Tag: free e-book strategy

The “Donut Hole” within Amazon’s KDP Select “Free” Periods

donuts
Mmmm… donuts.

Many authors might not have run into this donut hole while placing their book or books free in this program. I want to explain what it is along with how you can find where it occurs now or in the future, while providing a refresher on how to display the Select information.

First, a little background for those not familiar with Amazon’s KDP Select program. This program allows an author to have one or more of their books in this program provided they give KDP Select an exclusive distribution for 90 days. That means it can’t be available anywhere else in eBook form during that period. The benefit I’m going to be specifically talking about here is the ability to have that book, or books, free for five days within that 90 day window. Free means people can order them on Amazon free without any charge and without any royalty to the author.

I like donuts, probably a little too much. I could tell some stories, but I would only get myself into trouble. I know…I know…stay on track here.

As a relatively new author with six books, Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) and the “Select” program has been a true benefit to me. It has allowed my books to be published and discovered within the reader world. There are many debates over this program, but I love it. However, on a recurring basis, I run into the donut hole in the Amazon KDP Select 90-day free period. Continue reading “The “Donut Hole” within Amazon’s KDP Select “Free” Periods”

One Author Has Success with Free Books

Branded for Murder #4 - Amazon FreeAfter trying different approaches to market my books using “free” periods on Amazon’s KDP Select program, I finally found some success. When I combined holidays with multiple free books, the result was a large volume of downloads with actual sales following the free period.

In the last three years I have self-published six books. Four are part of my Scott Tucker series which is set back in the 60’s in Boston. However, like most new authors, I have the problem of being discovered. As many know, the KDP Select program allows five free days during any ninety-day period which can be used to bring attention to new authors.

When I began using this ‘free’ approach, I made the first book in the series free, hoping to attract attention to that book and the series. Later, I made another book in the series free hoping it would also bring attention to that novel and the series. It sounded good, but this serialized approach did not provide actual book sales (a sales bump) following these free periods. Continue reading “One Author Has Success with Free Books”

KDP Select Freebies Revisited, Yes, Again

Free BeeI kinda missed the freebie boat. I hadn’t got to marketing Trucking in English when the KDP Select model changed and the overnight successes weren’t happening any more. I’d not have been one of those anyway, you need a pukka novel for that, but reading what experts such as Martin Crosbie had to say, it seemed as though the era of nice sales spikes might have gone as well. Martin’s article How I run my KDP Select Promotions, concluded that freebies can still help but it’s more of a lottery than it once was.

I decided to try it anyway, not so much for sales but because I was struggling to get the review numbers I needed for some of the bigger marketing sites. I thought maybe people who downloaded a freebie would be more likely to write a review in return. I also had a more existential question to answer. My stuff isn’t obviously interesting to most people until they get stuck in. When you do mad things in case they’re amusing, and then write about them when they are, your titles can feel so niche as to appeal to almost nobody. I knew that once I persuade someone to try one, they love it and buy the other, so maybe if all it took was a click rather than the untrousering of a dollar or few, more people would dip toe in water.

So, I planned my freebie. I opted to run all my five days together, to give the book the best chance of gaining some traction. I used the excellent list of free book promo sites that Martin compiled for IU, giving each site a month’s notice of the full five days, to maximise the chances they’d list my book. I only used free listings, assuming I’d not recoup any outlay. I did not tweet or Facebook it (I’ve spammed my friends enough) but I did list it here on IU.

I took careful notes and learned some things. Here they are. Continue reading “KDP Select Freebies Revisited, Yes, Again”

How I Run My KDP Select Free Promotions

Now that the whole world knows that the wizard is actually a fifty-seven-year old man with a strobe light, a box of old T-Rex records, and a strong Venezuelan accent, I’ll let you in on a little secret-Free Still Works. Sometimes. And, it’s more of a lottery than it ever was. It can still be lucrative, but now, when it works, instead of paying down the mortgage, you’re financing the next month or three of writing. There are exceptions of course, and we all want to be those exceptions. Joe Konrath claims to have made 100K in six weeks following a very successful recent free promotion. Others talk of varying amounts and the numbers they bandy about all have a “k” after them. I want more “k’s”. I want to have double digit “k’s” each month. I’ve done it. More than once actually, and I’d very much like to do it again. That’s why I keep trying and I run a KDP Select free promotion every few months with one of my books. Oh, and that’s another thing, now it only seems to work if you have multiple books. Bob Mayer is right. “Content is king and promotion is queen”. You have to have more than one book out there to really take a run at this thing. Continue reading “How I Run My KDP Select Free Promotions”