Things are changing fast with self-publishing on Amazon.
If you haven't heard, they recently shifted the royalty structure for books within KDP Select. No longer will you be compensated on a "per borrow" basis. Instead you're paid around $0.0058 per page read. Do the math and you'd see that this negatively impacts people who write shorter books (i.e. under 200 pages.)
I'm not going to lie to you…
This is has definitely hurt my business. But it also forced me to adapt and become more proactive with testing new marketing strategies.
One tool I've recently tested is BookBub.com.
This site is the holy grail of all discounted book promotion services. They have millions of email subscribers, broken down into a few dozen categories. Authors know that landing a listing here could lead to thousands of potential sales.
The challenge?
It's very hard to get a listing in BookBub. In fact, I was rejected about 10 times until they recently decided to promote 10-Minute Declutter (the book I co-authored with Barrie Davenport.)
The promotion has had phenomenal results. It launched on Saturday and since then, we have sold around 7,000 copies (here's a screenshot) and the book went as high as #10 overall on the paid charts.
Now, like I said, it's pretty hard to get a BookBub listing, but there were a few factors that I think helped me land this deal:
#1. Understand What BookBub Wants
Remember BookBub is a business. They will only promote titles they know that people will want to buy. So while your book might be full of helpful advice, it might not be a right fit for their email subscribers.
How do you know what BookBub wants?
It's simple…
Subscribe to their email list.
Go to their home page, enter your email address and then customize your categories to get notifications related to the types of books that you write. Once you've subscribed, you'll start to receive emails based on your personalized preferences.
I recommend taking a close look at each email that lands in your inbox. This will give you the best education on what BookBub thinks will sell.
#2. Have a Great Book Presentation
Again, remember BookBub is a business, so they will only promote something they feel will generate sales.
To that end, make sure your book has the following characteristics:
- Over 150 Kindle pages in length
- Professional book cover design
- High number of reviews…at least 50
- Compelling book description that "sells" the value of the book.
These are just a few characteristics of titles I've seen promoted by BookBub, but you should also take the time to check out what they're constantly promoting.
#3. "Sell" Book to BookBub
Like I mentioned before, I have been rejected by BookBub about 10 times in the past. So what did I do differently this time? It's simple… I took the time to "sell" my book to the good folks at BB.
Most people are lazy when it comes to submitting a book. They'll fill out the necessary information (i.e. dates, price, Amazon links) and maybe add a sentence or two in the comment box. But they usually won't do is tell BookBub why they should promote their book.
"My co-author (Barrie Davenport) and I feel that 10-Minute Declutter is a book that BookBub readers will love.
First off, it relates to a topic (minimalism and organization) which has frequently been featured in the Advice/How-to emails that BookBub sends out. Your subscribers seem to absolutely love this type of information.
Second, unlike many other minimalist/organization books we provide a framework that readers can follow in their spare time. Instead of telling readers that they need to organize their possessions all at once, we show how they can turn this activity into a daily, 10-minute habit. This is a habit that can fit into anyone's busy schedule.
Finally, 10-Minute Declutter has been professionally edited and formatted. So we feel subscribers will enjoy the easy-to-read and plain advice that we give throughout the book.
Please let me know if you have any questions about the book.
Thanks in advance,
Steve Scott"
This wasn't my best piece of writing. But it does a pretty good job of selling the value of the book.
.
Earlier, I described how the rules at Amazon are changing. So now it's more important than ever to be strategic about how you manage your book-based business. BookBub can become an important aspect of your business, but it should be part of a larger strategy where you're constantly testing and promoting your entire catalog.
That's what I'm currently doing.
And when I learn something new, you will be one of the first people to hear about it.
Talk soon…
Steve Scott
.
.
No comments:
Post a Comment