In September I made Gale Harbour Book 1 free for the Stuff Your Kindle Event (Thrills, Suspense & Dark Tales Edition), trying to drum up some traffic and sales. I also paid BookBelow to help promote it.
The results? I had 461 free downloads, which lead to $12.20 (Canadian) in further sales and page reads. The promotion cost about $27.50 CAD.
Back in June I did the Young Adult and Coming of Age Stuff Your Kindle Event. That time I did 205 downloads and made $32.07 CAD in sales in the following 30 days (however that time I paid extra for the "Premium" BookBelow listing so it cost me closer to $37 CAD).
So what can I take away from this?
Neither promotion were great, though the June one certainly had a better cost of sale (117% vs 225% in September - both are terrible, one just less terrible than the other). Was this because Psycho Hose Beast fit better in the Coming of Age group? Maybe.
The extra cost of the premium ad did not increase the number of downloads. Would I have had fewer downloads if I hadn't paid extra though? Maybe.
Was the promotion worth it, in the end? Hard to say. Could I have gotten more bang for my buck paying $30 for Amazon or Facebook ads? In my (admittedly limited) experience, those ads don't have a huge return either, unless you're really good at massaging the algorithm to find the right target market, something I've never been able to successfully do.
In conclusion? I don't fucking know. I'll keep playing with it and maybe I'll figure out what I'm doing one of these days (suggestions are appreciated).
In other writing news, I'm trying to sign up to do an author fair at an event in November (The Unbound Indie Lit Market here in Ottawa). I said "trying to" because I applied for a table awhile ago but still haven't heard back. They said please wait to hear from us, but I'm thinking I should try to reach out again.
I've never set up a table at one of these events, so.... any tips or pointers from the veterans out there? Like seriously, any suggestions at all?
- How many books should I bring?
- What kind of signs?
- What should I do for handouts? (Business cards, bookmarks, candy, etc?)
- What other things haven't I thought of?
I've been googling and searching for these things myself, but any feedback by real people would be appreciated!
That's my update for this month. In case you haven't noticed, I've been putting a renewed effort into some of the other functions around being in author (besides the writing part, can't forget the writing part!). I also finally got around to contacting my local independent bookstore (it's literally just down the street) and asking them if they wanted to carry my book. They said no. Between that and the store back home in Newfoundland who asked me to take my books back because they weren't selling, I haven't actually had much luck with in person books sales.
So how is your author adventure going?
Hugs & Kisses,
-CDGK
The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Writers post their thoughts on their blogs, talking about their doubts and the fears they have conquered. It's a chance for writers to commiserate and offer a word of encouragement to each other. Check out the group at http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com
Marketing sounds so difficult! Best wishes and hope you get a table to sell your books next month!
ReplyDeleteEven though your marketing efforts didn't produce sales, it's encouraging that many people downloaded your books. Maybe they're potential buyers when you release a new book. Marketing is very challenging, and it's great that you're doing your best.
ReplyDeleteYou should connect with our members, Jean Davis and Jemima Pett about selling your books at fairs. Jemima's post today is about this issue. They have lots of experience and hopefully can answer your questions.
Paid promotions... Yeah. Such a sticky area. If I had the answers, I'd throw them at you. Regardless, I hope things work out getting in and you have an amazing time with the conference. Seriously.
ReplyDeleteOne question that may help you decide if personal sales are useful is about your goals. Do you want to sell more books? Connect with readers? Generate reviews? The most challenging aspect of marketing for indie writers is simply deciding what works best for each of us, right? My own experience in selling f2f is limited to just one experience. Spent 4 hours to sell 2 books. I'd rather be home writing!
ReplyDeleteMost promotions like that are more to generate interest than make sales. But yeah, sucks to keep losing money at it.
ReplyDeleteI hope you get a table. Consider finding another author to share the space, and the cost. Having more books and a wider variety helps to bring in people (I've joined what amounts to a co-op and we do booths with 3-6 people, usually the latter, which greatly cuts our individual costs). I mostly sell first-in-series, but sometimes a title or cover grabs people. I offer a 20% discount to those who buy 3 or more books, which doesn't usually bump people up from 1 to 3, but does sometimes bump them from 2 to 3.
ReplyDeletePractice your spiel about the series and a few words about each book. Keep it brief, and watch peoples' reactions--if their eyes glaze over and they start to fidget, cut it shorter! Make eye contact with people passing by, and if they show any interest, let them know you are the author there selling and signing your own work.
I'm still learning, but doing it in the group has really sped up my learning process, since I can watch what others do that works or doesn't. Feel free to contact me if you want more rambling and possibly useless advice.
You've received some really good suggestions here, CD. Perhaps put out a dish of Newfoundland Snowballs at your booth. (Or another relatively inexpensive Newfie treat) I'd say little bottles of Screech , but that would be too expensive and probably not legal. 😂. Promotion and marketing are so difficult and expensive. You have my sympathy and best wished for success.
ReplyDeleteUgh, sorry to hear about your lack of luck with ads and bookstores. Do your bookstores hold any events or workshops? Sometimes it helps to run some classes for them or do readings and events before asking them to carry your book. It's all about building the relationships. I think it's awesome that you keep at it, and keep pushing forward. That's what'll matter in the long run.
ReplyDeleteYpu are aptly describing my concerns abut being a published writer. I positively love the writing, editing and rewriting process, but I never took the step to becoming published - because I dread all the promotional rigmarole.
ReplyDeleteI wish you the best of luck on the fair!
CD, go to Dancing Lemur Press' "About" page - at the bottom is a photo of our display at cons. It will give you an idea how to set up. (And understand, we use way more than what you need.) You definitely need bookmarks to hand out. People won't remember you or the name of your book five minutes later if you don't. As for how many books, 3-5 each. And whatever you do, don't just sit there. Stand up and engage people who walk past. You are selling YOU first, the books second.
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