Saturday, April 14, 2012

Top 100 on Kindle...

You’re probably sick of all the KDP Select discussions. It is getting old but I needed to pass along a couple of my own observations from this time around.

First let me say, I’ve tried the free promotions before, without much luck. However, I’ve read so many blogs praising them that I decided to give it another try for the launch of my sequel, Red is an Attitude. No, I didn’t give it away, but instead went back to the original, Red Mojo Mama, and give that away for five days.

The previous attempt netted me a little over 2,000 downloads, including the UK. This time around I had over 12,000 downloads in five days, all but a couple hundred were from Amazon US.

Here’s the dynamic that really startled me. The first time I did the free promo for Red Mojo Mama it never got above #354 on the free downloads list. This time I started out on the first day at 154 and through the next four days was on the Top 100 list. Day Three I hit the highest spot at #51. As I rose through the ranks, the download rate got faster... much faster. I watched as the books began to rack up “sales” so quickly that I realized it was at 10 or more per minute. Yowza!

It seemed the longer the book stayed on the Top 100 list and the higher it got, the better the download rate became. Catch-22: You’ve got to be on the Top 100 list to do really well at the free promo, but to get there you have to have an amazing download rate first. I think the big difference here was that I promoted the free days on more than just Twitter this time. I listed it as an event on Goodreads, paired it with a Goodreads paperback giveaway, announced it on a couple of Facebook groups I belong to and on Facebook in general. Then I told everyone I knew about it. I’m sure my friends, family and tweeps helped me with that initial download rate.

So, in the first two days of Red is an Attitude being on Amazon it has sold more than the first two months of Red Mojo Mama being available. So, whether or not the original sells more (which it’s beginning to look like it will) the sequel is benefitting.

Yay!

17 comments:

  1. Thanks to RT's from you and others, my novel 5IVE SPEED, had over 8,500 "sales" for a one-day free promotion.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yep, that's how it rolls. Glad to see it worked for you!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yes, it did this time! Sales are rolling in - of both books. Thanks for the encouragement, Toby!

    ReplyDelete
  4. That is so great Kathy. I was one of the downloads and I discovered it on my Goodreads group and twitter and FB. I saw your promo everywhere!
    I am so glad for you. Bravo:)
    Also saw it on your blog!

    Laura

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I missed this comment earlier today. Wow! That's so great! And thank you for downloading. I hope you enjoy it.

      Delete
  5. Congrats, Kathy. Glad I could help any way I could. Can't wait to read Red's new adventure.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Melissa - you are such a great supporter. Thanks for everything you do.

      Delete
  6. Wow - what a heartening story. Well done on your tenacity, and growing sales figures. A cheerful read for an established author just about to take her first steps in the world of kindle.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! I think everyone should expect it to take a year or two for people to find you. That's tough, but unless you're very lucky - I think that's about right. Would love to hear what others think on this.

      Delete
  7. You're leading the way, Kathy. I'm really proud of you and I love your books. I'm almost as excited as you!

    Because of your tweets about one of my books sales have jumped. Man, am I glad I know you. You're a great friend.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Really? I'll tweet about that book more often - that's so wonderful to hear. And YOU - you, my friend, have been such a crucial supporter - without you I wouldn't have known about my formatting problem. And I think you were the second GUY to like Red. :-)

      Delete
  8. Thanks for sharing. My promo days have not been nearly as successful, but I am happy for your results!

    ReplyDelete
  9. This was worth the further discussion! I'm delighted to see this working for you. I haven't tried this route yet as I'm still curious. But so happy for you, gal.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Christina - and I now can report that THIS time the sales of RMM are bumping up everyday after the free promo. That's happy news. And it did get Attitude launched - sales are coming in nicely. It's all good!

      Delete
  10. Kathy, So glad to hear your latest promo went so well! Congrats! You were one of the people I cited in my blog post that was less than enthusiastic about KDP Select's free promo after they tried it. Great to hear, with some tweaking, it went well this time. Like you, from watching everyone else, have decided it's essential to promote in many places beyond Twitter because getting up in the top 100 is the key. Getting ready to do another one myself and I hope all that I've learned from others like you will make it more successful this time!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Please let me know when you do and I'll be sure to tweet and retweet as well as download. Thanks Jeff. I'm so happy with this outing! The after promo sales are going well.

    ReplyDelete