# My BookBub Anchored Promo Scheduled for 3/15 to 3/20.



## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

I applied to BookBub the day after my last run with them on 2/15, asking for any date after 3/18, as I wouldn't be eligible before then. Fallen Out was accepted for a discount promo on 3/19, thirty-two days after the last one. Time to get started again.

My last BookBub run with Fallen Out was a huge success, with over 2900 sales and a total across all four titles at the time of 11,500 books sold in August. I'm hoping to repeat that and will be lining up everything I can get my hands on.

ETA: Advertiser lineup. 

I've applied to the following advertisers for the March promo, which I'm starting a day earlier than I normally do. I think the algorithm covers more time than most agree. I set a budget of $1000 and right now, I'm at $799.95, so I have a little left. All times shown are approximate email times for the Eastern time zone. To recoup the cost of all this advertising, I'll need to sell 1,143 books more than my average days sales, or a total of 1,175 sales, over the four days of the Kindle Countdown Deal. I'm hoping that number will be reached by mid-afternoon on the day of the BookBub ad. If everything gets accepted, this will be as near to perfect that I think a stacked promo can get. That is, that it will create a more consistent rise in sales throughout the days of the run up to BookBub. Any mathematical algorithm will give better results if each hour's entry isn't swinging high and low. A perfectly sloping graph isn't achievable, so the best we can hope (read that as PLAN) for is to be close to that slope every hour.

Current Promo Lineup

Monday, 3/16
Kindle Countdown Deal starts in the US and UK. No ads. (confirmed)

Tuesday, 3/17
3 AM: EBook Bargains UK, $7.90 (confirmed)
11 AM: Awesome Gang, $10 (confirmed)
4 PM: KBoards Spotlight Blog, $50 (confirmed)

Wednesday, 3/18
7 AM: Fussy Librarian, $16 (confirmed)
8 AM: EBook Soda, $10 (confirmed)
Noon: Bargain Booksy, $50 (confirmed)
Noon: Good Kindles, $7.95 (confirmed)
Noon: Book Sends, $60 (confirmed)
1 PM: KBoards Spotlight Email, $0 (confirmed)
1 PM: Riffle, $40 (confirmed)
4 PM: OHFB, $100 (confirmed)

Thursday, 3/19
9 AM: BKnights, $21 (confirmed)
11 AM: BookBub, $430 (confirmed)

All the ads are now confirmed (3/3 PM).


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## GT59 (Jul 6, 2014)

Go, Wayne !  Long time lurker here.  Love your posts.  Thank you for so generously sharing what you know !  Very much appreciated.


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## stevenremington (Jun 17, 2014)

Hey, way to go!!! Nice job.


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## Rich Amooi (Feb 14, 2014)

Holy crap, this guy is on fire.   


That's pretty cool. Congrats.


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## LadyStarlight (Nov 14, 2014)

Do you just explain in the comments section about your flexibility and how the ad  can benefit them as well?  I've only applied once or twice but that's the only open-ended section that I remember.


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## J.T. Williams (Aug 7, 2014)

Sounds exciting! Good luck!


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## JustinSloan (Jan 12, 2015)

That's awesome! I hope to repeat your success someday!

By the way everyone, for an interview with Wayne - https://justinmsloan.wordpress.com/2015/01/29/vwaynestinnett/


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

LadyStarlight said:


> Do you just explain in the comments section about your flexibility and how the ad can benefit them as well? I've only applied once or twice but that's the only open-ended section that I remember.


I usually add a comment of some kind in the comment section. With this one, I mentioned something to the affect of how well it performed last August. This will be my 8th BookBub promo since my first one last April. The turned down my first application last March, due mostly to a poor cover photo.


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

Current Promo Lineup (Also added to the OP)

Monday, 3/16
Kindle Countdown Deal starts in the US and UK. No ads.

Tuesday, 3/17
3 AM: EBook Bargains UK, $7.90 (confirmed)
11 AM: Awesome Gang, $10 (confirmed)
4 PM: OHFB, $100 (confirmed)

Wednesday, 3/18
7 AM: Fussy Librarian, $16 (confirmed)
8 AM: EBook Soda, $10
Noon: Bargain Booksy, $50 (confirmed)
Noon: Good Kindles, $7.95 (confirmed)
Noon: Book Sends, $40
1 PM: Riffle, $25.50
3 PM: FK Books & Tips, $25
5 PM: ENT, $25

Thursday, 3/19
7 AM: Indie Book Bargains UK, $5 (probably won't get it, no reviews)
9 AM: BKnights, $20 (confirmed)
11 AM: BookBub, $430 (confirmed)

50% of the ads are already confirmed. I may add a few more to fill in some gaps. I'd like to find one more early morning US advertiser on 3/19.


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

Fallen Out just renewed in Select yesterday and I set up the Countdown Deals in the US and UK this morning. EBookSoda confirmed placement this morning. The only ads I'm waiting on now are Book Sends, Riffle, FK Books & Tips, ENT, and Indie Book Bargains UK. I'll be happy to get either FKB&T or ENT, but really need at least one of them. It's doubtful I'll get IBBUK, as they have review requirements and Fallen Out has zero reviews in the UK store, even though it's sold hundreds there in the nine months it's been out.


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## Lisa Blackwood (Feb 1, 2015)

Sounds like a great line up. And I so just copy and pasted that list into my promo files. lol Now if my newly released ebooks would only get enough reviews I could try of of the big sites. At least the review waiting game in great for one thing: writing the next book in the series.


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## cblewgolf (Jan 3, 2011)

You need an assistant, Wayne!


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## KL_Phelps (Nov 7, 2013)

You're a madman! And my hero!


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

cblewgolf said:


> You need an assistant, Wayne!


Don't I know it, Chris. Haven't had a chance to hit the range in two weeks.

Book Sends just confirmed, so that's ten out of fourteen. Now the waiting game begins, ENT and FKB&T usually take quite a few days, but I'm hoping since I gave them a month, I'll hear back soon.


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

Riffle just confirmed this afternoon and I updated the lineup in the OP. That leaves only FKB&T and ENT and then I can take this promo out of the oven to cool for a few weeks. Hoping to hear from both tomorrow.


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## timstevens (Jul 4, 2012)

Great lineup, Wayne - fingers crossed for you!

As it happens, I'm on BookBub with my thriller Ratcatcher the next day, March 20th. My lineup is far more modest - confirmed are:

3/18: The Fussy Librarian, FKB&T
3/19 BKnights
3/20: BookBub

Waiting for responses from SweetFreeBooks and ENT for 3/19.


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## Walter Spence (Nov 22, 2014)

Wayne, what will the discounted price be once everything goes live?

Eyes are swimming a bit here over all those different services. I've done Bookbub and The Fussy Librarian once each (made my money back on Bookbub, not so much on The Fussy Librarian). The others are more of a mystery to me, which means I now have homework to do.


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

timstevens said:


> Great lineup, Wayne - fingers crossed for you!
> 
> As it happens, I'm on BookBub with my thriller Ratcatcher the next day, March 20th. My lineup is far more modest - confirmed are:
> 
> ...


Best of luck, Tim. Even with just two before BookBub, you'll boost the historical side of the algo.



Walter Spence said:


> Wayne, what will the discounted price be once everything goes live?
> 
> Eyes are swimming a bit here over all those different services. I've done Bookbub and The Fussy Librarian once each (made my money back on Bookbub, not so much on The Fussy Librarian). The others are more of a mystery to me, which means I now have homework to do.


A single price drop from $2.99 to $.99 for four days. The lead up ads aren't designed to provide a full return on the investment. Even if one or two only sell a single book, that's one more than it would have been without them. The idea is to bump up the numbers before the big ad, to give the algorithm higher numbers to work off of and hopefully a much higher rank when BookBub takes over.


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## HN Wake (Feb 24, 2015)

Thanks a ton, Wayne!  

Also, I had a great showing on ReadCheaply (free).


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

Yes, but ReadCheaply emails their subscribers about the same time of day as BargainBooksy, GoodKindles, BookSends, and Riffle. That time slot is probably a little over loaded as is.


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

Today makes five days since I applied, still waiting to hear from both FKB&T and ENT. With either, or both, this should be a pretty good lineup. Total ad cost is now at $799.95, if both are accepted. I'll need only 1780 sales during the four day promo to break even and should be close to it, by the time BookBub comes out.


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## John Ellsworth (Jun 1, 2014)

Wayne Stinnett said:


> Today makes five days since I applied, still waiting to hear from both FKB&T and ENT. With either, or both, this should be a pretty good lineup. Total ad cost is now at $799.95, if both are accepted. I'll need only 1780 sales during the four day promo to break even and should be close to it, by the time BookBub comes out.


At $.70 I'm getting about 1250 for you on $799.95.


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

John Ellsworth said:


> At $.70 I'm getting about 1250 for you on $799.95.


The 1780 number includes the loss of revenue for normal sales at the normal price.

ENT had to say no. Although I made sure to schedule it outside their 90 day window since the last time they promoted it, I forgot about the promotion in December for the box set, which includes Fallen Out. The only one I haven't heard from is FKB&T. I've emailed OHFB and requested a date change to take ENT's place. Hopefully, I can have this locked down tomorrow.


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

FKB&T is out. OHFB graciously moved me from 3/17 to 3/18. I'm waiting to hear from Harvey if he has an opening on 3/17 for the Spotlight promo, which is later in the day. Still two weeks out, but I think this promo's gonna be my best yet. The last time Fallen Out was in BookBub was on 8/1 and it was AMAZING, reaching #14 in the Kindle Store. I really think this one has a shot at the top 10.


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

Harvey confirmed the KBoards Spotlight ad on 3/17 and I've updated the lineup in the OP. So now everything is all set to go. Still twelve days from the start of the promo and it was a jumble to set up the right ads to be emailed at specific times of day, but it's done now. Take note here, the further out you plan the promo, the more likely you are to get the ads you want on the specific days and times you want to have better success. I'm really hoping to crack the top 10 this time around.


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## Kee (Jun 3, 2013)

Based on your extensive experience, I just release a new mystery book. I have 3 in the series now. How would I get started on a marketing plan since I am actually late learning this. I did read your blog suggesting this tool. http://www.readersintheknow.com/list-of-book-promotion-sites


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## Mark Tyson (Sep 22, 2014)

Wayne Stinnett said:


> I applied to BookBub the day after my last run with them on 2/15, asking for any date after 3/18, as I wouldn't be eligible before then. Fallen Out was accepted for a discount promo on 3/19, thirty-two days after the last one. Time to get started again.
> 
> My last BookBub run with Fallen Out was a huge success, with over 2900 sales and a total across all four titles at the time of 11,500 books sold in August. I'm hoping to repeat that and will be lining up everything I can get my hands on.
> 
> ...


Sometimes it seems like Wayne snaps his fingers and Bookbub says yes sir, Mr. Stinnett how may we serve you!!!! LOL! Next time I apply I am going to say I know Wayne Stinnett! Now is my book what your readers want  HAHA J/K


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

Mark Tyson said:


> Sometimes it seems like Wayne snaps his fingers and Bookbub says yes sir, Mr. Stinnett how may we serve you!!!! LOL! Next time I apply I am going to say I know Wayne Stinnett! Now is my book what your readers want  HAHA J/K


You need to have Wayne apply for you.


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

Kee said:


> Based on your extensive experience, I just release a new mystery book. I have 3 in the series now. How would I get started on a marketing plan since I am actually late learning this. I did read your blog suggesting this tool. http://www.readersintheknow.com/list-of-book-promotion-sites


If you haven't already, I'd drop whatever I was doing and start a newsletter mailing list. As I said in email, this will grow to perform better than any advertiser outside of BookBub. Start small and try to keep your marketing budget inside your royalties every month. Readers in the Know has a very extensive tool for sorting advertisers by all kinds of criteria. Start there. Also read any of the promo threads on here, like this one, where you can pick out the less expensive ads. Just always remember, it's not a sprint. You'll win nothing moving fast and have a lot to lose. Set goals and devise a plan to achieve them. A marketing plan should be a part of that overall plan. But, more than anything else, get that mailing list started. Mine's not even a year old and has only about 700 subscribers. My last launch three weeks ago, using nothing but my mailing list, resulted in a top 500 debut rank in the Amazon Paid Kindle Store.



Mark Tyson said:


> Sometimes it seems like Wayne snaps his fingers and Bookbub says yes sir, Mr. Stinnett how may we serve you!!!! LOL! Next time I apply I am going to say I know Wayne Stinnett! Now is my book what your readers want  HAHA J/K


LMBO!!


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## Kee (Jun 3, 2013)

Wayne, I just noticed you to the countdowns, KU, etc... I have heard so many negatives yet you are in those promo's.  Do those sales out weigh the other pub avenues?


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

Kee said:


> Wayne, I just noticed you to the countdowns, KU, etc... I have heard so many negatives yet you are in those promo's. Do those sales out weigh the other pub avenues?


For me, yes. For now, yes. As a permanent thing for everyone? I can't speak to that and don't want to start another KU argument. There are hundreds on here to choose from. But, what it comes down to is this. Each of us has to weigh the pros and cons of KU, as well as every other facet of this business, for ourselves. What works for me, won't work for everyone. And what might work for others, might not fit my situation. For me, KU borrows are less than half my total book distribution and I've averaged 74 borrows per day in February and 93 in January, across all six titles. Well, only five titles in January and the first half of February. So yeah, it works for me.


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## Kee (Jun 3, 2013)

Thanks for the clarification. I notice you don't do weekend ads on your schedule, does that mean they preform poorly?


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

Kee said:


> Thanks for the clarification. I notice you don't do weekend ads on your schedule, does that mean they preform poorly?


Weekends or weekdays, it's all a matter of what day BookBub gives you.


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## 72117 (Sep 1, 2013)

Wow, Wayne! I can't wait to see how this does! Good luck!


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

This promo kicks off in 47 hours, at 9pm Eastern on Sunday. Over the last 30 days, Fallen Out has averaged around #7500, with a high near #3000 and a low of just below #14,000. Everything has been lined up and double confirmed for weeks now and should go off without a hitch. This is probably the best planned promo I've done, hopefully the results will reflect that. I'll post the starting rank Sunday night and again periodically throughout the promo.


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

New book or same old books?


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## mbroadway (Dec 2, 2010)

WOW Wayne! You've got your ducks in a row. I've never done a promo yet, but I didn't know you could specify times. Good luck!


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

Yes Michael,  but it helps to let Bookbub set the dates.


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## Silly Writer (Jul 15, 2013)

Good luck, Wayne. I'll be following to see how each service pans out.


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

cinisajoy said:


> New book or same old books?


Fallen Out, Cin.



mbroadway said:


> WOW Wayne! You've got your ducks in a row. I've never done a promo yet, but I didn't know you could specify times. Good luck!


You can't specify times. But, being observant, I noticed that advertiser's emails come to my inbox pretty much at the same time every day, so I started keeping track. Then I listed all the ones I subscribe to in the order they are posted in email. Setting this one up, I chose them based on time of day, reach, and past results. The reason being, any mathematical algorithm based on hourly sales data, will yield a higher final score if sales increase every hour, instead of big up and down swings throughout the day.


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

L.L. Akers said:


> Good luck, Wayne. I'll be following to see how each service pans out.


I won't be able to tell which does better or how much, since there are so many on the same day and when people open the emails will vary. But, I have noticed that my own email opening rate is extremely high the first hour and the vast majority of those early openers are on mobile devices. So, I'll be able to tell to a small degree how each performs.


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## ufwriter (Jan 12, 2015)

I'm so excited to follow along and see how this goes. Good luck, Wayne!


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## HN Wake (Feb 24, 2015)

Good luck, Wayne!


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## Silly Writer (Jul 15, 2013)

Wayne Stinnett said:


> I won't be able to tell which does better or how much, since there are so many on the same day and when people open the emails will vary. But, I have noticed that my own email opening rate is extremely high the first hour and the vast majority of those early openers are on mobile devices. So, I'll be able to tell to a small degree how each performs.


Have you found a 'best time' to send out the announcement to your mailing list?


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## Justawriter (Jul 24, 2012)

Hey Wayne,

No doubt too late for this run, but here's another site to try for your next promos. www.robinreads.com  Robin Reads is just $10 and I thought it was great. I only did a free promo, not .99, but the results on the free were so good, that the .99 is likely too.


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

L.L. Akers said:


> Have you found a 'best time' to send out the announcement to your mailing list?


Aside from the first two hours after sending it, which are predominantly mobile opens, I've always get a spike around 4-5 pm. So now, I always wait until about 4pm to send my newsletter out.


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## 25803 (Oct 24, 2010)

Hi Wayne,

Besides the advertising you're now doing before your BB ad, have you also tried advertising post BB to try to prolong the tail? Or is that not necessary?

I'm asking because I have my (very first) BB coming up on 4/3 (free first in series), and I've placed some advertising for beforehand, but wondered if I should plan anything for a week or so afterwards.

Thanks!


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## Silly Writer (Jul 15, 2013)

Wayne Stinnett said:


> Aside from the first two hours after sending it, which are predominantly mobile opens, I've always get a spike around 4-5 pm. So now, I always wait until about 4pm to send my newsletter out.


Thanks, Wayne...for being so helpful and always available to answer questions.


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

KathyCarmichael said:


> Hi Wayne,
> 
> Besides the advertising you're now doing before your BB ad, have you also tried advertising post BB to try to prolong the tail? Or is that not necessary?
> 
> ...


Kathy, it's been my contention that the length of the tail is a direct result of higher exposure. The higher you can get your book in ranking with the BookBub ad, the longer the tail will be. Sure, ads after BookBub will sell books, but in my opinion that ad money is better spent before BookBub to kick in the historical part of the algorithm and gain a higher rank with BookBub. I'm pretty sure this promo lineup will garner a top 20 spot in Paid Kindle. I'm really hoping for a top 10 and if it ranks in the top 500 the morning of the BookBub ad, that should be attainable.


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## 25803 (Oct 24, 2010)

Wayne Stinnett said:


> Kathy, it's been my contention that the length of the tail is a direct result of higher exposure.


Thank you so much, Wayne. I truly appreciate your willingness to share with us. It truly helps!

Thank you!


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

I have about 40 minutes until the Kindle Countdown Deal starts at 9pm EDT in both the US and UK. Over the past week, Fallen Out has been ranking anywhere from #8K to #10K for a daily high and #12K to #14K for a low in the US store, currently at #10,125. In the UK store, it's currently ranked at #120,442. 

I don't expect much movement until morning, with the five hour lag. In fact it will probably drop in rank to the 12Ks and 130Ks over night in the US and UK stores, respectively. Movement upward will probably start around noon tomorrow, when it will move up to the 8Ks.

The only advertising I have scheduled for tomorrow is the Countdown Deal and at 5pm, an email to my mailing list. I imagine some of my subscribers may have missed it and in the email I've asked them to forward it to their friends. My subscribers are AWESOME! My affiliate sales report on Tuesday will likely show 40-50 sales from tomorrow's email.

The first ad, eBookBargainsUK, will be Tuesday morning at 3am EDT, or 8am in the UK. After that will be AwesomeGang at about 11am and the KBoards blog post at 4pm. These few ads, coupled with the CD itself, will initiate the historical sales data for the algorithm, giving more weight to Wednesday's ads, which will give more weight to the BookBub ad on Thursday. Altogether, I've spent $794.95 on this lineup, more than any other promo before.


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## Rich Amooi (Feb 14, 2014)

Looking forward to watching this, Wayne.   


What percentage of the tail do you think is attributed to readers opening up the Bookbub email after the deal has expired, but then still buying the book even though it is back at the regular price?


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

Rich Amooi said:


> Looking forward to watching this, Wayne.
> 
> What percentage of the tail do you think is attributed to readers opening up the Bookbub email after the deal has expired, but then still buying the book even though it is back at the regular price?


Good question. I'd think it'd be very low. I'm expecting 1200-1500 sales on Thursday, maybe a few will open it two days after the ad or later and buy it anyway. Certainly less than 10% of those day's sales. It'll be discounted the following day, as well.

As is always the case, the first casualty of any battle is the battle plan. The Countdown Deal started right on time in the US, but not in the UK. Daylight Savings Time doesn't start in the UK for two more weeks, I calculated the usual five hour time difference, but for these two weeks it's four hours. The UK CD should start in about forty-five minutes.


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## Eskimo (Dec 31, 2013)

Wayne if you ever get tired of writing, I believe you have a future in Data Analytics!


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## susan_illene (Aug 10, 2014)

I'll be excited to see how this latest promo schedule goes for you, Wayne.  It's because of you I did my first 99 cent sale back in August and now I'm doing my second in a couple weeks (both times for the first book in my series, Darkness Haunts).  Bookbub gave me April 1st so I'm hoping April Fool's Day doesn't skew anything, lol.  Like you, I'm also going with a four day schedule and stacking most of my ads in the two days leading up to Bookbub.  I haven't watched the timing on when the mailing lists go out as closely, though.  You're much more attention-detailed than I am in that regard.

Wishing you the best of luck in hitting that top ten!  Since my book is fantasy/paranormal and has a much lower subscriber base with the advertisers, I'm just hoping to hit the top #200 on Amazon.  Last time I made #124, but not sure if I can pull it off again.  That's partly why I'll be watching your campaign closely is in hopes I can see if there's anything I can do better this time around.  As others have said, thanks so much for sharing your results.  It's really helpful to all of us authors.


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## Amy Corwin (Jan 3, 2011)

Thank you so much for explaining your strategy. I had tried to get BookBub ads in the past but failed. Reading your thread has made me think once more about revising a marketing strategy and trying BookBub again. I may never be successful with them, but at least you've given me some new/good ideas.

Thanks!


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

Sales are slowly picking up, nearly equal to yesterday's and already at the weekly average. Overnight, Fallen Hunter dropped to #13,771 in the US and 140,257 in the UK, pretty much as expected. It's up slightly in the US, which reflects sales from early this morning. Ranking should continue to slowly climb throughout the day. 

Susan, by planning the ads based on email times, you don't wind up with a whole bunch of ads around noon and nothing in the morning and evening. That up and down sales movement doesn't just affect that part of the day, it continues to affect rank throughout the life of the algorithm. We don't know how long that is, but it's at least 48 hours. So each hour those low sales hours count for less and less, same as the high sales hour. In any mathematical equation (and that's all Amazon's algorithm is), a higher result will be achieved with steady increases, over rising and falling numbers. While it's not possible to achieve a perfectly steady increase in sales, the closer we can get to it, the better the results will be.


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## susan_illene (Aug 10, 2014)

I agree you're onto something there, Wayne.  Great insight!


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## Julz (Oct 30, 2014)

Good luck, Wayne!! Your promo threads are always an incredible ride


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

Sorry, can't help you as I own all your books.


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## ufwriter (Jan 12, 2015)

How are things going, Wayne?


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

CadyVance said:


> How are things going, Wayne?


Pretty much as expected, Cady. Thanks.

The first day of the Countdown Deal did fairly well, with 57 sales, almost 50 above average. More than enough for a higher revenue than average. Borrows were about normal at 8. This morning, Fallen Out is ranked #3512 in the US and 54,615 in the UK, with two sales there.

The first ad was supposed to be eBookBargainsUK at 4am EDT, but I haven't received it yet. Not sure what's going on there. The next ad, the first in the US, will be AwesomeGang at about 11am, followed by the KBoards blog post at 1600.

I expect sales today to be around 100. While these numbers, in and of themselves, are nothing stellar, they're exactly as planned. A slow ramp up to tomorrow's more aggressive ad campaign, then BookBub on Thursday.


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

Don't discount your mailing list. I just had a pleasant surprise when I checked my affiliate page. Ten of yesterday's Fallen Out sales were from my affiliate links. I sent an email out yesterday and included a mention that it was on sale, if anyone missed it. I've noticed a few reviews that indicate not everyone understands that it's a prequel to Books 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. 

My first of the month email is mostly about progress on my WIP, but a lot of my subscribers asked if I could do it twice a month, because of the "What I'm Reading" sidebar. They like my book suggestions. So, I included mention of the promo as an afterthought. Ten either did miss it, or forwarded the email to friends.

The first juice in the promo is coming up any minute. Sales for today are at 11, right now. Those will be reflected with the 4pm rank update. The 5pm rank should reflect the first sales generated by AwesomeGang. Vinny has a lot of mobile subscribers, so sales should jump quickly, right after the email hits.


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## Vinny OHare (May 3, 2013)

Wayne would you like an extra social media blast just before your 4pm rank update.  

As for your email I would like to get it more than twice a month. Should be weekly in my opinion.


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

Vinny OHare said:


> Wayne would you like an extra social media blast just before your 4pm rank update.
> 
> As for your email I would like to get it more than twice a month. Should be weekly in my opinion.


Thanks, Vinny. Maybe I'll do something weekly, maybe a recently written scene or quote. Thanks also for the top billing in the email. No, I really don't want anymore advertising. NOT! Absolutely, blast away, man. Question for you. Did you not set your clock forward? Your emails have always been 1100-1130.

As, expected, sales have picked up since the AwesomeGang ad at 12:05. Ten more in the last twenty minutes. Current rank is #3789. The rank jump from AwesomeGang should be at about the 5-6pm update and I'm guessing near #2000. The rank in the UK is now at #37,246 with one more sale there.


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## Vinny OHare (May 3, 2013)

Wayne I think you need to include a spoiler alert section in your emails so people are warned not to read further when it comes to a recently written scene. Some readers "Like me" may only be on book 3 and finding out something just written may change my reading habits for the series going forward. It is a fine line to walk. 

As for the timing of the emails I am guessing Aweber didn't change their clocks. I will go in and adjust accordingly. I like the 11-1130 est time slot as it gets the west coast as they wake up and the East coast crowd just before lunch.


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## MTM (Aug 9, 2011)

Watching with interest, Wayne. One of my books will be with Vinny tomorrow. Hoping for good results. All the best to you and your promo. Your great success has inpsired so many of us here.


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## Vinny OHare (May 3, 2013)

Wayne because today is an Irish Holiday and I am Irish I decided to give you a little bonus for being a frequent user to my sites.

I have put Fallen Out across Pretty-hot.com http://pretty-hot.com/fallen-out/
Bookreadermagazine.com http://bookreadermagazine.com/fallen-out/
and Discountbookman.com http://discountbookman.com/fallen-out/


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

Vinny OHare said:


> Wayne because today is an Irish Holiday and I am Irish I decided to give you a little bonus for being a frequent user to my sites.
> 
> I have put Fallen Out across Pretty-hot.com http://pretty-hot.com/fallen-out/
> Bookreadermagazine.com http://bookreadermagazine.com/fallen-out/
> and Discountbookman.com http://discountbookman.com/fallen-out/


Thanks, Vinny. I didn't know Irish folks celebrated my and my wife's wedding anniversary.

 Makes it easy to remember.


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

Happy Anniversary.


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## 25803 (Oct 24, 2010)

Happy Anniversary, Wayne! It's my son and d-i-l's anniversary, too  I'm hoping your efforts far exceed your expectations on this promo, Wayne!

How kind of you, Vinny!


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## ufwriter (Jan 12, 2015)

It's looking good, Wayne!


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## Vinny OHare (May 3, 2013)

MTM Which one of your books is being featured on our site tomorrow. Would love to set up some extra social.


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## MTM (Aug 9, 2011)

Vinny OHare said:


> MTM Which one of your books is being featured on our site tomorrow. Would love to set up some extra social.


Vinny, THE THREE KITTIES THAT SAVED MY LIFE. Yes, that would be grand. Thanks! And way to go, Wayne!


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## Megan D (Feb 3, 2015)

Wayne Stinnett said:


> The first ad was supposed to be eBookBargainsUK at 4am EDT, but I haven't received it yet. Not sure what's going on there.


Sadly, I have found them to be quite unreliable, and have had to request refunds twice now for adverts that did not go out. I wish there was a reliable UK advertiser, and I would be interested (if you don't mind sharing) how your UK promo goes with BB - although it's a moot point as the don't seem interested in my book


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

Megan D said:


> Sadly, I have found them to be quite unreliable, and have had to request refunds twice now for adverts that did not go out. I wish there was a reliable UK advertiser, and I would be interested (if you don't mind sharing) how your UK promo goes with BB - although it's a moot point as the don't seem interested in my book


I emailed him and got a response pretty quickly. Their server has crashed and they've not been able to send emails out in a few days. I've only used them one other time on a free promo and they moved 44 books in the UK. I'd hoped to get a couple of extra sales today. The Countdown Deal alone in the UK has garnered 2 sales yesterday and two so far today. Tomorrow, I have eBookSoda and they're always good for a few sales in the UK. I should get up near ten there tomorrow, before BB on Thursday. Did you submit your healthy cooking book?

As of right now, Fallen Out has twenty-five sales and eight borrows today, ranking #3979 in the US store and #20,951 in the UK. The next update should show the swing upward from sales through AwesomeGang and then a steady climb until another sharp tick upward about 9 or 10pm tonight with sales from KBoards blog post carrying it through the night.

Tomorrow's gonna be fun to watch. Check the lineup in the OP.


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## marla_m (Jul 6, 2011)

What do you mean by an "Anchored" promo?
Marla


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

marla_m said:


> What do you mean by an "Anchored" promo?
> Marla


Use one of the bigger advertisers as the anchor in your promo, like BookBub, ENT, FKB&T or OHFB. Then place ads the day or two before that big ad, to boost the books rank before the big ad comes out. This kicks in the historical part of Amazon's algorithm, giving more weight to ranking produced by the big ad. Like a booster on a rocket, before the main engine kicks in.


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## Megan D (Feb 3, 2015)

Hi Wayne, yes I regularly submit half a dozen of my titles to BB but never with any success.  I don't just take it on the chin, I've closely studied the books that they do accept and critically reviewed my own titles against them. As a result, I've reworked my covers and changed my blurb etc. The upside is that I can honestly say that my titles are now better presented and this reflects in my ranking in my categories (often in top 10 and for one title, consistently in 1-3 slot) but it's made nada difference to BB. I'm a real stubborn old bird though, and I'm not any where near to giving up trying yet 

I love reading your threads, thank you for taking the item to respond to me. One thing I would like to ask you, I completely understand your rationale to stacking acitivity to achieve a consistent velocity of your entire promo period, but I wonder how much duplication there is in the mailing lists of the various advertisers. Do you think you get a decreasing ROI the further into your stacked promo you get other than obviously for the great BB?


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## Julz (Oct 30, 2014)

You were right at the top of the awesomegang newsletter. I'm sure that will count for a bunch of sales


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

Megan D said:


> Hi Wayne, yes I regularly submit half a dozen of my titles to BB but never with any success. I don't just take it on the chin, I've closely studied the books that they do accept and critically reviewed my own titles against them. As a result, I've reworked my covers and changed my blurb etc. The upside is that I can honestly say that my titles are now better presented and this reflects in my ranking in my categories (often in top 10 and for one title, consistently in 1-3 slot) but it's made nada difference to BB. I'm a real stubborn old bird though, and I'm not any where near to giving up trying yet
> 
> I love reading your threads, thank you for taking the item to respond to me. One thing I would like to ask you, I completely understand your rationale to stacking acitivity to achieve a consistent velocity of your entire promo period, but I wonder how much duplication there is in the mailing lists of the various advertisers. Do you think you get a decreasing ROI the further into your stacked promo you get other than obviously for the great BB?


Absolutely, but it's a double edged blade. They psychology of marketing plays into it in the opposite way. People have a natural tendency to purchase things they're familiar with. Nobody runs out to buy Ajax after seeing an ad, but when they're in the detergent aisle, that "Stronger Than Dirt" jingle stimulates the sub-conscious mind and they reach for Ajax.

The same is true with book advertisers. True, some will get the BookBub ad on Thursday and will have already bought my book after seeing it in OHFB or one of the other ads coming out tomorrow. But, for each one of those, there's another that didn't buy it in one of the other ads and sees it in BookBub and their subconscious says, "Hey, I know that writer. That's a familiar product right there."

PM me your healthy cooking title. My wife's a big nutritionist and has managed to get my weight back under 200 for the first time since I was in the Corps.


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

My book was posted on the KBoards blog earlier than I'd figured at 1200. So both the AwesomeGang and KBoards ads ran about the same time. Sales for the day are now at 41 and the ranking is at #3586 in the US and #28,429 in the UK with three sales there. So that's an increase of 203 spots.

It should end the day with quite a few more sales than yesterday's 57, probably around 65-70. It'll slip some through the night, maybe to #4000. Then tomorrow, I have ads at 7:30 and 8:30, then five from noon to 1 and OHFB at 4. That should get me inside the top 2000 easily, probably closer to #1000.


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## Amanda M. Lee (Jun 3, 2014)

Since all your profits from this book go to charity, how many sales on the sequels do you need to real even? That's a great thing you're doing, by the way.


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

YodaRead said:


> Since all your profits from this book go to charity, how many sales on the sequels do you need to real even? That's a great thing you're doing, by the way.


If that were the case, thanks. That part in the KBoards ad was in reference to the Veterans Day promo last November in which a bunch of us on here donated quite a few thousand bucks to each of our charities. However, since it was posted, I'm going to assume that AwesomeGang and KBoards did about equal and increase this months donation to Homes for Warriors by $100. Actually, it won't amount to anywhere near that at $.99, but I'm already donating about 50% more this month than sales from January show anyway. The Warrior's family that's moving into their new home in eleven days, will have a surprise. I found out through the coconut telegraph that some of their living room furniture was ruined when the storage unit holding their furniture had a roof leak. On the 27th, I'm loading up a brand new sofa recliner and loveseat recliner and heading south.


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## Amanda M. Lee (Jun 3, 2014)

Wayne Stinnett said:


> If that were the case, thanks. That part in the KBoards ad was in reference to the Veterans Day promo last November in which a bunch of us on here donated quite a few thousand bucks to each of our charities. However, since it was posted, I'm going to assume that AwesomeGang and KBoards did about equal and increase this months donation to Homes for Warriors by $100. Actually, it won't amount to anywhere near that at $.99, but I'm already donating about 50% more this month than sales from January show anyway. The Warrior's family that's moving into their new home in eleven days, will have a surprise. I found out through the coconut telegraph that some of their living room furniture was ruined when the storage unit holding their furniture had a roof leak. On the 27th, I'm loading up a brand new sofa recliner and loveseat recliner and heading south.


Oh, sorry, the book description on Smazon says that 100 percent of the book's royalties are going to charity. I thought that was the case.


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

YodaRead said:


> Oh, sorry, the book description on Smazon says that 100 percent of the book's royalties are going to charity. I thought that was the case.


Yes, "as part of the Veterans Day "Gone, but Not Forgotten!" charity drive." I thought I'd removed that on 11/12, but apparently not. I KNOW I removed it a week ago when I saw it again prepping everything for the promo, but it's somehow found it's way back. Looks like I'll have to do it again and fire off another email to support to make sure it stays gone.


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

A handful of sales last night brought yesterday up to nearly equal Monday. The first of today's ads just came out, Fussy Librarian. Sales for the day are only at 2. Again, keep in mind, a Countdown Deal has very good sales numbers all by itself on the first day, which is why I had no advertising on Monday. After that, it needs help. 

Rank is currently #3357 in the US and #19,854 in the UK. I expect sales to pick up quickly with the first ad of the day out. The next one is eBookSoda in about an hour.


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## ufwriter (Jan 12, 2015)

I have a feeling today's numbers are going to be exciting. Good luck, Wayne!


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## PearlEarringLady (Feb 28, 2014)

Wayne Stinnett said:


> Again, keep in mind, a Countdown Deal has very good sales numbers all by itself on the first day, which is why I had no advertising on Monday. After that, it needs help.


For you, maybe, Wayne. I had precisely 1 sale on the first day of my Countdown, with no promo running.  My next Countdown will have several ads on day 1.


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## timstevens (Jul 4, 2012)

Hey, Wayne, I just saw Fallen Out above my own book, Ratcatcher, in the Fussy Librarian email. Fingers crossed for you!


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## 25803 (Oct 24, 2010)

I'll bet today is awesome for you, Wayne! It's going to be fun to watch


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

Is my ad crashing servers? First eBookBargainsUK yesterday and today, eBookSoda. It usually comes out about 0830, but still no sign of their email. Fourteen sales and seven borrows so far today, mostly from Fussy Librarian. Over the next hour or so, emails from BargainBooksy, GoodKindles, KBoards, BookSends, and Riffle will hit inboxes. By this evening, sales for today should be about equal to the previous two days combined with a spike in rank at about 6pm.

Rank is still holding in the mid-4Ks in the US and low 20Ks in the UK. Here's another reason why ads ahead of BookBub work so well. If BB is the only ad or the first, people see the book in the BB ad, click on it and check the rank. If there haven't been a good many sales in the previous days, the rank's going to be low. Keep in mind the five hour lag. Sales from BB start almost instantaneously, but the rank won't be affected until five hours later. Remember, Fallen Out was in the 14Ks before the start of this promo. Tomorrow, when the BB ad comes out, people will see it in the 2Ks or 1Ks and are much more likely to buy. Take a look at the other book's rank in the BB ad tomorrow.


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## I&#039;m a Little Teapot (Apr 10, 2014)

My ebooksoda email arrived at about 6:30 PST, but I didn't see you on it. Possibly I don't get that genre.

Good luck, though!


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## timstevens (Jul 4, 2012)

I got the eBookSoda mail at 1.30 pm here in the UK, which I think is 5.30 PST, and yes, Fallen Out is in there.


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## John Ellsworth (Jun 1, 2014)

Wayne, congratulations on the grreat promo. You have an incredible sense of timing and distribution in optimizing these promos. All I've learned from you is gold.

I have a BB freebie on the 23. So far I have Freebooksy for a pre-BB, I think the day before. Are there others I might want to run that you can think of off the top of your head?

BTW, where can the rest of us contribute to the soldier with the leaky roof if we want to. That's heartbreaking.


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## H. S. St. Ours (Mar 24, 2012)

Thanks for sharing, Wayne. Fascinating to follow your process.


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## G. (Aug 21, 2014)

Another congratulations, Wayne. I too have learned much from you about timing the promos. In time, I'll be able to better apply what you've shared.


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

SevenDays said:


> My ebooksoda email arrived at about 6:30 PST, but I didn't see you on it. Possibly I don't get that genre.
> 
> Good luck, though!





timstevens said:


> I got the eBookSoda mail at 1.30 pm here in the UK, which I think is 5.30 PST, and yes, Fallen Out is in there.


Thanks, y'all. We're already on DST here in the states, Tim. So, it's only 7 hours difference between GMT and PDT, until y'all switch over on the 29th. Glad it went out at least, wonder why I didn't get it.

Sales are soaring this afternoon, already at 139 for the day. Next time, I'll move a couple of these ads to the second day of the Countdown Deal. The first day was 57 sales and 47 yesterday, so there's a bit of a zig, instead of the straight line I was looking for. The next rank update should reflect the early sales from the noon ads. Right now, Fallen Out is ranked #4722 in the US and #23,308 in the UK. I'd estimate near #3000 and #18,000 with the next update. Should be any minute.


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

Your OHFB showed up.


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## cherrylane (May 10, 2014)

I never thought about checking newsletters time. Your mental organization is fascinating.
Thanks for sharing!


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

John Ellsworth said:


> Wayne, congratulations on the grreat promo. You have an incredible sense of timing and distribution in optimizing these promos. All I've learned from you is gold.
> 
> I have a BB freebie on the 23. So far I have Freebooksy for a pre-BB, I think the day before. Are there others I might want to run that you can think of off the top of your head?
> 
> BTW, where can the rest of us contribute to the soldier with the leaky roof if we want to. That's heartbreaking.


That's very generous of you, John. The Homes for Warriors Project is administered by the City of Palm Bay, FL and the work and materials are provided through Space Coast Paratroopers Association. They do take donations on their website, but there's nowhere on the donation page to make a note what you want it to go to. It's a small, local Veterans charity and they're still working on their website. What I do is, right after making my online donation, I send an email telling them the amount and what I want it to go to. Usually, that's just the H4W general remodeling fund, but if you want it to go specifically to help Specialist Taylor and his family furnish their new home, just email that and I guarantee that's exactly what it will go to. Every penny. SCPA has zero overhead dollars, the president is a life-long friend and retired Army SFC. Nearly all labor is volunteer, with the exception of occasional professions that aren't donated. Many of the volunteers are the Wounded Warriors themselves. I know, I've worked alongside them. Again, thanks. And Betsy, if it's not okay to post this, let me know and I'll delete it.
ETA: Forgot their website. http://spacecoastparatroopers.com/

The latest rank update was very close to my expectation. Fallen Out's sales in the noon to 1pm hour were reflected in the last rank update, with Fallen Out at #3065 in the US and #18,447 in the UK. The next update should get it into the low 2Ks and around 16K in the UK.

This is what I mean by a zig in the line. Ideally, the algorithm will give better ranking results if the climb in sales is a straight line to the BookBub peak. Here, I've got this slight downward tick from yesterday. This little hickup might not affect the final rank late tomorrow night by a whole lot, but it will affect it.


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

John Ellsworth said:


> I have a BB freebie on the 23. So far I have Freebooksy for a pre-BB, I think the day before. Are there others I might want to run that you can think of off the top of your head?


The only big free promo I've done was last December and used pretty much the same lineup as in this one.



cinisajoy said:


> Your OHFB showed up.


Thanks, Cin. That's another one I didn't get. Did anyone get GoodKindles for action/adventure today? It's weird I'm not getting all the ones I subscribe to today.


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## I&#039;m a Little Teapot (Apr 10, 2014)

Wayne Stinnett said:


> Thanks, Cin. That's another one I didn't get. Did anyone get GoodKindles for action/adventure today? It's weird I'm not getting all the ones I subscribe to today.


OHFB comes out at about 4:05 PST.


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

SevenDays said:


> OHFB comes out at about 4:05 PST.


 We get ours on the east coast at about the same time. They must send their email to each time zone at 4pm. That's good to know. Not everyone does that.


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

I meant on the blog not the email.


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

Woo Hoo!! #2108 at the 6:30 update. Sales have been pretty steady every hour since noon, about 20-25 per hour. This is the historical algorithm at work. Consistent steady sales, but an ever increasing rank, as each previous hour's sales total counts for less and less, but is replaced at the lead with the same number of sales. My highest rank in a promo before the BookBub affect was in the 800s. The next update should be in the 1300-1500 range and by late tonight, when the OHFB results start to show up, I'm betting it'll reach the 600s. Probably drop back to the 800s overnight.



cinisajoy said:


> I meant on the blog not the email.


Ah, checking my notes again, the email comes out about 7pm EDT, in line with what SevenDays mentioned. So the email goes out to all time zones at once.


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

I just posted when I saw it on the blog since some readers faithfully check the blog in the morning,  around 3 Eastern and again around 7 Eastern.


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## ufwriter (Jan 12, 2015)

Just got the OHFB email. You've got top billing.


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## John Ellsworth (Jun 1, 2014)

Wayne Stinnett said:


> That's very generous of you, John. The Homes for Warriors Project is administered by the City of Palm Bay, FL and the work and materials are provided through Space Coast Paratroopers Association. They do take donations on their website, but there's nowhere on the donation page to make a note what you want it to go to. It's a small, local Veterans charity and they're still working on their website. What I do is, right after making my online donation, I send an email telling them the amount and what I want it to go to. Usually, that's just the H4W general remodeling fund, but if you want it to go specifically to help Specialist Taylor and his family furnish their new home, just email that and I guarantee that's exactly what it will go to. Every penny. SCPA has zero overhead dollars, the president is a life-long friend and retired Army SFC. Nearly all labor is volunteer, with the exception of occasional professions that aren't donated. Many of the volunteers are the Wounded Warriors themselves. I know, I've worked alongside them. Again, thanks. And Betsy, if it's not okay to post this, let me know and I'll delete it.
> ETA: Forgot their website. http://spacecoastparatroopers.com/
> 
> The latest rank update was very close to my expectation. Fallen Out's sales in the noon to 1pm hour were reflected in the last rank update, with Fallen Out at #3065 in the US and #18,447 in the UK. The next update should get it into the low 2Ks and around 16K in the UK.
> ...


I think I left a small donation there. The website feedback was very noncommital after I clicked the DONATE button.


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

CadyVance said:


> Just got the OHFB email. You've got top billing.


Thanks, Cady. I never got it after all.



John Ellsworth said:


> I think I left a small donation there. The website feedback was very noncommital after I clicked the DONATE button.


Yeah, their site's kinda wonky. They're working on a new interface, where a note section will be added.


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

Sales for the day just went over 200, but little activity in the UK. BookBub will fix that tomorrow, but at least I got the rank up slightly there. Fallen Out is now #1145 in the US and 23,575 in the UK. The 1am and 2am rank updates will reflect OHFB sales, which I'm looking forward to seeing. Oh, and Cady, the top billing was a lock, I paid the extra $25 for the gold plan, which guarantees the top slot.


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

I never did get the GoodKindles email either. Does anyone subscribe to them for action/adventure?


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## Vinny OHare (May 3, 2013)

You know Wayne It seems to me you are looking for more UK sales. I can always throw a targeted ad from Facebook there.


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

Vinny OHare said:


> You know Wayne It seems to me you are looking for more UK sales. I can always throw a targeted ad from Facebook there.


Thanks, Vinny. They'll come today, though. The hard part is that Fallen Out only has one review in the UK.

Sales continued after I went to bed, for a total of 229 yesterday and a rank of #716 this morning. This is good. This is higher than the rank of Fallen Out before the last BookBub in August. Exposure at the top of a number of browse categories will create a few sales this morning, before the BKnights at at 0930, then BookBub at 1130. A top 20 isn't out of the question now, but I'm still holding out hope for a top 10 finish.


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## KReadnour (Jul 8, 2014)

Sales continued after I went to bed, for a total of 229 yesterday and a rank of #716 this morning. This is good. This is higher than the rank of Fallen Out before the last BookBub in August. Exposure at the top of a number of browse categories will create a few sales this morning, before the BKnights at at 0930, then BookBub at 1130. A top 20 isn't out of the question now, but I'm still holding out hope for a top 10 finish.
[/quote]

This is so fun to watch! Thanks for sharing. I'm hoping you get into the top 10, too. You're at #668 at 8:16 am central time! 

I've picked up a copy. It's not my typical genre, but perhaps my son would also enjoy it! Good luck!


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

KReadnour said:


> I've picked up a copy. It's not my typical genre, but perhaps my son would also enjoy it! Good luck!


Don't judge a book by its cover.  I like to think my books have enough balance of several things that appeal to a wide audience. Actually, my demographics are more than 50% women and of those, almost 40% are women in their thirties.


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## KReadnour (Jul 8, 2014)

Wayne Stinnett said:


> Don't judge a book by its cover.  I like to think my books have enough balance of several things that appeal to a wide audience. Actually, my demographics are more than 50% women and of those, almost 40% are women in their thirties.


Lol! I am looking forward to reading it. I think it's good to step away from your typical genre once in awhile. And oh how I wish I was still in my thirties!!


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

@Kreadmore,
Cool name and I didn't think Wayne was for me either.  Thanks to a friend,  I took a chance.    Now he gets all my spare change.


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

Yesterday's sales numbers have been updated since I posted at 0700. Yesterday now stands at 307, that's 78 more than my graph showed four hours ago.

BookBub will likely come out in the next hour. Current sales for today from BKnights is 25 and the ranking is exactly #700 in the US and #41,515 in the UK. The first really big rank swing should occur with either the 5 or 6pm update and should jump into the low 500s. Every update after that will likely be an increase of 100 spots until it peaks late tonight about 2 or 3am.


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## JackVolante (Oct 25, 2013)

I've just read the whole five pages of this incredibly fascinating thread. Thanks for sharing this amazing journey Wayne.

I'm guessing the 'big bomb' that is the BookBub promo goes off anytime now?

Good luck!


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

JackVolante said:


> I've just read the whole five pages of this incredibly fascinating thread. Thanks for sharing this amazing journey Wayne.
> 
> I'm guessing the 'big bomb' that is the BookBub promo goes off anytime now?
> 
> Good luck!


It just this moment hit my inbox, with the subject heading, "Wayne Stinnett has a New Deal". I think that's probably on account of the fact that I did their rating email earlier in the week.

Anyway, sales for the day at the moment BookBub came out was at 38 with a ranking of 718. To get an idea how quickly BookBub moves books, I'm going to refresh my graph. It's been about two minutes since BB came out and sales are now at 45. The sales rate will go up really quickly here in the first hour as people open the email on their mobile devices.


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

One hour after BookBub and sales are at 179. That's an increase of 141 sales in one hour or one sale every 27 seconds. The cost of all the ads was $795. Factoring in lost revenue from the lower price and I'll need to move 1175 books to break even. Currently at a 4 day total of about 500. At two sales per minute, I'll break even about 5 or 6pm, with nine hours of pure profit after that.

The target for today is 852 sales to break even. The graph must have hung up for a bit, just went over 330.


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

Wayne Stinnett said:


> It just this moment hit my inbox, with the subject heading, "Wayne Stinnett has a New Deal". I think that's probably on account of the fact that I did their rating email earlier in the week.
> 
> Anyway, sales for the day at the moment BookBub came out was at 38 with a ranking of 718. To get an idea how quickly BookBub moves books, I'm going to refresh my graph. It's been about two minutes since BB came out and sales are now at 45. The sales rate will go up really quickly here in the first hour as people open the email on their mobile devices.


Wayne,
You don't have to be on a mobile device to buy your book. I could click on the link from my laptop and amazon will send the book to the device of my choosing.


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## John Ellsworth (Jun 1, 2014)

Just got my BB for Fallen Out - top billing!

Just bought Fallen Out too. Might as well see what everyone's raving about.


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

cinisajoy said:


> Wayne,
> You don't have to be on a mobile device to buy your book. I could click on the link from my laptop and amazon will send the book to the device of my choosing.


Yes, but at this time of day, analytics show that most purchases from BookBub are done on a cellphone, rather than a home PC or Kindle. Then it's synched to the other devices.



John Ellsworth said:


> Just got my BB for Fallen Out - top billing!
> 
> Just bought Fallen Out too. Might as well see what everyone's raving about.


Thanks, John. You're in the mid-west, right?


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

Wayne Stinnett said:


> Yes, but at this time of day, analytics show that most purchases from BookBub are done on a cellphone, rather than a home PC or Kindle. Then it's synched to the other devices.
> 
> Thanks, John. You're in the mid-west, right?


I would have figured work computers or an I something or other or an Android.


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

John Ellsworth said:


> Just got my BB for Fallen Out - top billing!
> 
> Just bought Fallen Out too. Might as well see what everyone's raving about.


John,
Your recliner awaits you for when you spend all your spare change on Wayne's books. They are like potato chips. You can't read just one. 
Speaking of which, Wayne I need more potato chips (books).


----------



## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

cinisajoy said:


> I would have figured work computers or an I something or other or an Android.


I lump all iSomethings, Androids, cellphones, and such into mobile devices. The vast majority of working people don't have a computer at their work. Think warehouse workers, industrial plants, construction.... Even those who work in offices usually check their private email on their cellphone.


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## John Ellsworth (Jun 1, 2014)

cinisajoy said:


> John,
> Your recliner awaits you for when you spend all your spare change on Wayne's books. They are like potato chips. You can't read just one.
> Speaking of which, Wayne I need more potato chips (books).


+
Cindy: I don't need an excuse to hit the old recliner. But Wayne's books do keep me awake. Excitement and a need to keep turning pages.


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

I was mistaken. The first email I got was because I follow myself on BookBub. I just received the regular email less than thirty minutes ago. That whole first hour of sales was from the BookBub subscribers that FOLLOW ME!

Holy crap!!

Sales are now nearing 600. I'll hit 852 in just a few more minutes at this rate.


----------



## susan_illene (Aug 10, 2014)

Wayne Stinnett said:


> I was mistaken. The first email I got was because I follow myself on BookBub. I just received the regular email less than thirty minutes ago. That whole first hour of sales was from the BookBub subscribers that FOLLOW ME!
> 
> Holy crap!!
> 
> Sales are now nearing 600. I'll hit 852 in just a few more minutes at this rate.


Wow, Wayne. That's amazing!


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## Julz (Oct 30, 2014)

Wayne Stinnett said:


> I was mistaken. The first email I got was because I follow myself on BookBub. I just received the regular email less than thirty minutes ago. That whole first hour of sales was from the BookBub subscribers that FOLLOW ME!
> 
> Holy crap!!
> 
> Sales are now nearing 600. I'll hit 852 in just a few more minutes at this rate.


Your bookbub days are the best! It's exciting to just watch  I'm in Hawaii and I got bookbub around 6:54 am, just in case you wanted to know when your fans in the middle of the Pacific Ocean got the news.


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## Logan R. (May 13, 2011)

This is one of the--if not THE--best promo threads out there (sorry M. Stephen Stewart   ) Just picked up my copy!


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## ufwriter (Jan 12, 2015)

KReadnour said:


> I've picked up a copy. It's not my typical genre, but perhaps my son would also enjoy it! Good luck!


Not my typical genre either, but I picked it up awhile back, and I think you'll enjoy!


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

This promo has already surpassed total sales from last December's promo and is about to surpass my best ever promo from last August. That one was on 8/1 and I grossed over $23K that month. 

Current sales for the day are at 1661 and the rank is at #789 in the US and #23,423 in the UK. The next update should reflect the sales from the first BookBub email and be a big swing into the 400-500 range.

We need to figure out what BB is doing there. They're now sending two emails a day about an hour apart. The second one is the regular one, but the first is apparently based on authors that subscribers are following based on that email they sent last week asking you to rank the books you bought. It makes no sense to recommend the same book twice, but since this is a new thing they're doing, my guess is they're making adjustments along the way. I figure that at some point, the first email of authors you follow will contain new releases, discounted, or free books of authors you follow, even if they're not in the regular ad. 

How will they choose what books to recommend in the first email? The first thing that comes to my mind would be the most followed author of those that didn't get a promo slot.


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## KaiW (Mar 11, 2014)

Wayne Stinnett said:


> This promo has already surpassed total sales from last December's promo and is about to surpass my best ever promo from last August. That one was on 8/1 and I grossed over $23K that month.
> 
> Current sales for the day are at 1661 and the rank is at #789 in the US and #23,423 in the UK. The next update should reflect the sales from the first BookBub email and be a big swing into the 400-500 range.
> 
> ...


Think that first email only contains offers from an author/ authors you follow though so they can't put deals in there by authos you haven't specifically chosen to follow. I'm guessing it's mostly geared at readers who don't alwats open the general email but don't want to miss a deal from a fave.


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

KaiW said:


> Think that first email only contains offers from an author/ authors you follow though so they can't put deals in there by authos you haven't specifically chosen to follow. I'm guessing it's mostly geared at readers who don't alwats open the general email but don't want to miss a deal from a fave.


That makes perfect sense. I don't always open the regular email.

Sales for the day are closing on 2000, 300 of which are UK sales. Rank in the US store is #202 and in the UK store, #13,860. My August promo produce 2383 sales. I really think this one will top that. There's still nine hours left in the sales day. That August promo reached #14. I think a top 10 is within reach.


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

Should I go put on my cheerleading outfit? 
GO WAYNE.


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## Lydniz (May 2, 2013)

Wayne Stinnett said:


> That August promo reached #14. I think a top 10 is within reach.


It sounds like it. Good luck!


----------



## Liz French (Apr 13, 2014)

Just bought FALLEN OUT from the UK store - I can't bear the tension of this thread! 

Of course I'll review once I've read it!

Keeping everything crossed for the rest of the promo...


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

Thanks, all y'all who bought my book. I hope you enjoy it. And thanks for the well wishes.

Fallen Out is less than 100 sales from beating the August promo now with more than six hours to go. So far today, it's sold 2293 copies, of which 338 were in the UK. The current rank, reflecting sales from 3-4pm is #54 in the US and #224 in the UK. The peak rank will likely be around 3 or 4am.


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## ufwriter (Jan 12, 2015)

This is just incredible.


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## Philip Gibson (Nov 18, 2013)

Now at #54 in the paid store.

#54 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
#1 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thriller
#1 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Crime
#1 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Crime

Good job, Wayne!

By the way, my ongoing Countdown deal is displaying a sales graph with daily upward trends and no zig zags. 

Are you jealous? I know you were aiming for that yourself.


Philip


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## Geoff Jones (Jun 20, 2014)

I just ordered my copy and I'm looking forward to reading it.

Thank you for for sharing your strategies, Wayne. My own promotion is running right now and it's going well, thanks in part to what I've learned from you.

Best,
Geoff


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

Liz French said:


> Just bought FALLEN OUT from the UK store - I can't bear the tension of this thread!
> 
> Of course I'll review once I've read it!
> 
> Keeping everything crossed for the rest of the promo...


Thanks, Liz. Yours will be the second review in the UK store for Fallen Out. I've had a good many sales there since it came out in May, I guess Brit's just aren't that into reviewing. 



Philip Gibson said:


> Now at #54 in the paid store.
> 
> #54 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
> #1 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thriller
> ...


Great job, Philip! That's what we want.

I'm just one single sale away from breaking the August promo record. Sales for the day are at 2381, with 338 of those being in the UK. Current rank in the US is #54 and that should tick up into the 40s momentarily. In the UK it's ranked #224 and I expect that to crack 200 with the next update.

As Philip pointed out, it's ranked #1 in quite a few sub-cats, but more importantly, it's ranked #4 in the main category of Action & Adventure. That's where most people browse for this kind of book. All day today, I've been messing with keywords and got it to where it comes up on the first page of many specific searches. I'm hoping the added visibility of the promo, coupled with the better keyword functionality, it will have a much longer tail. The August tail lasted the whole month, with tremendous sell through.

Sell through this time around has already begun. All six titles are up in sales about 20% and borrows are nearly double the previous week's average. I end my sales day on my spreadsheet at 9pm and today has been a good one, over $1500 in revenue.


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## Philip Gibson (Nov 18, 2013)

You just cracked the top 50!

#40 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
#1 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure > Sea Adventures
#1 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thriller & Suspense
#1 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure > Travel

Philip


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## Rich Amooi (Feb 14, 2014)

I bow in the presence of the promo king. Oops, I think I pulled a muscle.  

Wayne! Did you sell many books in the UK for your big promotion back in August? Sounds like the British are helping you A LOT this round.   
Either way, congrats! I look forward to your 3am update. You planning on sleeping tonight?


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

Rich Amooi said:


> I bow in the presence of the promo king. Oops, I think I pulled a muscle.
> 
> Wayne! Did you sell many books in the UK for your big promotion back in August? Sounds like the British are helping you A LOT this round.
> Either way, congrats! I look forward to your 3am update. You planning on sleeping tonight?


That was before BookBub split the US and UK promos. I sold only 7 in the UK during the whole 4 day promo.


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## Philip Gibson (Nov 18, 2013)

Philip Gibson said:


> You just cracked the top 50!
> 
> #40 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
> #1 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure > Sea Adventures
> ...


Does the 'Books' ranking in the list above refer to paperbacks sold through Createspace?

(I should know this)

Philip


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## Liz French (Apr 13, 2014)

Wayne Stinnett said:


> Thanks, Liz. Yours will be the second review in the UK store for Fallen Out. I've had a good many sales there since it came out in May, I guess Brit's just aren't that into reviewing.


Ha! Yes we're a secretive bunch...


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

Philip Gibson said:


> Does the 'Books' ranking in the list above refer to paperbacks sold through Createspace?
> 
> (I should know this)
> 
> Philip


No, it's an overall category that includes Kindle and paperback. I've only sold one paperback copy of Fallen Out today.


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## John Ellsworth (Jun 1, 2014)

Look what I just found about Fallen Out:

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #26 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
#1 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Crime
#1 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Crime
#1 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thriller & Suspense

Go Big Guy Go!

ETA: It's actually 11:25 in the Midwest as I read your ranking.


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## Liz French (Apr 13, 2014)

And here's whats going on in the UK....

Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #123 Paid in Kindle Store 
#1 in Kindle Store > Books > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure > Travel
#3 in Books > Fiction > Adventure Stories & Action
#3 in Kindle Store > Books > Crime, Thriller & Mystery > Thrillers > Action & Adventure


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## KGorman (Feb 6, 2011)

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #21 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
#1 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Crime
#1 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thriller
#1 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Crime

... but, in Canada:
Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #4,036 Paid in Kindle Store

...to be fair, I think a lot of us Canucks haven't switched over to the Canadian store. The price point is also showing as $3.82.


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## Mr. RAD (Jan 4, 2011)

As of 1:40 AM CST:

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: *#18* Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
#1 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thriller & Suspense
#1 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure > Sea Adventures
#1 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Crime

Go Wayne, go!!!


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## KGorman (Feb 6, 2011)

Canada's improved! And it now lists categories!

Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,263 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
#41 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Action & Adventure
#89 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Action & Adventure


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## JackVolante (Oct 25, 2013)

Well, you can add 1 more sale to your UK numbers.  I was sold reading the preview. Good luck again.


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## JKlovesbooks (Mar 15, 2015)

I bought Fallen Out from the UK store too yesterday! Action and Adventure is not my usual genre but when you said in the interview with Sever that it was more adventure than full on action I was much more interested and have already downloaded a sample of Fallen Palm and loved it! I too promise another review for the UK store once I have read it. Got to dash now as we are right in the middle of a solar eclipse right now and don't want to miss it! Good luck Wayne!


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## Lydniz (May 2, 2013)

Huh. No solar eclipse in Herts. All that happened was that the clouds got a bit greyer.


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## JKlovesbooks (Mar 15, 2015)

Yes - same here in the North West! Saw a bit of it when the clouds briefly parted and could see the outline of the moon over the sun with just a crescent left of the sun, but then at the defining moment it was complete cloud cover and was just a bit darker like just before a thunderstorm! Very disappointing


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## PearlEarringLady (Feb 28, 2014)

It got pretty dark up here in the boggier end of Scotland - the street lights came on for a few minutes. But we had cloud cover, too, so no actual sighting of the eclipse.

{/thread derail}


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

Thanks everyone for keeping an eye on things while I was knocked out. Been down with the flu and took some Nyquil. 

Fallen Out peaked in rank at #18 at about 3am as expected, but slightly lower than I'd hoped. I'm still happy with it. That's twice I cracked the top 20 using this method. Still, I think it could have done better. Lower sales on the second day versus the first day contributed. Next time, I'll move a couple of the day three ads to day two.

Total sales yesterday were 2,692, with 338 of those coming from the UK, where it's currently ranked at #87. So far today, there have been an additional 44 sales, with exactly half of those being in the UK.

Sell through and borrows are up considerably. It's not even 8am yet and all five other books and total borrows is about equal to the average day's sales before the promo. From past experience, I know these numbers will stay high for several weeks.

Fallen Out will go back to regular price at 9pm.


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## ufwriter (Jan 12, 2015)

Incredible, Wayne. Congrats on such a successful promo!


----------



## KReadnour (Jul 8, 2014)

This was so fun to watch. Thanks for posting because it's truly inspiring!

I'm 18 percent into the book and rather enjoying it. I'll be grabbing the others for sure. Cady and Cinisajoy convinced me to move it to the top of my TBR pile, and I'm glad they did.

Enjoy and relax the rest of the day. You've earned it!!


----------



## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

Thanks Cady and K. 

Author rank usually lags nearly a full day behind sales. It's my author rank among action/adventure writers that I judge both a successful promo and when to do another one. Since June, I've been in the top 100 of action/adventure authors, with the exception of a couple of days in September and use that fact in some advertising. When I get down into the 70s, it's time for another promo. My best ever author rank was #5. That happened twice, on 8/2 and 11/17, the day after two very successful promos. Right now, I'm ranked #4 in action/adventure authors.

In retrospect, here's what I'd do differently: 
Start the promo as I always do at 9pm with a Countdown Deal. 
First full day of the CD, I'll have one ad in the US and one in the UK, some posts on Twitter/Facebook, and an email to my subscribers.
Second day, I'll beef up with four to six ads, spaced a couple of hours apart.
Third day, I'll include a couple more ads, for a total of perhaps ten.
Fourth day, a couple of early run up ads before BookBub.
Fifth day, end the promo at 9pm Eastern time.

I'll also contact each advertiser a couple days in advance to make sure the ad will be placed. One dropped the ball with this one.

Since the KBoards ad included the mention of the Veterans Day promo we did in November and 100% of the proceeds would be donated to Homes for Warriors, I contacted Harvey and he told me how many sales were generated. I doubled that number, figured the royalty and will be donating that amount along with my regular monthly donation.

I finally figured out why that part of the blurb kept popping up. I'd been removing it through the Author Central portal. But, I was making changes to keywords for the last several days on KDP, which was where I'd originally included the 100% discount back in November. I just didn't see it on KDP and uploaded the new keywords several times, along with the old blurb. If you make changes to the blurb through Author Central, it'd be a good idea to copy and paste it in KDP.


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## rashad.freeman001 (Feb 23, 2012)

Just purchased a copy.  Hope you hit number 1!


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## Michael Robertson Jr (Feb 24, 2011)

Way to go, Wayne! I'm in awe! Bought my copy yesterday.


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

Michael Robertson Jr said:


> Way to go, Wayne! I'm in awe! Bought my copy yesterday.


LMAO, Michael!!! Loved Murray in Caddyshack.


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## Geoff Jones (Jun 20, 2014)

Wayne, why not run the promotion for the full seven days that Amazon allows? It seems to me that a longer time at a lower ranking would be beneficial. Plus the book would be on sale over the weekend.

I'm curious to hear opinions on this... always learning!


----------



## John Ellsworth (Jun 1, 2014)

Beautiful promo, Wayne. Great showing and a great book I'm presently reading. I predict lots of new readers in your corner and a large influx of signups on your mailing list. 

You really deserve it, you're so generous with how you do this.

Best.


----------



## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

Geoff Jones said:


> Wayne, why not run the promotion for the full seven days that Amazon allows? It seems to me that a longer time at a lower ranking would be beneficial. Plus the book would be on sale over the weekend.
> 
> I'm curious to hear opinions on this... always learning!


Mostly to have tighter control, but there's also the factor of cost and diminishing returns. By doing only five days, you have a much lower ad cost to create a steady rise in sales. I explain this and the mechanics of Amazon's algorithm, in my blog post: http://waynestinnett.blogspot.com/2015/03/mechanics-of-very-successful-book.html



John Ellsworth said:


> Beautiful promo, Wayne. Great showing and a great book I'm presently reading. I predict lots of new readers in your corner and a large influx of signups on your mailing list.
> 
> You really deserve it, you're so generous with how you do this.
> 
> Best.


Thanks, John. Just paying it forward.


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

Congratulations on your author ranking.


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## I&#039;m a Little Teapot (Apr 10, 2014)

Awesome!

But I guess I'm really stupid, because:

Last time Fallen Out was on Bookbub you sold 2900 units to achieve, at it's lowest point, a rank of #14. 

This time you stacked all those ads carefully beforehand. You moved 2692 for a rank of #18. 

This is the part where I'm stupid. What did stacking all those ads up front get you? You moved fewer units and got a lesser rank. What am I missing?


----------



## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

I am curious to see if the trend continues.    I wonder if Wayne will reach a saturation point where there will not be near as many new readers.


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

SevenDays said:


> Awesome!
> 
> But I guess I'm really stupid, because:
> 
> ...


The August promo was set up the same way, only this time I paid closer attention to the time of the emails. The 2900 was the day of the BookBub ad and the following day, 2914 according to my spreadsheet for that month. After three days it was up to 3200 sales, over the whole six day promo, 4713 sales. On the day of the August BookBub ad, the total sales were about 2200. A lot of other variables could factor in, Fallen Out was a new release in August, only two months old with 8 reviews. Ranking is a comparison of one book to 2.3 million others. You can easily have a great sales day and loose rank, because others had an even better sales day. This is apparently what happened this time around. Higher sales numbers, but a lower peak rank.

Currently this promo has produced 3164 sales since it started last Sunday night, well ahead of the August numbers. The promo ends tonight at 9pm EDT and I'll post the total then.


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## Guest (Mar 20, 2015)

Congrats on the solid promo. Thanks for sharing. It's much appreciated.

Have you considered doing one run with everything stacked on one day. Have you ever done that? What were the results.


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

My first BookBub ad had it and several others on the same day. That was before I learned that some weight is given to older sales. I'm certain the math involved in calculating rank takes into account sales from up to at least five days prior, I'd bet seven, since that's how long a Kindle Countdown Deal can be. Knowing that, it wouldn't make sense to keep all those low selling days prior to the big ad in the algorithm for that long a time. By putting ads several days ahead, you replace a lot of those low selling hours and days with better ones.


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

Fallen Out has now returned to its regular price of $2.99. So far today there have been an additional 169 sales. Rank has dropped to #52 in the US and #211 in the UK. The UK sales are what's really got me pumped. I'm really hoping the Brits will like my stories. Since the start of the promo, I had 364 sales there.

Sell through is continuing to climb, particularly with Palm and Hunter, over 25 of each today with more than 100 borrows of all titles.

The most exciting thing (for me at least) is author rank. This afternoon, I was ranked as the #2 author of action/adventure. Can you believe that? Sixteen months ago, I was like #6000. I have this forum and the collective knowledge found here for that. If I died today, it can be said that I was, at one time, the second best action/adventure author in Amazon and by default the whole dang world! That's really humbling.


----------



## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

Yesterday's total sales were 172, about 50 less than the day before BookBub when there were eight ads. Ranking has slipped to #112, but still #7 in the action/adventure category. It will stay on the first page of that browse category until it drops to about #400. Sell through continues to climb, Fallen Palm has already had 30 sales yesterday and Hunter, 24. Author rank has dropped to #7 in action/adventure.

I just submitted Fallen Hunter to BookBub a few minutes ago, requesting any date on or after 4/20, the first day I'll be eligible.


----------



## Philip Gibson (Nov 18, 2013)

Wayne Stinnett said:


> I just submitted Fallen Hunter to BookBub a few minutes ago, requesting any date on or after 4/20, the first day I'll be eligible.


Good luck with that, though I doubt you need to rely on luck.

When you submit to BookBub, how do you answer the question: "For how many days following the promotion will your book be discounted?" What are they looking for there?

Philip


----------



## BeeGee (Feb 10, 2015)

I finished Fallen Out last night and loved it, so Fallen Palm just got another sale. I bought it instead of using KU as a very small way of saying thanks for all the great information you provide on this forum. I'm new, and it helps a lot.


----------



## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

Philip Gibson said:


> Good luck with that, though I doubt you need to rely on luck.
> 
> When you submit to BookBub, how do you answer the question: "For how many days following the promotion will your book be discounted?" What are they looking for there?
> 
> Philip


At first, I thought they gave more weight in the decision to those who put more days discounted after the promo, but the last two I've only put one day. The submission this morning, I put zero days. That means I'll have to change the way I enter sales on my spreadsheet, but only for that one day.



BeeGee said:


> I finished Fallen Out last night and loved it, so Fallen Palm just got another sale. I bought it instead of using KU as a very small way of saying thanks for all the great information you provide on this forum. I'm new, and it helps a lot.


Thanks, BeeGee. Much appreciated and glad you liked the story. Hope the end of Palm doesn't turn you off the series.

Hush Cin!


----------



## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

Before the promo, all six of my books stretched from #1 (the recently released Fallen King) to #18 (Fallen Out) in the Sea Adventures category. It's a small category, so to get on the first page of best selling Sea Adventures takes a ranking of about #17K or better in the Kindle Store. Today, I have six of the top nine spots. Sell through should bring Pride and Mangrove up in the next day or two and I might have the top six spots.


----------



## cblewgolf (Jan 3, 2011)

Following this thread with great interest and thanks so much, Wayne, for sharing.
My question is, with 2700 sales the day of BB and 172 yesterday, what are your thoughts about maintaining that presence, that top 50, top 100?  More ads?  Keep price at $.99?  I guess books like "Girl on a Train" just stay there due to word of mouth and such. But how do you stay on top if you're an indie?


----------



## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

Even though Wayne told me Hush I highly recommend Hunter. 
I feel like I should tell Wayne to get off Kboards and write me a book.  Come on mon, it has been like 2 months.


----------



## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

cblewgolf said:


> Following this thread with great interest and thanks so much, Wayne, for sharing.
> My question is, with 2700 sales the day of BB and 172 yesterday, what are your thoughts about maintaining that presence, that top 50, top 100? More ads? Keep price at $.99? I guess books like "Girl on a Train" just stay there due to word of mouth and such. But how do you stay on top if you're an indie?


Until the indie creates a name in their genre, we'll always fall back out of the top 1000 fairly fast. Fallen Out is now #335. But, it's been at full price now for just over 36 hours and has sold 120 copies since the price change. My feeling is that those who pay full price are more apt to start reading immediately and more likely to read the following books if they like it. And that's okay with me. I enjoy doing promos. I find it challenging to figure out the most effective way to do things. Girl on the Train? I can't even guess. She only has two other books on Amazon, neither is available in ebook and one doesn't even have a cover image and is a non-fiction real estate how-to book. She appears to be trying to capture both ends of the best seller lists, as one is ranked in the millions and the how-to isn't even ranked. Girl on the Train is however, published by Penguin.



cinisajoy said:


> Even though Wayne told me Hush I highly recommend Hunter.
> I feel like I should tell Wayne to get off Kboards and write me a book. Come on mon, it has been like 2 months.


I meant not to say anything about having threatened bodily harm for how Fallen Palm ended.  And it's only been one month.


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

While they're not in the right order, I'll take it!!

Grabbed this screen cap, just before going to pick my daughter up from school.


----------



## A Woman&#039;s Place Is In The Rebellion (Apr 28, 2011)

There's a poster for your wall, Wayne.  Well done!


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

Thanks, Augusta. And, yeah, I printed that shot out and stuck it up on my motivational cork board in the office.

All six are still at the top of Sea Adventures. I posted about the results in more detail on my blog.
http://waynestinnett.blogspot.com/2015/03/results-of-big-book-promo.html


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## EllieKeaton (Apr 12, 2014)

Congratulations Wayne - you are a real inspiration to all of us both those that post regularly and those that lurke like me.  Thank you for sharing all your knowledge and tips.


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## Michael Robertson Jr (Feb 24, 2011)

Just want to say thanks, Wayne, for all this great info. I'm lining up some ads for a promo week in early April and your thread here came at the perfect time. I started on kboards in 2011, and I'm thrilled to still see such a willingness to help each other.


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## Guest (Mar 25, 2015)

I have this same question, with some follow-on questions.

1) Following this thread with great interest and thanks so much, Wayne, for sharing.
My question is, with 2700 sales the day of BB and 172 yesterday, what are your thoughts about maintaining that presence, that top 50, top 100?  More ads?  Keep price at $.99?  I guess books like "Girl on a Train" just stay there due to word of mouth and such. But how do you stay on top if you're an indie?

2) Wayne wrote: Until the indie creates a name in their genre, we'll always fall back out of the top 1000 fairly fast. Fallen Out is now #335. 

3) However, this isn't what happens in some other stores (for things other than books). In other stores, you get surprise hits and they stay surprise hits for years. Without huge marketing by the people involved.

Is there something in Amazon algorithms that penalizes indie authors?

Or are Publishers spending a ton of money?

4) I find it hard to believe that books with promotion sites (when they get visibility) can get to high sales ranks. But then they drop immediately.
Even more so with Boxed Sets.

I've seen some really top notch indie books and Boxed Set do very well, then fall dramatically for no reason.

How is it possible?

Let's say you showed X amount of people your book, and it generation X/1000 sales.

Then you get to the Top 100 and huge amounts of people see your book. Shouldn't the same ratio of people be buying your book and your book stay high.


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

ireaderreview said:


> I have this same question, with some follow-on questions.
> 
> 1) Following this thread with great interest and thanks so much, Wayne, for sharing.
> My question is, with 2700 sales the day of BB and 172 yesterday, what are your thoughts about maintaining that presence, that top 50, top 100? More ads? Keep price at $.99? I guess books like "Girl on a Train" just stay there due to word of mouth and such. But how do you stay on top if you're an indie?
> ...


I highlighted the key word in my statement. If you queried 100 people in Bismark, ND and asked them, "Who is Wayne Stinnett?" you'll get the same reply. "No idea." Ask them who James Patterson is and you'll likely get a unanimous reply of, "He's a writer." Some will never have read one of his books, but they know who he is. The psychology of sales tells us that the average person prefers to buy a known commodity, whether that's laundry detergent, refrigerators, or books, they want to buy what's known to them. I'm working with my cover guy to completely rebrand my covers. Later this spring, when one of my books gets up to the top 100, it will stay there longer, with the cover changes I have in mind.


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## Heather Hamilton-Senter (May 25, 2013)

Michael Robertson Jr said:


> Way to go, Wayne! I'm in awe! Bought my copy yesterday.


Um, this should go viral among those of us in the know


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## Guest (Mar 27, 2015)

Yes, what you're saying is valid.

i.e.
I highlighted the key word in my statement. If you queried 100 people in Bismark, ND and asked them, "Who is Wayne Stinnett?" you'll get the same reply. "No idea." Ask them who James Patterson is and you'll likely get a unanimous reply of, "He's a writer." Some will never have read one of his books, but they know who he is. The psychology of sales tells us that the average person prefers to buy a known commodity, whether that's laundry detergent, refrigerators, or books, they want to buy what's known to them. I'm working with my cover guy to completely rebrand my covers. Later this spring, when one of my books gets up to the top 100, it will stay there longer, with the cover changes I have in mind.


New authors can't have branding. New authors do need to succeed. So it's the store's job to reward new authors that do well. why aren't they doing a better job?

In other digital markets there are break out hits all the time. None of them have branding. Once they get to the Top 100 they stick there and go higher.

Why is it that

In other digital stores, breaking into Top 100 means MORE visibility and More sales.

But in Kindle Store, breaking into Top 100 doesn't bring some big boost and longevity.

******

Take a look at your favorite app store and notice the top 20. Check back in a month, some will be different, some will be same.

Key thing here is - some of the ones who would have lasted would be completely new companies.

Now, either we're saying they created virality. Which is valid for things like messenger apps and social games. However, what about single player games.

That must mean That visibility in the store is causing those apps and games to stick in the Top 20.

Why not in books?


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## Jenna_Elle (Mar 15, 2015)

I'm new to all of this so forgive me if this is a total noob question.

When do you drop your price? The day of the Bookbub ad? So then all of the promo's leading up to the bookbub ad, are they just o boost visibility(i.e. do they all just feature your book in say a blast email)? Or do they say that your book will be going on sale the next day?

I guess maybe my question is, the promos leading up to bookbub, are they promoting your book at full price?

thanks for all the awesome info


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## Wayne Stinnett (Feb 5, 2014)

ireaderreview said:


> So it's the store's job to reward new authors that do well. why aren't they doing a better job?


It's not the book's retailer's responsibility to promote the product, that falls on the book's publisher, manager, or publicist. In our case these are all one and the same.



Jenna_Elle said:


> I'm new to all of this so forgive me if this is a total noob question.
> 
> When do you drop your price? The day of the Bookbub ad? So then all of the promo's leading up to the bookbub ad, are they just o boost visibility(i.e. do they all just feature your book in say a blast email)? Or do they say that your book will be going on sale the next day?
> 
> ...


The price is lowered several days before the BookBub ad, Jenna. The other ads are all at the discounted price. In this case, it was through a Kindle Countdown Deal, where I still got 70% royalty. The first day of the promo was just the Countdown Deal, the second day had a couple of ads, the third day had more ads, BookBub was on the fourth day, and at the end of the fifth day, the price went back up.


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