As the Dominatrix of my empire, I experimented with a little PP on BB (PayPal on BookBub) action. (My safe word, review, was never used.)
BookBub is the hottest indie advertising venue around. But get in line, because traditional publishers are using it, too. My sixth women’s fiction/chick lit novel hit the shelves this summer. (Hit is such a strong word, it was more of a fly-swatter-swing-and-a-miss that knocked it behind the bookshelf for the enjoyment of dust bunnies. And crickets.)
- BookBub slot: Sunday, September 8th
- $240 (Price just increased to $260)
- Women’s Fiction category: 350,000 email subscribers
- BookBub statistics: Average sold: 1,060, Range sold: 80-2,700
- Bargain: 99 cents, down from $2.99 (35 cent royalty)
I needed to sell 685 books to break even. After one week, nailed it. My book’s visibility and author rank was boosted up the list on Amazon, though I never broke that all-important Top 100.
True Confession: I also went all in on some FB self-pleasuring and did a Facebook boosted promotion for $30, to the tune of 12,256 views. (Bless me Father, for I have sinned, it has been one week since I have been so obnoxious.)
And to complete this ménage à trois, I am in the middle of a Goodreads self-serve advertising campaign. That began August 6th, with a budget of $54, that I just can’t seem to spend. I have had 51,758 views, with only had 13 clicks (you pay per click). (I have changed the ad at least ten times and keep upping the click rate and daily total, and finally contacted Goodreads who replied that they have been having problems.)
Selling nearly 700 books in one week is awesome. As a business person . . . (I’m just kidding, I’m not a business person! I just play one when tallying up what I need to earn to finance this business of writing.) I am glad I put out, but dream of one day being wined and dined. Off to make it rain!
Dang! I so suck at marketing – and this inspires me, but as per usual, I’ll probably go “HEY! I should try that!” and then never do it *laugh*!
Your post made me laugh . . . .
Thanks, Kat! I loved your post. (And, yep, marketing is even more out of my comfort zone!) Good luck!!
This is really interesting! Thank you for sharing! I’m waiting on BookBub until I write my second, figuring that cross sales after would be more beneficial than with a single title, but the Facebook stats are very interesting to me right now. I think $30.00 for twelve thousand views is interesting and might try it out. I’d probably try pay per click to see how many are actually paying attention, though! 🙂
And I finished All of my Restless Life to Live a few days ago. Such a fun read!
Thanks so much, Lydia! Good luck and keep us posted!
You’re so damn funny. Thank you for sharing this helpful info!
I’ve been thinking of doing a FB promo too…. But I do worry about the “obnoxiousness” factor. But geez – 12K views for $30 – deal! Gotta get those covers in front of eyeballs! (A dog blogger friend of mine also had great results w/ a cheap FB ad, so she suggested I should go for it.)
Congrats on climbing the ranks! Hoping to do the same when my BB ad hits in 2 weeks!
Thanks, Jackie!! Good luck to you, too! And, Happy Book Birthday for your new baby, Rescue Me, Maybe! http://www.amazon.com/Rescue-Me-Maybe-ebook/dp/B00F54KYG6 I can’t wait to read it!!
Hey, Dee, congrats on making your goal. I hope the love just keeps on coming!
Aloha, Terry!! I hope you are doing well and feeling the love, too!! Ha ha!