The info on this page comes from one of our partners – The Kindle Book Review and author Jeff Bennington. Please take the time to read this important information before you decide on how Digital Book Today and/or our partners can help be a part of your marketing campaign.
Marketing Tips
Are you Planning a KDP Select Promo Soon?
If you plan to promote your book through Amazon’s KDP Select “Free” promotion, you can potentially receive exposure that is equivalent to a billboard standing in the middle of Times Square in New York City, or you might not. There are several factors that can influence how well or how poorly your book fares when given such an incredible opportunity. Because the response to a promotion can vary from one title to the next, it is very important that you get everything right BEFORE you set your book loose. If you nail all of these elements, you will have a greater shot at success. If you are lacking in some or all of these elements, you might not experience the boost in sales/readership that you are hoping for.
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The following is a list of key elements that will effect your biggest and best opportunity to FINALLY get noticed on the world stage:
- Your Book Cover is the very first thing readers see, so it only stands to reason that it better be AWESOME. Unfortunately, many self-published authors have an unprofessional looking cover, yet expect professional results. Your cover needs to grab a reader’s attention, draw them in, or create enough curiosity to earn a “click”. If your book cover is lame or screams “self-published” you might get far fewer clicks than if you spent a little bit of money on a sweet cover. And in the world of KDP Select promotions, a loss of clicks can mean a loss of several hundred to several thousand dollars. So it is definitely worth the expense. DBT (Digital Book today): We see books everyday that scream “self published” as we gather books for our Top 100 Best Free Kindle Books list. There are some books with bland covers on this list, but not many.
- Your Book Blurb is your sales pitch, and you don’t have much time to convince a book buyer to spend their dime on you. With so many books for free, and at affordable prices, your product description should be catchy, to the point, and professional. If you have misspelled words, or the layout of your product description is sloppy, too long, too short, or has bad formatting, a reader might assume that the book has similar issues. An ideal book description should include at least two quality reviews that build immediate credibility, followed by a brief, accurate, and compelling product description. DBT: Everyday we see the expected standard and the subpar book description.
- Your Price Point is critical. I mention pricing in my forthcoming book, The Indie Author’s Guide to the Universe, in detail. But my opinion of book pricing has nothing to do with the value of your book, it has to do with the size of your audience. Therefore, if you’re a newer author, and if you do not have many reviews, or awards, I would not recommend pricing your book over $2.99 during a KDP promotion. Unless your book really catches fire, a newer author is at risk of losing sales when over priced. In fact, check out the top 100; you’ll notice that there are more low priced books than ever before. DBT: However, once your book catches fire don’t be afraid to raise the price and take your profit while sales are high. You deserve it.
- Reviews sell books. The more you have, the more credibility you will have with your potential buyers. If you have very few reviews, you might not sell near as many books with your free promotion than if you had 10, 20, or more quality reviews. Likewise, if you have received poor reviews, there is a greater chance that you might not experience the same success as some authors have had with KDP Select. If you need more reviews, check out The Kindle Book Review among other sites. You can always solicit reviews from book bloggers.
- Layer your Marketing. The Select free promotion is the best shot you may have to get your book promoted on a world stage. You have to throw everything you’ve got into this promotion. I recommend scheduling multiple promotions on the day, and days following the moment your book returns to the “paid” store. I discuss the concept of Marketing Layering in detail and provide a few websites that will coordinate this effort in my book.
*** Important Point***
So here’s the deal: You have 90 days to use your 5 free days with KDP Select. If you are lacking in any of the elements listed above, I’d urge you to utilize your time and resources to get as many of these points nailed down BEFORE you offer your book for free. If you don’t, you could get a whole bunch of nothing from what I consider one of the best promotional opportunities in the history of publishing.
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IF YOU NEED HELP, go to Jeff Bennington’s Author Services Page on The Kindle Book Review. He has skills to provide to authors.
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Want to know more about Marketing Layering?
The following is an excerpt from The Indie Author’s Guide to the Universe.
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The following information helped propel me to the Amazon Top 100 in December 2011. I hope it works for you as well.
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My Favorite Marketing Strategy
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One of my favorite strategies in my marketing plan is layering. Layering is the process of adding promotions in sequence. In other words, layering is about adding as many wheels under your book as possible, before offer your book for free. The purpose is to keep the momentum going that you created while offering your book for free. So before you schedule your free promotion with KDP Select, make sure you have a string of promotions scheduled that will follow your giveaway. I further recommend scheduling a pre-giveaway promo, like a two or three-day blog hop leading up to your promotion, followed by a killer blog post at your blog, and then a two day KDP Select giveaway. Then, wrap up your marketing blitz with your paid promotions from DigitalBookToday.com, WorldLiteraryCafe.com, The Kindle Book Review, and/or Kindle Nation Daily, after you’ve invested some time in a series of free promotions. Be sure to keep all of these events well publicized through Twitter and Facebook.
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When I think of layering, I imagine a video game character, like Mario, jumping on a gear that propels him upward, only to land on another gear that shoots him to another gear, and so on. The idea is that each gear lifts him higher with each spin of the cogs, getting him closer to that giant mushroom in the sky. You may or may not want a bucket of golden mushrooms, but you do want to get closer to readers and that’s what layering has the potential of accomplishing.
When I think of layering, I imagine a video game character, like Mario, jumping on a gear that propels him upward, only to land on another gear that shoots him to another gear, and so on. The idea is that each gear lifts him higher with each spin of the cogs, getting him closer to that giant mushroom in the sky. You may or may not want a bucket of golden mushrooms, but you do want to get closer to readers and that’s what layering has the potential of accomplishing.
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The reason I like this strategy is because it works, and because it can make your paid promotions more effective. Layering your promotions is better than spending money on an ad, hoping that a single marketing tool will bring an onslaught of sales. Sites like Kindle Nation Daily have a pretty good track record, but just think how much more effective that ad could be if you raised your Amazon ranking from 80,000 to 25,000 the day before your ad went live. An ad with KND will do a better job if you work hard at getting your sales up before the ad starts.
The reason I like this strategy is because it works, and because it can make your paid promotions more effective. Layering your promotions is better than spending money on an ad, hoping that a single marketing tool will bring an onslaught of sales. Sites like Kindle Nation Daily have a pretty good track record, but just think how much more effective that ad could be if you raised your Amazon ranking from 80,000 to 25,000 the day before your ad went live. An ad with KND will do a better job if you work hard at getting your sales up before the ad starts.
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It’s not just important to sell more books. It’s important that you get your book on category bestseller lists where there are more eyes watching. These lists will lead you to the readers looking for your genre and your price point. Do whatever it takes to get there, because once you’re there, the attention can hold you up for an extended period of time, even after the ad has expired. If you don’t hit a category list, you’ll drop out of sight much faster.
It’s not just important to sell more books. It’s important that you get your book on category bestseller lists where there are more eyes watching. These lists will lead you to the readers looking for your genre and your price point. Do whatever it takes to get there, because once you’re there, the attention can hold you up for an extended period of time, even after the ad has expired. If you don’t hit a category list, you’ll drop out of sight much faster.
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Don’t depend on others to work their marketing magic with your book. You have to do your part. And the more you can do prior to a paid promotion, the greater chance you’ll have of selling!
Don’t depend on others to work their marketing magic with your book. You have to do your part. And the more you can do prior to a paid promotion, the greater chance you’ll have of selling!
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In the weeks prior to hitting the Amazon top 100, I paid for a featured ad with The 99 Cent Networks Twelve Day’s of Christmas promo that ran from December 12th to December 24th. During the course of that promotion, I wrote a couple killer blog posts here at The Writing Bomb. I also placed Reunion on The Kindle Book Review’s marquee banner during the month of December. Finally, I scheduled my first two free book promotion days with Amazon’s KDP Select. The result, thanks to Lady Luck, was the #55 spot in Amazon’s paid best-seller list. I spent $50 for each of my books to be entered in the IBC promo, but the rest was free. I used every aspect of my platform, layering each step with tweets and Facebook notifications. It cost me a few bucks, and a few hours of my time, but the pay off far exceeded the expense.
In the weeks prior to hitting the Amazon top 100, I paid for a featured ad with The 99 Cent Networks Twelve Day’s of Christmas promo that ran from December 12th to December 24th. During the course of that promotion, I wrote a couple killer blog posts here at The Writing Bomb. I also placed Reunion on The Kindle Book Review’s marquee banner during the month of December. Finally, I scheduled my first two free book promotion days with Amazon’s KDP Select. The result, thanks to Lady Luck, was the #55 spot in Amazon’s paid best-seller list. I spent $50 for each of my books to be entered in the IBC promo, but the rest was free. I used every aspect of my platform, layering each step with tweets and Facebook notifications. It cost me a few bucks, and a few hours of my time, but the pay off far exceeded the expense.
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Are you sequencing your marketing? Or are you trudging through individual promotions, separated by large blocks of time? The next time you schedule a paid promotion, try layering a sequence of free promotions and see what happens. Your book is hungry for mushrooms. It’s time you shoot it into the sky where it belongs.
Are you sequencing your marketing? Or are you trudging through individual promotions, separated by large blocks of time? The next time you schedule a paid promotion, try layering a sequence of free promotions and see what happens. Your book is hungry for mushrooms. It’s time you shoot it into the sky where it belongs.
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~ Jeff Bennington is the Amazon bestselling author of Federal Undergrond, Alien, and The Secret in Defiance.
and The Indie Author’s Guide to the Universe.
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