The Question
Chris of PowerLists.org asks via email: I recently published my first book on KDP Select and was wondering if it is best to do a five-day promotion or to split up the days into one two-day promotional campaign and one three-day promotional campaign. Thanks. Love your show.”
Biggest Takeaway
Find out what works for your book promotions. Document every step you take.
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Steve’s Answer
It’s great to see that a lot of recent questions are coming from first-time authors. That means a lot of people out there are taking action.
With KDP Select, you get to give your book away for free for five days in every 90-day period. If you do your promo the right way, you can see an uptick in sales once your book goes from free back to its original price. You can use all five days in a row, use one single day for free five different times, or do a split of two free days and three free days.
People who really want to launch with a bang use all five free days at once. This makes it easier to get your book in as many hands as possible, giving you a lot of extra eyeballs. You might even get in to the Top 100 Free listing on Amazon.
Steve suggests checking out episode 72 to learn more about paid advertising. You should look into purchase ads for free launches. He also recommends doing a lot of outreach to bloggers and other authors.
Jyotsna Ramachandran recently did a great job with her free promo for “Job Escape Plan.” She ended up with over 100 reviews and took the #42 spot on the list of top-selling Kindle books. Her PDF gives a step-by-step overview of her process.
Submit your book to as many free sites and Facebook groups as possible. Spend a couple of weeks laying the foundation for a really good launch.
Another option is to launch for three free days and then follow up with a two-day free promo. When you first get started, you’ll make mistakes, so the downside of using all five days at once is that you won’t be able to do another free promo on Amazon for 90 days.
With your first book, use the first three days to learn the ropes. Then use your remaining two free days for the next book you launch. Make sure you create an Amazon Associates link for every type of book you are doing. Steve explains how to do this on his website.
Find out what actually works for your book promotions. If you post to 100 Facebook groups and only get 10 clicks, that’s not a good use of your time. If you get a lot of clicks, then keep using that tactic.
Document every step you take during your first free promo. When you come out with your next book, use the techniques that worked and ignore the ones that didn’t.
Resources and Links
Powerlists: Learn more about Chris, a senior data analyst living in Norway
SPQ 072: Steve discusses the use of paid advertising for authors
Job Escape Plan: Find out more about building a successful home business that allows you the freedom to quit your job and enjoy life
Successful Book Launch: Jyotsna Ramachandran provides a step-by-step explanation of how she did a free promo that yielded more than 100 reviews and landed her book at #42 on the Kindle Top 100 list for free books
Tracking Your Launch: Steve explains how to create tracking links for your book campaigns
