# Month long promo run *with results*



## R. M. Webb (Jul 24, 2014)

*A month at $0.99*
I've been very curious as to the efficacy of different ads when applied to me and my book. I decided to drop the price on Facade to $0.99 for the month of December and run an ad every other day. (Wasn't always possible to space them like this due to availability at differing sites.) I realize I'd get more bang for my buck if I stacked ads, but I'm more in the market for information, new reviews, and newsletter subscribers. I don't expect to make back the money I spent on the ads, although of course I hope I do.

After Jan 4, the price will return to normal for 90 days. At that point, I'll stack the most effective ads into a three to five day promo with the best performing ads at the end of the run in an effort to help fight off rank decay on Amazon. (The second book in the series will be published early 2015, hopefully drawing attention back to Facade before the promo run starts.)

For those interested, Facade is creeping up on its 3 month birthday. I published on Sept 24, 2014. 
I moved 104 books from Sept 24 -- Nov 30. I utilized my Kindle Countdown in October. 
I've moved 319 from Dec 1 -- Jan 3.
I've unchecked my auto-renew box for Kindle Select. As of Dec 23, I won't be eligible for new borrows but I will be going wide.

***NOTE*** I find it very interesting that I'm getting borrows popping up on my graph as late as 6 days after this book left Kindle Unlimited. Just goes to show how long books can sit on a virtual shelf before someone opens them up and really starts to read.

*Without further ado, the results*

*A note on rank: I check each morning at about 5:30am. I also rank in the top 100 of a small sub-genre, but I decided you didn't care how I bounced around on that list as much as I do. 

Many thanks to JR for helping me clean up the following table!

DateRankAdSales/BorrowsDec 1191,812Bknights5 sales 0 borrows
Dec 248,518no ad2 sales 0 borrowsDec 354,307Ebooksoda4 sales 0 borrowsDec 447,285no ad0 sales o borrowsDec 592,734no ad1 sale 0 borrowsDec 6100,124ENT56 sales 2 borrowsDec 72,904Pixel Scroll21 sales 4 borrowsDec 85,207no ad6 sales 4 borrowsDec 9 10,700no ad0 sales 2 borrowsDec 10 21,005Choosy Bookworm10 sales 1 borrowDec 1115,016Bargain Booksy23 sales 3 borrowsDec 126,996no ad4 sales 2 borrowsDec 1312,362Genre Pulse15 sales 5 borrowsDec 1410,539no ad3 sales 3 borrowsDec 15no ad19,0464 sales 1 borrowDec 16no ad 18,7951 sale 0 borrowsDec 1714,886Awesome Gang2 sales 2 borrowsDec 1823,648no ad3 sales 4 borrowsDec 1929,968Bargain Ebook Hunter4 sales 2 borrowsDec 2031,994no ad3 sales 0 borrowsDec 2156,984Booksends26 sales 1 borrowDec 225,476no ad4 sales 3 borrowsDec 2313,614Free Kindle Books and Tips21 sales 0 borrows

Dec 249,815no ad4 sales 1 borrowDec 25forgot to check rankno ad2 sales 0 borrowsDec 2634,695no ad1 sale 1 borrowDec 27holiday brainno ad1 sale 0 borrowsDec 28holiday brainScififantasyfreak.com2 sales 2 borrowsDec 2981,790no ad1 sale 0 borrowsDec 3091,564no ad0 sales 0 borrowsDec 31no ad1 sale 0 borrowsJan 1no ad1 sale 0 borrowsJan 2116,345Fussy Librarian10 sales 0 borrowsJan 334,819Ereader Cafe34 sales 1 borrow


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## Allyson J. (Nov 26, 2014)

Great stuff! Keep us updated.


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## R. M. Webb (Jul 24, 2014)

I'd like to add that I welcome advice any advice you may have for me.  I have a lot to learn. That's why I'm here!


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## R. M. Webb (Jul 24, 2014)

Allyson Jeleyne said:


> Great stuff! Keep us updated.


Will do! Even on the days that make me sigh.


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## Weibart (Oct 27, 2014)

Thanks for posting this! It's extremely helpful to see examples like these! Really appreciate you sharing this information with us!


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## R. M. Webb (Jul 24, 2014)

Weibart said:


> Thanks for posting this! It's extremely helpful to see examples like these! Really appreciate you sharing this information with us!


Hey! No problem! I know the results aren't superstar quality by any stretch of the imagination, but I kinda think it's important to see all kinds of results threads.


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## Jarrett Rush (Jun 19, 2010)

I know that people love Bookbub, but I don't write long enough for Bookbub, so it's nice to see results from other of the promo site. These clustered advertisement have always seemed like a good idea to me. So, this is really great stuff. Thanks for posting.

How long did it take you to set all this up?


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## Walter Spence (Nov 22, 2014)

As one more person who has only recently begun tackling the uphill learning curve on how to market one's work, your willingness to share what you have and are learning is deeply appreciated. Thank you.


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## R. M. Webb (Jul 24, 2014)

Jarrett Rush said:


> How long did it take you to set all this up?


It took an hour or two one morning. I started applying for the promos about three weeks before the first of December. In the future, I think I'd leave Bknights for more of a last minute sign up. I think the links are listed in the order they're received. Hence the forty-two books listed on top of mine...


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## JR. (Dec 10, 2014)

R. M. Webb said:


> Also, my OCD is going crazy. I've tried to make this list as legible as I can, but I'm no forum guru. I can't get the columns to line up, although not for lack of trying! Please forgive me if you find it as irritating as I do.


Hey RM,

You can use this site to make a table if you like.


*Date* *Rank* *Ad* *Sales/Borrows*Dec 1 19,281 Bknights 5 sales 0 borrowsDec 2 48,518 no ad 2 sales 0 borrowsDec 3 54,307 Ebooksoda 4 sales 0 borrowsDec 4 47,285 no ad 0 sales 0 borrows


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## R. M. Webb (Jul 24, 2014)

JR. said:


> Hey RM,
> 
> You can use this site to make a table if you like.


Oh! Thank you!! Such nice little columns, all marching down the page as they're supposed to... {sigh of relief}


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## A.A (Mar 30, 2012)

Nice results! I have a month long promo for December at 0.99c running too (on my book Dollhouse) (but no ads booked so far)


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## R. M. Webb (Jul 24, 2014)

A.A said:


> Nice results! I have a month long promo for December at 0.99c running too (on my book Dollhouse) (but no ads booked so far)


Wow! So many reviews! How wonderful for you! Good luck on the rest of December.


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## PearlEarringLady (Feb 28, 2014)

R. M. Webb said:


> I know the results aren't superstar quality by any stretch of the imagination, but I kinda think it's important to see all kinds of results threads.


I think these more realistic results are incredibly useful. It's especially helpful that there isn't an ad every day, or even multiple ads, so it's possible to see exactly how effective they are. So thanks for doing this - it's much appreciated.

I'm in the process of setting up a 2-week promo around the release of my next book in early January, my first discounted promo, so it's particularly relevant information for me. I shall be using quite a few of these sites, so at least I'll have an idea of what to expect.


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## R. M. Webb (Jul 24, 2014)

PaulineMRoss said:


> I think these more realistic results are incredibly useful. It's especially helpful that there isn't an ad every day, or even multiple ads, so it's possible to see exactly how effective they are. So thanks for doing this - it's much appreciated.
> 
> I'm in the process of setting up a 2-week promo around the release of my next book in early January, my first discounted promo, so it's particularly relevant information for me. I shall be using quite a few of these sites, so at least I'll have an idea of what to expect.


You are ever so welcome. I got to thinking how unrealistic my expectations were regarding what to expect from marketing efforts. During my Kindle Countdown, I ended up feeling like a failure because even though I thought I'd set my expectations low enough, I apparently had let my hopes run a little more rampant than I'd realized.

I think if I'd seen more "joe schmo" numbers like these during my Kboards lurker days it would have helped me look at my sales with a bit more excitement.

Regards!
Renee


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## PearlEarringLady (Feb 28, 2014)

R. M. Webb said:


> I think if I'd seen more "joe schmo" numbers like these during my Kboards lurker days it would have helped me look at my sales with a bit more excitement.


It's unfortunate (but probably inevitable) that the people most likely to post their results here are the most successful authors. Those of us with more down-to-earth numbers are more likely to keep quiet. But I do think it's important for all of us prawns to share information too. After all, we're the majority, aren't we? We're more representative of the average self-publishing experience.


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## R. M. Webb (Jul 24, 2014)

PaulineMRoss said:


> It's unfortunate (but probably inevitable) that the people most likely to post their results here are the most successful authors. Those of us with more down-to-earth numbers are more likely to keep quiet. But I do think it's important for all of us prawns to share information too. After all, we're the majority, aren't we? We're more representative of the average self-publishing experience.


I'll be honest, I had to swallow quite a bit of pride to be comfortable enough to post my sales numbers. But, like you said, I do think it's important to have as many different points of data from as many different levels of success as we can.

The more you know...!


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## R. M. Webb (Jul 24, 2014)

Walter Spence said:


> As one more person who has only recently begun tackling the uphill learning curve on how to market one's work, your willingness to share what you have and are learning is deeply appreciated. Thank you.


You are very welcome!


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## Walter Spence (Nov 22, 2014)

R. M. Webb said:


> You are very welcome!


Well, we authors of vampire fiction have to stick together. 

BTW, if you're not already familiar with it, you might want to check out the website, I Love Vampire Novels: www.ilovevampirenovels.com. While I haven't made use of their services yet (I'm holding off on any more promos until the second book in my series is out the gate), I've heard good things about their promo services.


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## noob (Dec 11, 2014)

thanks for this. very helpful.


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## R. M. Webb (Jul 24, 2014)

Walter Spence said:


> Well, we authors of vampire fiction have to stick together.
> 
> BTW, if you're not already familiar with it, you might want to check out the website, I Love Vampire Novels: www.ilovevampirenovels.com. While I haven't made use of their services yet (I'm holding off on any more promos until the second book in my series is out the gate), I've heard good things about their promo services.


I've also heard good things about them. Hoping to use them when I do my next promo after I release the second book in the series.

Vampire writers unite!



noob said:


> thanks for this. very helpful.


My pleasure!

I hope to wow everyone with my amazing sales numbers in the next few days. (This is me, wishing for a sarcasm font.)


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## R. M. Webb (Jul 24, 2014)

Edited to ad the sales numbers for 12/18.

I had to giggle. For just a brief moment, I got worried about my decision to withdraw from Select because, wait for it....I've had 'so many' borrows lately. Hehe. 

A handful of borrows every day isn't going to make it or break it one way or the other. 

Happy Friday!
Renee


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## Tristan Cruz (Apr 2, 2014)

I just recently did a free promo with BKnights through fiverr.com and got over a thousand free buys each day the promo ran. I reached #7 in mystery and suspense. #137 on amazons top 100. It wasnt bad at all. The number of KU shares since that one promo has been staggering. The straight buys haven't been staggering but not bad. It only ran a week ago. Id use them again and have many times.


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## Sever Bronny (May 13, 2013)

Thank you for sharing your numbers, RM, that takes a lot of courage! It's very appreciated though


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## Becca Mills (Apr 27, 2012)

You should add this thread to your table, R.M. Your book looks great, so I grabbed it ... and I bet I'm not the only one!


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## R. M. Webb (Jul 24, 2014)

Tristan Cruz said:


> I just recently did a free promo with BKnights through fiverr.com and got over a thousand free buys each day the promo ran. I reached #7 in mystery and suspense. #137 on amazons top 100. It wasnt bad at all. The number of KU shares since that one promo has been staggering. The straight buys haven't been staggering but not bad. It only ran a week ago. Id use them again and have many times.


The day my Bknights ad ran, their were 42 other ads _before_ mine on that day. I almost gave up scrolling to find my book. I'd gotten everything set up about three weeks before and I suspect those ads are just put together in the order they are received. Lesson learned. Leave Bknights as more of a last minute thing.



Sever Bronny said:


> Thank you for sharing your numbers, RM, that takes a lot of courage! It's very appreciated though


Thank you. I'll admit that I've had to swallow my ego just a bit. 



Becca Mills said:


> You should add this thread to your table, R.M. Your book looks great, so I grabbed it ... and I bet I'm not the only one!


Hey! Wow! Thanks!


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## SmartQuant (Mar 4, 2014)

Thanks for sharing your case study.

Do you happen to have a breakdown of the costs associated with each of your promotions?


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## R. M. Webb (Jul 24, 2014)

SmartQuant said:


> Thanks for sharing your case study.
> 
> Do you happen to have a breakdown of the costs associated with each of your promotions?


I sure do!

Bknights $5.00
Ebooksoda $10.00
ENT $20
Pixel Scroll $15
Choosy Bookworm $20
Bargain Booksy $25
Genre Pulse $30
Awesome Gang $10
Bargain Ebook Hunter $15
Booksends $20
Free Kindle Books and Tips $25
Scififantastyfreak.com Free
Fussy Librarian $8
Ereader Cafe $35

Unfortunately, the only site that I broke even on was ENT. I've estimated December borrows to yield $1.25. With that in mind, I've made back HALF of my initial investment at this point. I still have four ads left to run, so hopefully I'll get myself closer to breaking even. I _am_ afraid that I've overestimated the borrow pay out.

I get to feeling equal parts frustrated and hopeful. On one hand, I have to wonder if something just isn't clicking with my book and the readers it's been exposed to through this ad run. Thousands have seen my book. Two hundred have purchased it.

On the other hand, I'm a brand new author with only one book out. I managed to get my book into two hundred hands this month. I've gotten email subscribers. Maybe I just need to be patient and get this trilogy finished up before I start making judgements.


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## Chris Dietzel (Apr 2, 2013)

I've always been curious about the effectiveness of various sites/ads. Thanks a lot for sharing this.


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## SmartQuant (Mar 4, 2014)

Thank you for posting the cost of each promo. Much appreciated.


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## Pauline Creeden (Aug 4, 2011)

This is a great share! Thank you


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## R. M. Webb (Jul 24, 2014)

Becca Mills said:


> You should add this thread to your table, R.M. Your book looks great, so I grabbed it ... and I bet I'm not the only one!


I downloaded Nolander. I'm excited to give it a read.


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## Craig Andrews (Apr 14, 2013)

R. M. Webb said:


> Unfortunately, the only site that I broke even on was ENT. I've estimated December borrows to yield $1.25. With that in mind, I've made back HALF of my initial investment at this point. I still have four ads left to run, so hopefully I'll get myself closer to breaking even. I _am_ afraid that I've overestimated the borrow pay out.


Don't fall into the trap of looking at your short term sales. I ran a similar campaign last year with the release of my first book (and this year to coincide with the release of my second) and it stimulated sales at full retail price for months. If you only look at the sales while it was at .99 cents, then I lost money, but if you look at the sales in the months following the promotion I made a decent chunk of money. It's a long term game.

-Craig


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## tamiveldura (Dec 8, 2014)

Thank you for keeping us updated on this, RM. Would you be willing to share sales data a month, 2 months, 3 months from now after your promo is done? As Craig said, there may be long-term effect of your short-term ads.

I'd also be curious to see the results of this kind of thing when you have book 2/3/4 out in the wild. What kind of sell-through you see, etc.


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## R. M. Webb (Jul 24, 2014)

Craig Andrews said:


> Don't fall into the trap of looking at your short term sales. I ran a similar campaign last year with the release of my first book (and this year to coincide with the release of my second) and it stimulated sales at full retail price for months. If you only look at the sales while it was at .99 cents, then I lost money, but if you look at the sales in the months following the promotion I made a decent chunk of money. It's a long term game.
> 
> -Craig


Thank you for reminding me of this. I never expected to make money back on this experiment immediately. There's no way to put a price tag on the email subscribers I've gathered, the number of people who have seen my book, considered it, and might buy it the next time...yada yada yada.

I'm a stay at home at home mom and my super amazing, ridiculously supportive, absolutely wonderful love of my life is funding this little venture of mine. He's not complained even once, but I'm eager to pay it forward if you catch my drift.

We're prepared to run the marathon, not the sprint. Silly me just gets eager and starts chomping at the bit. (I know I'm mixing metaphors, but I hope you'll forgive me. )


tamiveldura said:


> Thank you for keeping us updated on this, RM. Would you be willing to share sales data a month, 2 months, 3 months from now after your promo is done? As Craig said, there may be long-term effect of your short-term ads.
> 
> I'd also be curious to see the results of this kind of thing when you have book 2/3/4 out in the wild. What kind of sell-through you see, etc.


I'd gladly keep you updated on the long term sales. I love tracking data!

I'm also very curious to see what happens when the other books are out. How does a serious ad run like this effect the sales of subsequent books? Would a stretched out promo like this be more effective on sell-through or would a more condensed promo work better? I'm definitely wishing I'd had more marketing classes!


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## R. M. Webb (Jul 24, 2014)

I've updated the original post, but alas, I've had holiday brain and haven't been very good about checking my ranking.

I haven't garnered any new reviews, but the email subscribers continue to trickle in, as well as some star rankings on Goodreads. I've also been picked up for reviews by a couple book bloggers. Those reviews are scheduled anywhere from a couple weeks from now to a couple months from now. It'll be really interesting to see if any of those blog reviews create a spike in sales. (Unless they don't like the book...and then I'm sure that means no sales for me!)

My Facebook page has had 15 new views. I was tickled when Facebook had that information for me. Have I mentioned I'm an information junky? _And_ I got a new like by someone on these boards whom I respect greatly. It's kinda silly to admit how honored it made me feel to see his name on my page. I'm such a silly girl sometimes. 

_Facade_ dropped out of Kindle Unlimited on the 23rd, but I've still had borrows show up. From what I gather, those are from people who'd already downloaded the book, but hadn't read up to the 10% point until now. I decided to use Smashwords to get this book out to the other distributors. I wanted to upload to the B&N, Kobo, and Play by myself, but opted not to at the last minute in order to save myself some time. Maybe I'll do it myself with the next book. Anyway, I'm still waiting to see if my book file made it into the Premium Catalog and is therefore on its way out to the other vendors.

I'm racing to get the next book done and as much as I know I need to get it out there quickly, I'm don't want to sacrifice the quality of the writing or the story line. There's this little niggling feeling in my gut that keeps telling me that something isn't quite right with the story. I tend to be massively over-critical of my work. I WANT to think it's just that part of me trying to slow things down, but I kind of think I should listen to this particular instinct.

I've just got a few days without ads left before my last two and then it's back to regular price for_ Facade_.


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## Lucian (Jun 8, 2014)

Thank you. This is very generous of you.


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## jnfr (Mar 26, 2011)

Thanks so much for sharing your numbers. I've added this thread to my bookmarks. It's very useful information.


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## PearlEarringLady (Feb 28, 2014)

R. M. Webb said:


> I've had holiday brain


LOL! I think you're meant to at this time of year.  And thanks for keeping the numbers updated (holiday brain notwithstanding). Much appreciated.


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## Walter Spence (Nov 22, 2014)

R. M. Webb said:


> I'm racing to get the next book done and as much as I know I need to get it out there quickly, I'm don't want to sacrifice the quality of the writing or the story line. There's this little niggling feeling in my gut that keeps telling me that something isn't quite right with the story. I tend to be massively over-critical of my work. I WANT to think it's just that part of me trying to slow things down, but I kind of think I should listen to this particular instinct.


I've been there before. Experience has taught me to trust my instincts, that there is a part of us that 'knows without knowing'. David Eagleman, in his book _Incognito: the Secret Lives of the Brain_, provided several examples of this phenomenon.

Here's one: During WW II there were a few Englishmen who could distinguish the sound of a German plane from an English plane, which proved useful during German bombing runs. A program was instituted to allow these individuals to teach others how to ID German planes, but they couldn't explain to their students how they did it. Eventually what they did was to have the new recruits attempt to identify the planes, then told the newbies whether they were right or whether they were wrong. After a while, the recruits also learned to distinguish German from British planes, though they could no more explain the how of it any better than their instructors.


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## R. M. Webb (Jul 24, 2014)

Lucian said:


> Thank you. This is very generous of you.


You are ever so welcome!



jnfr said:


> Thanks so much for sharing your numbers. I've added this thread to my bookmarks. It's very useful information.


Well that's kind of cool...I think I like having made a bookmark-able thread!



PaulineMRoss said:


> LOL! I think you're meant to at this time of year.  And thanks for keeping the numbers updated (holiday brain notwithstanding). Much appreciated.


Not a problem. Well, other than the fact that the numbers continue to be small and boring!  I tweaked my blurb today. Curious to see if there's a notable difference.



Walter Spence said:


> I've been there before. Experience has taught me to trust my instincts, that there is a part of us that 'knows without knowing'. David Eagleman, in his book _Incognito: the Secret Lives of the Brain_, provided several examples of this phenomenon.
> 
> Here's one: During WW II there were a few Englishmen who could distinguish the sound of a German plane from an English plane, which proved useful during German bombing runs. A program was instituted to allow these individuals to teach others how to ID German planes, but they couldn't explain to their students how they did it. Eventually what they did was to have the new recruits attempt to identify the planes, then told the newbies whether they were right or whether they were wrong. After a while, the recruits also learned to distinguish German from British planes, though they could no more explain the how of it any better than their instructors.


I've decided to listen to my gut. I had a pretty fantastic idea last night. It's gonna mean that I have to rewrite huge chunks of the beginning as well as the entire end of the book, slowing my already too slow production schedule down considerably. But, it's important to me to put out my best work. So, this is me, trusting my instincts and heading out to take apart the book.

Can't tell if I'm excited or sick to my stomach!


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## Walter Spence (Nov 22, 2014)

I've been there too. Kudos for listening to your integrity, as well as your intuition, and going the extra mile for your readers in order to provide them with the best product you feel capable of.


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## Mike Essex (Mar 9, 2014)

Love this post. Think this is the first time I've seen someone break down the results day by day per site. Thanks for putting the time in to this and I hope your book continues to perform well in future months.


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## going going gone (Jun 4, 2013)

thanks for this--really good data. Also, could you let us know if you saw any increase in mailing list sign-ups, webpage traffic, facebook likes, etc during the month (or in January--which would probably be as a result). Thanks!


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## R. M. Webb (Jul 24, 2014)

Walter Spence said:


> I've been there too. Kudos for listening to your integrity, as well as your intuition, and going the extra mile for your readers in order to provide them with the best product you feel capable of.


Thank you. I'm already feeling better about the book. I hate how much it's going to slow me down, but I'm trying to remember that it doesn't matter. We don't NEED me to make an income from my books, I just WANT to prove myself a worthy story teller. If I take longer to build traction, then so be it.



Mike Essex said:


> Love this post. Think this is the first time I've seen someone break down the results day by day per site. Thanks for putting the time in to this and I hope your book continues to perform well in future months.


Well thank you very much! I've learned so much here at Kboards, I truly felt like I needed to post this information in order to give back.



cadle-sparks said:


> thanks for this--really good data. Also, could you let us know if you saw any increase in mailing list sign-ups, webpage traffic, facebook likes, etc during the month (or in January--which would probably be as a result). Thanks!


I have definitely seen an increase in mailing list sign-ups. The first time I had a stranger on my list I may have shrieked a little. And danced. Ok, maybe not just the first time...maybe the next several times after that as well. I'm still waiting on a webpage. Ugh. I'm eager to have one, but my VERY busy fiance wants to build it for me...

I haven't had any new reviews show up. My delicate artist-ego withers a bit claiming that I haven't written anything worth sparking a response from my readers. My inner business woman tells the artist-ego to shut up and get back to work. "Not good enough?" Business woman asks. "Then write a better book."

The last two promo days are scheduled for today and tomorrow and I'll be honest with you, I'm eager to get this bad boy back up to full price and forget about it for awhile. Book two NEEDS my attention. I'm a bit jealous of all you speed-writing veterans out there. Maybe I'll get better with practice...? (Crosses fingers, crosses self, sacrifices a lamb. Not a real lamb! What kind of person do you think I am?)

My book is uploaded to Smashwords, Google, Kobo, iBooks, B&N...you name it, I think I'm there. I've also seen my book on a pirating site which culminated in an odd sense of pride, a shrug of my shoulders, and a strange frowny face. Whatcha gonna do? The kind of people who are going to pirate my book aren't the kind of people who are going to buy it.

I can't wait for my webpage to be built. I have all these BIG IDEAS. GRAND PLANS. HOPES AND DREAMS.

And now I'm off to make breakfast for the kiddos and then continue deconstructing and reconstructing book two.


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## Pauline Creeden (Aug 4, 2011)

Also, this kind of sale run works for sales of other books in your backlist, as well. So if you had that second book out already, the sale would have worked even better for you, right?


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## R. M. Webb (Jul 24, 2014)

Pauline Creeden said:


> Also, this kind of sale run works for sales of other books in your backlist, as well. So if you had that second book out already, the sale would have worked even better for you, right?


Exactly. I mentioned it somewhere (or did I just think about mentioning it? It's been a long week.) that I've decided to just let this book do what it's going to do until I have the next couple books out. I'll do a bit of light promotion once book two drops, and then some serious promotion once book three is out. I'll continue to submit it to blogs for reviews, but as far as promotion goes, I have the info I need and its time to seriously focus on finishing the series.


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## Guest (Jan 4, 2015)

First, thanks a lot for sharing this R. M. It's very helpful. We're starting on selling paid slots and this gives a very good idea of what sites are charging.

Secondly, you wrote this:

I get to feeling equal parts frustrated and hopeful. On one hand, I have to wonder if something just isn't clicking with my book and the readers it's been exposed to through this ad run. Thousands have seen my book. Two hundred have purchased it. 

You should be happy about the conversion ratio.

I calculated this last year: Most paid promo sites hvae conversion of 2 sales per 500 users on the list. That's 0.4%.

In plain English, for every 400 users that get shown a deal, only 2 buy it.

If you are getting 200 sales from thousands or even tens of thousands of people seeing your book, that's pretty good. Well above average.

*******

What the authors here are pointing out is very true. A lot of the benefits will accrure in coming months. And some portion (hopefully a high percentage) of the readers who bought your book will buy your other books.


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## R. M. Webb (Jul 24, 2014)

ireaderreview said:


> First, thanks a lot for sharing this R. M. It's very helpful. We're starting on selling paid slots and this gives a very good idea of what sites are charging.
> 
> Secondly, you wrote this:
> 
> ...


Thank you very much. In honesty, I'm very proud of my December sales. When I start thinking about all those people reading what I wrote, I get kind of giddy.


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