller List!

Listen to the companion podcast episode 

Great list and analysis of recommended promo sites (by Nicholas Erik)

I am beyond excited to announce that I have finally hit the USA Today bestseller list! My book,
LOCH, came in at #114 for the week ending 4/22. (Good thing they don't cut it off at 100, huh?) When my friend Joanna Penn hit the USAT list, she did a helpful writeup of the strategies she used to get there so I thought I'd do the same.

I started by lining up a Bookbub ad. I was fortunate to get one on a Wednesday, early enough in the week to have the long tail sales count toward the USAT list, but not so early as to be overwhelmed by the Big 5 new releases that come out on Tuesdays.

USA Today's rankings cover a Monday-Sunday period, so my promo efforts ran throughout the week, beginning on Monday 4/16.

In order to be considered for the USAT list, a book must have at least 500 US sales with a store other than Amazon, so I targeted iBooks with one dedicated ad and one tweet.

The book I promoted was discounted (from $3.99) to $0.99. I had never done a promo on this particular title, so it was the first time that subscribers to the various lists were seeing it on sale.

I didn't really expect to hit the list. My intent was simply to stack a few promos and have a nice week of sales. I threw in the iBooks-specific ad simply because it's a good practice. Once I saw how well my Bookbub promo performed, I knew I had a chance. I could have done more/better things had I planned ahead and believed I had a chance.

THE CAMPAIGN

Sunday:
Lowered the price to 99 cents on all ebook platforms. I really should have done this on Saturday since certain distributors (*cough* Nook *cough) can be slow about updating prices, but I had a brain cramp.

Monday:
EReader News Today promo: $40
Bookbub CPC ad (iBooks US only) $99.99
AMS Ad (ran throughout the week) $13.77
Shared on Twitter

Tuesday:
Bargain Booksy Promo: $55
Book Adrenaline Promo: $10
Emailed a segment of my mailing list.

Wednesday:
Bookbub Sponsored Ad: $740
Manybooks Promo $29

Thursday:
Emailed the bulk of my mailing list
iBooks-specific tweet
Posted on my Facebook author page

Friday:
Kindle Nation Daily "Fire eBook Of The Day" Promo $99.99

Saturday: 
Booksends Promo: $40
Bookbub CPC ad (all major US vendors targeted) $200.93
Facebook Ad $99.84
Posted in a Kindle discount group on Facebook

Sunday:
Facebook Ad continued
"Last chance" tweet
"Last chance" post on my personal FB page
Posted in a readers' group on Facebook

SALES

Monday
Kindle: 201
D2D:  8

Tuesday
Kindle: 152
D2D:  18
Wednesday
Kindle: 3,606
D2D: 1,069

Thursday
Kindle:  475
D2D: 301

Friday
Kindle: 172
D2D: 95

Saturday
Kindle: 194
D2D: 71

Sunday
Kindle: 140
D2D: 60


Week: 
Kindle: 4,940 (US 4,206)
D2D: 1,622

INVESTMENT/RETURN
Ads: 1428.52
Revenue: 2330.58
(Excluding Google Play and increased sales on other titles in the series.)

51- Book Covers

Listen to the companion podcast episode.

News:

Audible audiobook borrowing program

Great on Kindle program
 
The Terry Goodkind book cover controversy.


About Book Covers:

The cover is a marketing tool.

It serves to:
-Entice the readers.
-Convey the genre.
-Convey the general tone of the book.
-Bring to mind the works of other favorite authors/books in the genre.

The cover:
-Serves a similar purpose as a movie poster.
-Is also is a bit like a movie trailer. (Sometimes there are elements in the trailer that aren't in the movie.)

Authors and Book Covers:
-Authors are usually bad at cover design.
-Authors are often more concerned with "reflecting the contents of the book" than marketing to readers in the genre.

-Authors often want too many elements included in the cover.
-Authors tend to worry too much about minor differences in cover elements and the descriptions/settings/scenes in a book.


Trad pub authors:
-Ultimately, the publisher makes the decision.
-Sometimes they accept suggestions from the author. Usually they listen then immediately forget.
-Typically, the author is contractually entitled to a consult about the cover, but the publisher still makes its own decision.
-On rare occasion, an author has been able to suggest a particular artist, design, or complete cover. I know of one instance in which the author made his own cover because the publisher dropped the ball.  In another instance, an author submitted a cover to the publisher and they hired someone to make something almost exactly like it.

The Indie Paradox ("Help! I don't have an art department!") 

-An indie must make her/his own decision about the cover.
-One option is to hire the same cover designer that other successful indies in your genre uses
-Another option is  to emulate the cover designs of successful indies in your genre.
-Don't dream up a design and then search Amazon for a cover that looks like your idea as a way of rationalizing it. Make sure the book is selling and the cover appears to be a part of it.
-Really study the genre. Know what designs would place you in the middle.
-Sometimes an author's name is enough to sell the book in spite of the cover.
-Browse cover design websites. Find pros whom you can afford.
-Just because someone is a graphic designer doesn't mean (s)he knows what makes a book sell. Help them. Guide them.
-Don't be afraid to experiment. Try different designs.
-Test designs through Facebook ads.
-Try not to end up on Lousy Book Covers :)

44 In it for the Long Haul with Joanna Penn

Listen to the podcast episode

Gryphonwood/Adrenaline Press Holiday Sale

My fundraiser with indie author promo opportunities

JF Penn/Joanna Penn Links

JF Penn's Amazon page

Joanna Penn Amazon page

JF Penn Website

The Creative Penn

 

Generating Interest in an Older Series

Listen to the companion podcast episode.

One of the questions I've frequently been asked is, "How can I generate interest in an older series?" It's a good question. We all want our back-list books to continue earning for us. What can we do if an older series isn't performing?

I'm going to assume you've already tried the standard advertising techniques discussed in previous posts and episodes. If not, go back and take a look at recommendations.

1. Write a new book in the series.
This one's the most obvious. New books generate interest in the older titles. Even with series that can be read in any order, many readers still prefer to read chronologically. Putting out a new book, especially if it hits some bestseller charts, should generate interest in book one, in particular.

But what if the series is complete and there's no good way to add a new book?

This is the situation that most commonly prompts the question of how to renew interest in a series. A few ideas:

2. Give the series a new look:

Redesigning the covers can be a great way to spark sales, especially if your covers look "old." I recently overhauled the look of my Dane Maddock Adventures series:

You can see the differences right away. The new covers are sharper, more eye-catching, and have a consistent design that ties them all together. (Hat tip to Kent Holloway Book Cover Design for the excellent job!)

Why does a book cover refresh make a difference? When people are clicking through Amazon or the store of their choice, their eyes slide right past the unappealing book covers. They don't stop to digest every little thing they don't like. They don't commit the author's name to memory and vow never to buy one of her/his books again. Even if your covers aren't bad, they won't be right for every reader. There are bound to be plenty of readers who would enjoy your books, but haven't paid them any mind in the past because the covers aren't to their taste.

What else can I do/ what if I can't afford a cover refresh?

3. Put book 1 free or on sale and PROMOTE it.

It's not enough to put book 1 at .99 or free. You need to get the word out. If you're going the freebie route, I've had excellent results advertising with Freebooksy.

Also consider lowering the price of book 2 to entice readers to make an impulse buy. If you have several books, consider staggering the prices: Book 1 $0, Book 2 $0.99, Book 3 $2.99...

Also, Freebooksy has a feature which allows you to promote an entire series.

But won't I lose money if I slash prices?

That depends on how many you're already selling. Do the math. Experiment. Compare results.

4. Promote the old series to your established readership.

Readers can be funny. Just because someone follows you on Facebook or subscribes to your newsletter doesn't mean (s)he has read everything you've written or even taken a look at your full catalog. There's no harm in occasionally reminding your readership that a given book or series exists. I like to do it in the form of a giveaway, either by setting the book for free, or using the coupon code feature at Smashwords.

5. Book bundles

We discussed book bundles in a previous episode. Options include:
Curate your own, working with other authors.
If you have several series of your own, offer a bundle of all the book 1s.
List your book with Bundle Rabbit in hopes of being picked up for someone else's project.
Offer a series bundle. I've found this especially effective with my Absent Gods series, particularly in audio. Bundles have the added benefit of being more likely to get picked up for a Bookbub ad.

Those are just a few ideas. I hope you find them helpful. Feel free to share your own tips.

Reaching New Readers Part 2- Paid Advertising

Listen to the Companion Podcast

Newsletters

Bookbub

• Biggest and Best
  
• Good for free or discount
• Probably the only one that will directly pay for itself
• Usually get a boost in other titles, especially if it's not book 1 of a series. 
• Expensive. Cheaper for free, price goes up depending on genre and price point.
• Difficult to get selected

 Getting selected:

• The more reviews the better
• Bundles better than single titles
• Wide is better than KU
• Free easier than discount?
• Keep trying. Selections are seemingly arbitrary.
•  Don't do it until you have 2-3 books in your catalog, otherwise you're wasting your visibility with no other books for the reader to buy. 

Bookbub Sponsored Ad

• Works like Facebook ads- choose your target and pay for clicks
• Seems best for free. 
• Some results for 99 cents.
• Not effective for full-price.
• Good part of a launch strategy if launching at a discount.
• Set a budget, know what you can afford to spend.

Other Newsletters

• Lots of options
• Most are not effective for anything other than free.
• Can have some effectiveness if you stack them or if you just want to reach a few new readers.
• Some only advertise Kindle books.
• Easier to get accepted, especially if you're in KU.
• Some have restrictions like: minimum number of reviews, only first book in series or standalone, only certain genres.

Newsletters to consider:

Freebooksy (great for free)
Robin Reads (also great for free)
Bknights (operates through Fiverr. Minimal results, but okay for the price.)
Booksends (some results for 99 cent books, good for free)
Kindle Nation Daily/Book Gorilla (not as effective as they once were, but okay)
Book Barbarian (SFF only, some restrictions. Okay results for the price.)

I know there are some effective Romance-only newsletters out there, but it's not my genre.
Lots of other bargain newsletters, but most are ineffective. Check the forums in places like Kboards, ask other authors about their experiences before spending your money.

AMS Ads
Only for books you've published through your own KDP dashboard. Can't do it for books published by someone else.
Can have a sponsored ad, can have Amazon auto-select keywords, or you can choose your own keywords.
I prefer custom keywords, loaded down with titles and authors from the genres I'm targeting.
Can refine keywords and bid amounts on keywords based on their effectiveness.
Can have up to 1,000 keywords.
Pay for clicks.
Results are not huge put tend to pay for themselves.
Very much worthwhile, especially at launch.

Facebook Ads
Diminishing results
Targeting specific authors and vendors.
Pay by click.
I use them sparingly as a part of my overall strategy.
Mark Dawson is the expert.

On a budget?
If your budget is limited, AMS ads are great, as well as in inexpensive newsletter like Bknights.