# Paid Promotion Blitz Experiment



## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

My own experiences with paid advertising have been mediocre, but in those cases, it's usually been a single random add posted now and again. Now I've planned a promotion blitz with my novel, The Kult. I'm using lots of sites to see whether combining them over a few days will work better (of course what works for one book won't work for another and there are lots of variables).

So first, the stats. The Kult has been out for a few years now, but I've decided to give it a big push. The story has been filmed by an independent production company and is currently in post production. On Amazon.com it has 28 reviews and an average of 4.4 stars. On Amazon.co.uk it has 25 reviews and an average of 4.4 stars too. (On Goodreads it has 191 ratings with an average of 4.02)

Now I've already reduced the price from $2.99 to 99c to avoid any mishaps for the planned week, and I'm promoting utilising the following sites:

May 11th
http://www.bookbub.com/home/

http://bargainebookhunter.com/

http://storyfinds.com/

http://www.booktweetingservice.com/

http://www.indie-book-bargains.co.uk/

http://booksliced.com/

http://mommasaysread.com/

http://addictedtoebooks.com/

http://www.freebookshub.co.uk/

www.eBookLister.net

http://www.fkbooksandtips.com/

(I've also contacted the following sites, but promotion is not guaranteed and I've not heard back from any of them at the moment: http://www.pixelofink.com/) and http://blog.booksontheknob.org/)

May 12th
http://www.freebooksy.com/

http://kindlenationdaily.com/

http://bookiniste.com/

http://www.ebookbargainnews.com/

May 13th
http://www.thekindlebookreview.net/

http://www.kboards.com/

http://thecheapebook.com/live/

http://www.ereaderutopia.com/

http://ereadernewstoday.com/

May 14th
http://www.bookblast.co/

http://thefrugalereader.com/

http://digitalbooktoday.com/

May 15th
http://www.kuforum.co.uk/

The total cost of this experiment is $613 (£393) and to recoup my costs I've got to sell 1751 copies.


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## SEAN H. ROBERTSON (Mar 14, 2011)

I wish you the best of success with your promo, Shaun!


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## TexasGirl (Dec 21, 2011)

You'll recoup your cost, I think. Bookbub alone will get you close.

Good luck!


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## Joe_Nobody (Oct 23, 2012)

If we were going to start an "office pool," I would wager this will pay off.

I can tell you've put a lot of work into this effort and I'd bet you'll end up a happy author.

Let us know!


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

Thanks. I'll be sure to post an update on the results.


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## S.A. Mulraney (May 20, 2011)

I wish you luck, but I wonder if spreading it out more would have been a better idea. Will be curious to see how it all pans out. I hope you can post some details after all is said and done. Not sure I've ever seen someone (at least an indie) promote so thoroughly.


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## davidhaynes (Sep 30, 2012)

Good luck, Shaun!


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## Andrew Ashling (Nov 15, 2010)

Good luck, Shaun.

What criteria did you use in selecting the sites? How did you decide the asking price for the ads were fair?


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

S.A. Mulraney said:


> I wish you luck, but I wonder if spreading it out more would have been a better idea. Will be curious to see how it all pans out. I hope you can post some details after all is said and done. Not sure I've ever seen someone (at least an indie) promote so thoroughly.


I considered spreading it out over longer, but I was hoping that if I can get the book higher at the start through multiple venues, it won't have chance to drop down straight away when sales dry up after the initial posts from said venues, and any further sales from the other outlets over the following days will help keep it noticeable. Well, that's the plan anyway!


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

Andrew Ashling said:


> Good luck, Shaun.
> 
> What criteria did you use in selecting the sites? How did you decide the asking price for the ads were fair?


I just kept searching the various promotion sites. Then I had a look at each one to see if it looked a viable place to promote. After that I had to hope I could arrange a date that suited my promotion. The most expensive single place is BookBub, but their reputation is excellent, so I wanted their add to be on the first day to hopefully give it that initial boost.


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## jimkukral (Oct 31, 2011)

Cool idea. Good luck.


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## BlankPage (Sep 23, 2012)

_Comment removed due to VS TOS 25/9/2018_


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## scottmarlowe (Apr 22, 2010)

Good luck and thanks for sharing this info. I've got 2 releases planned for this year so I'm mulling what promotion strategy I want to jump into now.


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## Saul Tanpepper (Feb 16, 2012)

Best of luck. I think this is a solid approach. Better than to piecemeal the promo with one or two sites at a time over a longer period. I've been planning a similar blitz. Just need to get on.


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## Caddy (Sep 13, 2011)

Cheering you on. Something I want to do, too.   Let us know how it goes, please.


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

Thank you everyone. I've just updated the list as Ereader News Today have accepted my bargain book submission for May 13th and Kindle Books and Tips just emailed that a request I sent in has been accepted for May 11th. Adjusted the costs to suit.


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## ToniD (May 3, 2011)

A clever approach, Shaun. Best of luck, and thanks for sharing the strategy and the links.

I did a combo BookBub/ENT promo a couple of weeks ago and I think combo is a good way to maintain the visibility. 

With your lineup...wow!


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## AkBee (Aug 24, 2012)

Happy to be on your list! We've listed your book before, somewhere in our 2+ year history and you have a great cover and are in a genre that generally does well with readers across most sites. I'd say you'll have great success by layering your promotion. This puts the book in front of readers repeatedly over time and increases your visibility and the "get it" factor for readers. Thanks again from thecheapebook.com!


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

MzPiggy said:


> Happy to be on your list!


Pleased to have you on it


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## CarterAshby (May 1, 2013)

I'm very interested to follow your progress on this. Thanks for posting about it to the benefit of the rest of us!


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## AriadneW (Feb 16, 2013)

Good luck! It'll be interesting to see how it goes


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## Shane Ward (Jan 25, 2013)

Took a note of this, might come in handy later on


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## legion (Mar 1, 2013)

Ooooh, nice!
Good luck--I suspect your strategy/investment will pay off in spades!  
I'll definitely check back to see how it went!


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

I can't see the rank changing much before tomorrow, so The Kult's ranking is starting out at:

Amazon.com Best Sellers Rank: #145,125 Paid in Kindle Store
Amazon.co.uk Best Sellers Rank: #132,613 Paid in Kindle Store

Now I'm just eager to see the results after the promotion!


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## Alan Petersen (May 20, 2011)

I think you're going to get see a big bump! BookBub alone will give you a turbo boost.

It's a good idea to have the big push within the day, that will push you up in the rankings. I did one that was more spread out (and not as impressive as your line up) and afterwards, I thought it would have been better to done it all in a day or two versus spreading it out over five days.

Thanks for sharing and good luck! Strap in for a fun wild ride.


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## Cheryl Douglas (Dec 7, 2011)

I echo the comments about Bookbub. That ad alone should give you the results you're looking for, but I can't wait to see how your experiment turns out. Good luck!


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

The promotion has now begun, and the first one star review comes in the night before. Lol. I'm hoping it doesn't put off any potential buyers too much.


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## matthewturner (Aug 1, 2012)

Best of luck with this. It's clear you've done your research and put in the hours. I, like everyone, will be eager to see the results.

The best of luck


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## Guest (May 11, 2013)

Curious to see how this all pans out...thanks for posting!


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## RuthNestvold (Jan 4, 2012)

Good luck! I too will be curious to see how this strategy works!


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## katybaker (May 11, 2013)

I was pleasantly surprised by the cost you quoted for such a lot of advertising. I expected it to be much more than that. 

Tons of luck to you, I hope it works out!

Be sure to keep us updated!


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## Mel Comley (Oct 13, 2010)

I think you could have saved yourself some money, Shaun, Bookbub fans will devour your work for sure! Top 100 coming up, hon.


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

I can only hope, Mel. Had some tweets and suchlike go out from a couple of the paid sites, which have then been retweeted, and according to the KDP site, not a single copy sold so far! Lol

Hopefully the Bookbub promo will change that when it goes out.


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## TexasGirl (Dec 21, 2011)

I went over your list and actually picked up a couple small ones to see if they had much pull.

I've determined if they only have their web site + Facebook going for them, they are a waste, even at $10. Almost zero sales.

The grand trifecta is really BookBub + ENT + POI.

I'm just going to stick with those.


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

Checking through the sites, all bar Bookbub have posted now (it's listed on the Bookbub site but I haven't received an email yet with it on the list), and I have recorded one sale so far according to KDP.


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## kCopeseeley (Mar 15, 2011)

Shaun Jeffrey said:


> Checking through the sites, all bar Bookbub have posted now (it's listed on the Bookbub site but I haven't received an email yet with it on the list), and I have recorded one sale so far according to KDP.


Hope you get enough to make it worth your money! I did something similar to this (though I was too cheap to pay anything) for a book hitting free at the end of the month. I'm very interested to see how this goes. Thank you so much for sharing!


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

Well I don't know how often KDP is updating. A couple more sales have trickled through but that's all. As I'm in the UK I'll check the stats at my time midnight and use that time each day as my checkpoint.


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## TexasGirl (Dec 21, 2011)

Shaun, I've discovered that if a book is ranked pretty low (worse than 100k), updates to everything are slow, batching out sales, and sales rank changes. As  you start to speed up, you will churn faster.

So that first update is going to take forever to come, but then after that, it'll go quicker and quicker.

Let us know how you're doing!

Here, let me pass you a Vodka Tonic. It's only 10 a.m? I'll add a splash of OJ.


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## Adam Pepper (May 28, 2011)

Gutsy plan. Good luck!


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

The Bookbub email went out a few hours ago. Really liked their book description: Years after schoolmates formed "The Kult," a group that sought revenge against bullies, one of their members asks for a favor that will put them all at risk. Grisly murder and disturbing twists make this novel utterly unmissable.


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## August Wainwright (Apr 25, 2013)

Good luck Shaun. Hope you see great results. You've got a good cover and you're already established with some good reviews so it should be interesting. 

And that is a great description they wrote for you.


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## Alan Petersen (May 20, 2011)

TexasGirl said:


> I went over your list and actually picked up a couple small ones to see if they had much pull.
> 
> I've determined if they only have their web site + Facebook going for them, they are a waste, even at $10. Almost zero sales.
> 
> ...


If all the stars line up right, and those three big gorillas promote on the same day, I bet they'll push you right into the top 100 for all Kindle. Bookbub turned me down, POI didn't pick me up, but ENT did and it was awesome. But I really like your mindset, focus on the big three. But it's hard to get into all three, especially for mystery/thrillers.


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## TexasGirl (Dec 21, 2011)

Yeah, I don't know if I will get all three. I have a Bookbub coming up mid June. I sent requests to ENT and POI. We'll see.


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## EdShull (Mar 1, 2013)

This is going to be exciting to watch. Good luck and thanks for sharing this with us. I'm anxious to see the results.


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

Okay it's just gone midnight here in the UK, and I don't know how much of a lag there is with sales and rank, but this is where I'm at now:

Sales reported via KDP:

Amazon.com: 222
Amazon.co.uk: 3

Amazon.com Best Sellers Rank: #1,340 Paid in Kindle Store
#24 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers > Psychological Thrillers

Amazon.co.uk Best Sellers Rank: #31,332 Paid in Kindle Store

As I go through Smashwords, I don't know exact figures for Barnes & Noble until the sales reports come in, but the rank there is currently: Sales rank: 214

There have been masses of tweets and retweets sent out from various people and places during the day, so I'll be interested to see what's happened tomorrow morning when I wake up, but it's fair to say that the results so far are not as good as I had hoped for.


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## EdShull (Mar 1, 2013)

I'm sure numbers will spring up.


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## August Wainwright (Apr 25, 2013)

Hey Shaun,

Just checked in on your page and, for me, you're at #384 in the Paid store. Hope it keeps going up. Congrats.


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

August Wainwright said:


> Hey Shaun,
> 
> Just checked in on your page and, for me, you're at #384 in the Paid store. Hope it keeps going up. Congrats.


Yes, I've seen that. Despite all the extra advertising I've done, sales haven't been as good as the three other books that went out solely in the same Bookbub email as mine. They are currently ranked 18, 36 and 61 respectively in the Kindle charts. Obviously my 'style' of book is not as popular!


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## jenminkman (Mar 2, 2013)

It will probably get more popular once the movie's out! When WILL it be out? And how did you manage to get a movie deal??


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## Mel Comley (Oct 13, 2010)

Maybe check with Bookbub, Shaun, because I DIDN'T get your book mentioned in the email I received. I always get thrillers and mysteries come through.

Sorry, mate. You should change from Smashwords to D2D too! I only use SW for freebies now. On D2D you get virtually instant sales updates and price changes take hours not months to go through.

https://www.draft2digital.com/ Here's the link if you don't know about it.


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

I wanted it listing in thrillers but Bookbub said it was better suited to horror so it was in that list. That's probably why it didn't do as well as that readership list is smaller.


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## EdShull (Mar 1, 2013)

Yeah, the thriller list is almost 4x bigger than the the horror list on BookBub. That's probably the reason. But you have more campaigns coming.


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## Mel Comley (Oct 13, 2010)

But it's a THRILLER!!! I've read it. You should have dug your heels in.


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

I reasoned that I needed them more than they needed me. But yes, I think the book's a thriller, a lot like Se7en.


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## davidhaynes (Sep 30, 2012)

As someone else asked, Shaun. How on earth did you get a movie deal That's incredible, where can I find out more about it?


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

davidhaynes said:


> As someone else asked, Shaun. How on earth did you get a movie deal That's incredible, where can I find out more about it?


I must have missed someone else asking the question. Sorry about that. The book was originally published by a small press publisher in the US that has now folded, but they sold the film rights to an independent production company. It's only a low budget production, and you won't have heard of any of the actors, but I flew out to the States to see some of the shooting when it took place. It was a great experience. There is a trailer on youtube, but that was posted before it's had all the current work done in the editing stage, so it doesn't look that professional. It's had a few hold ups along the way, but it's currently undergoing ADR by people involved in big budget films, so the next trailer should be far better.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2338321/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

I blogged about the experience a while ago if anyone's interested: http://shaunjeffrey.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/american-dream.html


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## davidhaynes (Sep 30, 2012)

That's very interesting, Shaun! The blog post was very informative. Well done, it's a real achievement, not to mention incredibly exciting!


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

Day 2 update at 21.30 UK time.

Amazon.com total sales: 451
Amazon.co.uk sales: 5

Amazon.com sales rank currently: #473 Paid in Kindle Store

Unless there are a mass of sales to be reported via Barnes & Noble, I have so far recouped a quarter of my outlay. Aside from Bookbub, the other advertising avenues don't seem to pay back the outlay at all. Again though, this is only my results so far. Different authors with different books in different genres would undoubtedly have different results. Some would be better, some worse. But my original opinion on paid advertising hasn't changed, and my results remain mediocre at best. 

Three more days to go


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## Guest (May 12, 2013)

Thanks for sharing your numbers and results. Have you seen an uptick in your other books? Although I suppose that might come later.


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## Saul Tanpepper (Feb 16, 2012)

I've been watching your results with considerable interest, Shaun, since I also write in horror and my own experiences have been consistent with yours. While I feel your pain, especially after hearing other people's success stories, I have to keep reminding myself that the best self-promotional strategies yield both direct results (sales) and indirect benefits. In the latter case, I'm speaking of exposure and branding, where the ROI isn't immediate nor easily measured. There are three components to this: breadth-of-reach, duration-of-exposure, and multiplicity of exposure, all of which increase brand-awareness and, ultimately, to sales. You've managed to broaden your reach using the tactics employed. I guess the question now is whether it's practical to do another run soon. I wish I could provide an answer to that.


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## TexasGirl (Dec 21, 2011)

It seems like when I was looking over the list, or maybe it was just some sites I knew about on my own, there were a couple that charged $50 for an ad and they were nuts asking for that. No way based on their Twitter/Facebook/hits would an author get anywhere near that back. I'd guess 10 sales at best. The good thing was that they did not require a 99 cent book, but if you were using one with them, it would almost impossible to make your money back.

I really truly think the only venues worth much these days have email in box methods. Facebook is way too risky now since such a small percentage even see the listing, much less act on it. And some of these promo spots put WAY too many books in their lists. BookGorilla does up to 50! That's great for a reader, but just pointless for a paying advertiser.

But people pay them, and others model their stuff after them.


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## whatdanwrote (Oct 18, 2012)

I couldn't resist buying a copy for the price of 99 cents. The description is intriguing. Good luck with the promotion, hope it goes well.


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

There have been 8 sales of the second book in the series, Killers, but I haven't noticed anything significant with any of my other books that's out of the norm.

And yes, TexasGirl, some of the sites were expensive for what they offered. I was wishfully hoping that there might be a saturation effect, and that the more posts and retweets that occurred, the more chance I would have of selling copies. Alas, it hasn't worked - yet!  

Thanks for the purchase, whatdanwrote 

Saul I was hoping as this book isn't strictly horror and is more thriller that it might appeal to a wider audience (I had hoped that it would at least beat it's previous highest rank of 350)


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## Alan Petersen (May 20, 2011)

TexasGirl said:


> It seems like when I was looking over the list, or maybe it was just some sites I knew about on my own, there were a couple that charged $50 for an ad and they were nuts asking for that. No way based on their Twitter/Facebook/hits would an author get anywhere near that back. I'd guess 10 sales at best. The good thing was that they did not require a 99 cent book, but if you were using one with them, it would almost impossible to make your money back.
> 
> I really truly think the only venues worth much these days have email in box methods. Facebook is way too risky now since such a small percentage even see the listing, much less act on it. And some of these promo spots put WAY too many books in their lists. BookGorilla does up to 50! That's great for a reader, but just pointless for a paying advertiser.
> 
> But people pay them, and others model their stuff after them.


I've asked some of the smaller sites about their traffic stats and they don't even reply. Red flag. I paid $100 for Book Gorilla and didn't make the money back. ENT's Facebook reach is amazing.They had warned me most of their traffic comes from Facebook. So they post on their website and sent an email, I get sales, but then a few hours later they posted in to their Facebook page and boom, it went crazy. So ENT has rabid Facebook peeps.

Hey Shaun, cool tidbits on the movie, how cool, thanks for sharing. I picked up your book. Sounds like a good read. Thanks for sharing your all this info with us.


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## David Alastair Hayden (Mar 19, 2011)

ENT and Bookbub are the only promos that have worked for me.


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## intoanna (Nov 16, 2012)

I'm itching to see how your day 2 is working out hun.


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

intoanna said:


> I'm itching to see how your day 2 is working out hun.


Day two was reported in a post further above, but I'll list them all here for convenience:

*Day 1 update. UK time 23.59*
Amazon.com total sales: 222
Amazon.co.uk: 3

Amazon.com sales rank: #1,340 Paid in Kindle Store

*Day 2 update. UK time 21.30*
Amazon.com total sales: 451
Amazon.co.uk sales: 5

Amazon.com sales rank: #473 Paid in Kindle Store

*Day 3 update. UK time 21.30*

Amazon.com total sales: 530
Amazon.co.uk: 7

Amazon.com sales rank: #888 Paid in Kindle Store

(there have also now been 13 sales of the second book in the series)

Remember, I'm doing this so you don't have to


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## intoanna (Nov 16, 2012)

Sorry, I meant day 3. Interesting to see that (although they weren't as high as you hoped for) sales were fairly equal on day 1 and 2 but drop right off on day 3. I expect UK sales haven't really taken off because Bookbub has a mainly US based mailing list. 

Do you know if any of the promotion sites you've used in this blitz are specifically aimed at a UK audience?


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## 68564 (Mar 17, 2013)

Thank you for this thread! It is confirming my suspicions that it really is not worth it to spend hard to earn cash on 99% of these advertisers. Bookbub says they are sold out for the rest of the year, but I might try ENT.


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## R.V. Doon (Apr 1, 2013)

Shaun,

Sorry you didn't break even, but thanks for sharing.


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

intoanna said:


> Do you know if any of the promotion sites you've used in this blitz are specifically aimed at a UK audience?


I think the only UK ones are: http://www.indie-book-bargains.co.uk/, http://www.freebookshub.co.uk/ and http://www.kuforum.co.uk/ (the last ad isn't until tomorrow.)


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## Susan Kaye Quinn (Aug 8, 2011)

Thanks for the thread and the updates!


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## whatdanwrote (Oct 18, 2012)

Shaun Jeffrey said:


> Thanks for the purchase, whatdanwrote


Thank you for this fascinating information, and for offering your book at a great price! I can't wait to read it.


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## TexasGirl (Dec 21, 2011)

VydorScope said:


> Thank you for this thread! It is confirming my suspicions that it really is not worth it to spend hard to earn cash on 99% of these advertisers. Bookbub says they are sold out for the rest of the year, but I might try ENT.


BookBub only books one month out, so they are not sold out for the year. I just booked June a few days ago.

ENT sold out of its Book of the Day, which is only open in January, but you can still get in on their bargain book emails


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## 68564 (Mar 17, 2013)

TexasGirl said:


> BookBub only books one month out, so they are not sold out for the year. I just booked June a few days ago.
> 
> ENT sold out of its Book of the Day, which is only open in January, but you can still get in on their bargain book emails


Oh, maybe I swapped BookBub and ENT in my mind some how. I will check again. Thanks!


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

Both Bookbub and ENT seem to be the only places (from those I've used) where sales are generated. 

And now after months without a review, another 1 star one appears  But there was a kind 5 star one before that one appeared


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

One thing of interest is that the 1 star reviews have appeared during this promotion, but back when I gave away 11,372 copies in a free run in 2011 before Select was around, it had no bad reviews at all, and didn't receive any after either. I did a thread back then about my free run: http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,89411.0.html

Don't know what to make of that really.


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## Jason Blacker (May 20, 2011)

Shaun Jeffrey said:


> Remember, I'm doing this so you don't have to


Thanks for sharing this info. It's very kind and terrifically helpful.


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

*Day 1 update. UK time 23.59*
Amazon.com total sales: 222
Amazon.co.uk: 3

Amazon.com sales rank: #1,340 Paid in Kindle Store

*Day 2 update. UK time 21.30*
Amazon.com total sales: 451
Amazon.co.uk sales: 5

Amazon.com sales rank: #473 Paid in Kindle Store

*Day 3 update. UK time 21.30*

Amazon.com total sales: 530
Amazon.co.uk: 7

Amazon.com sales rank: #888 Paid in Kindle Store

*Day 4 update. UK time 21.20*

Amazon.com total sales: 617
Amazon.co.uk: 8

Amazon.com sales rank: #1,386 Paid in Kindle Store

(there have also now been 14 sales of the second book in the series, Killers)


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## TexasGirl (Dec 21, 2011)

Hmm. So you've earned back $250 of your $650 investment? Right?


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

TexasGirl said:


> Hmm. So you've earned back $250 of your $650 investment? Right?


At $0.35 x 617 I make it $215.95.

Still won't know the Barnes & Noble sales until Smashwords update, but they won't be over the 1k I would need to recoup the outlay. As it stands at the moment, I can safely say that for me personally, 95% of paid advertising sites don't help sell books. The cost of the ENT ad isn't included in the outlay as they bill you after the ad for 25% of the earnings. And as an aside, a couple of the sites I listed were actually free, but I included them as they were running ads too during the promotion.


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## Alan Petersen (May 20, 2011)

Shaun Jeffrey said:


> At $0.35 x 617 I make it $215.95.
> 
> Still won't know the Barnes & Noble sales until Smashwords update, but they won't be over the 1k I would need to recoup the outlay. As it stands at the moment, I can safely say that for me personally, 95% of paid advertising sites don't help sell books. The cost of the ENT ad isn't included in the outlay as they bill you after the ad for 25% of the earnings. And as an aside, a couple of the sites I listed were actually free, but I included them as they were running ads too during the promotion.


From what I've seen in this study and what I've heard from other author friends, and my own results (ENT was awesome for me, BookBub turned me down. I paid $100 for Book Gorilla and didn't make my money back) that is a very accurate statement.

A lot of sites are trying to cash in with all the indie author's out there. ENT, BookBub, POI (no ad fees) are the main three. I've also heard decent stuff from KBT, KFD and Book Blast. Everyone else buyer beware. Thanks again for sharing all this information.


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## TexasGirl (Dec 21, 2011)

Yeah, I did Addicted to eBooks and Romance Book Bargains last week since they were $10 each, and why not. Nada.

My absolute best thing has been cross promo with other authors in the same genre releasing at the same time. Free and fun and builds happy also-bots.

I'll organize something else when I release another new book.


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## Saul Tanpepper (Feb 16, 2012)

Shaun Jeffrey said:


> At $0.35 x 617 I make it $215.95.
> 
> ...95% of paid advertising sites don't help sell books...


Probably more accurate would be: "95% of paid advertising sites don't earn you back your original investment." Of course, YMMV.


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## EC Sheedy (Feb 24, 2011)

Brilliant thread. Thank you for sharing your experience with paid advertising. I guess it's all hail to Bookbub and ENT--although I did have some success with KBT about a month ago-accent on the word _some_. 

Again, thanks.


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## S. Shine (Jan 14, 2013)

I have little experience with self-publishing, but I already learned that in the final analysis it is simply publishing more good material that is the best advertising.


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

There has been a little more traction while I've slept. There have been masses of tweets and retweets from the Digital Book Today ad. Don't know whether that's helped, or whether it's just residual sales. 

Now 683 sales and 1 refund. 

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,017 Paid in Kindle Store


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

*Day 1 update. UK time 23.59*
Amazon.com total sales: 222
Amazon.co.uk: 3

Amazon.com sales rank: #1,340 Paid in Kindle Store

*Day 2 update. UK time 21.30*
Amazon.com total sales: 451
Amazon.co.uk sales: 5

Amazon.com sales rank: #473 Paid in Kindle Store

*Day 3 update. UK time 21.30*
Amazon.com total sales: 530
Amazon.co.uk: 7

Amazon.com sales rank: #888 Paid in Kindle Store

*Day 4 update. UK time 21.20*
Amazon.com total sales: 617
Amazon.co.uk: 8

Amazon.com sales rank: #1,386 Paid in Kindle Store

*Day 5 update. UK time 21.00*
Amazon.com total sales: 704 (1 refund)
Amazon.co.uk: 8

Amazon.com sales rank: #1,470 Paid in Kindle Store

(there have been 15 sales of the second book in the series, Killers and now two sales of the Prosper Snow Series, which includes both books in one)

Book Blast emailed me to inform me that they recorded about 60 sales from the ad, which for a $10 ad isn't too bad at all as that equals about $21

If people are interested in updates for the next few days, just let me know, otherwise I'll just update when the Barnes & Noble sales come through.


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## scottmarlowe (Apr 22, 2010)

Yeah, I'm interested. But don't put yourself out any more than you already have with more updates. 

As others have said, thanks for sharing your experience and results. I'm getting ready to re-launch one of mine, so this sort of info helps a lot.


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## 68564 (Mar 17, 2013)

Do not kill yourself for sure, but I am actively following this


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## Jason Blacker (May 20, 2011)

I'm watching this with interest too. I have found it very interesting and
kind of you to share. I think we need more honest discussions about 
those of us who don't have the wild successes as others do with these
marketing strategies.

Cheers. I hope sales do pick up for you going forward.


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## ChrisWard (Mar 10, 2012)

Great info, sorry to hear you haven't make your money back.

So far, what's worked for me is 

Bookbub - the granddaddy. Did great with a freebie, not so well with a bb, but I think that was probably down to the book's cover and last couple of reviews
ENT - because they only charge a percentage so it's win-win
KBT - I broke even first time. Trying it next Mon on a different book with a better cover/reviews

I've also tried Bookblast twice. Not broke even either time but got more sales second time on the same book which suggests their reach is growing. Very good to see and for $10 you can't go wrong.

I'm tempted to try Freebooksy, but for $50 I'm not sure it would be worth it, especially since they don't have the reach that KBT has, something I've noticed with the freebies I've had on both. If KBT will keep taking me for $25 I'll stick to that. On the same note, I'm not sure that at KBT showcase promo at $75 would be worth it. The one that ran at the same time as me was only ranking a couple of thousand higher and I'd be surprised if it made its money back.


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

Well I've emailed most of the sites I used asking if they have any idea of how many sales were generated from the ad. I'll report back if any of them reply.


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## Alan Petersen (May 20, 2011)

andybutch13 said:


> Who are KBT and KFD? Sorry, I don't these abbreviations.
> 
> And thanks so much Shaun Jeffery for this interesting thread. I've been following all the way and was very interested to see your results! You may not have made all your money back yet, but maybe in the long run you will, and also you've gained lots of new readers. Which is _awesome!_ =D


KBT = Kindle Books and Tips
KFD = Kindle Fire Department


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

*Day 1 update. UK time 23.59*
Amazon.com total sales: 222
Amazon.co.uk: 3

Amazon.com sales rank: #1,340 Paid in Kindle Store

*Day 2 update. UK time 21.30*
Amazon.com total sales: 451
Amazon.co.uk sales: 5

Amazon.com sales rank: #473 Paid in Kindle Store

*Day 3 update. UK time 21.30*
Amazon.com total sales: 530
Amazon.co.uk: 7

Amazon.com sales rank: #888 Paid in Kindle Store

*Day 4 update. UK time 21.20*
Amazon.com total sales: 617
Amazon.co.uk: 8

Amazon.com sales rank: #1,386 Paid in Kindle Store

*Day 5 update. UK time 21.00*
Amazon.com total sales: 704 (1 refund)
Amazon.co.uk: 8

Amazon.com sales rank: #1,470 Paid in Kindle Store

*Day 6 update. UK time 22.00*
Amazon.com total sales: 726 (2 refunds)
Amazon.co.uk: 9

Amazon.com sales rank: #2,781 Paid in Kindle Store

(there have been 19 sales of the second book in the series, Killers)

Bookbub have replied that there were 1,243 clicks, which resulted in 571 sales. As the ad for the horror category cost $140, that ad alone will make me back about $200


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## Guest (May 16, 2013)

So going on those results, would you say that it only really makes sense to pay for Bookbub?


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

Bookbub is certainly at the top of the tree. You won't lose anything on ENT discounted books as they take a percentage of the sales. So if you don't sell anything, you don't pay anything. Book Blast did a good job for the $10 cost, selling 60 copies. A couple more have generated sales, but from what I can tell, most won't sell enough to recoup the payment. Digital Book Today got the word out a lot with masses of tweets that were retweeted heavily, but I don't know how that affected sales.


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## Guest (May 16, 2013)

Thanks for the info, Shaun, I really appreciate you sharing your experiences and numbers. I'm getting ready to launch the 2nd book in my series and trying to decide which promo route to go down for the first book. If I don't go free then a bargain book 99c option is looking like a good option (if I can get into BB and ENT etc).


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## David Thayer (Sep 7, 2012)

Thanks Shaun. I have a promotion running today for BLACK FOREST through Bargainbooksy, World Literary Cafe, and Ereader IQ.


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## Li Chaka (Apr 19, 2013)

Thank you for this info. It helps to know what paid marketing routes are actually effective.


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

Michael at Kindle Books and Tips kindly shared that 56 of the first days 222 sales (just over 25%) came from their ad. He also pointed out a few things that made sense, that might have affected my promotion, in that with all the venues so close together, and with lots of the subscribers overlapping, if they saw the book on one venue and clicked the link they would then pass it by on other sites. Also if I'd spread the promotion out it would mean a longer period of consistent sales which the Amazon model would recognise, therefore ranking the book higher over the long term.

But I guess that's the thing with experiments. You don't know what works until you try. I think that's the whole point of how an experiment works. You learn from it and then build upon it so that the next time, things work better. I'm certainly not disappointed with the way things have gone. I sold a good number of books, and if some of those readers like it and review it (hopefully with positive reviews) then it might help sway further prospective purchasers. 

Has it put me off paid promotions? Certainly not, and I'm already considering one for the second book in the series (whether people buy the second book in a series - even if it works as a standalone novel - before the first is another conundrum, or if the ad sites will list it is another), but I'll be more selective over the sites I use, and I will spread them out a little more. One other thing that I think the promotion sites are missing a trick on, is that mainly all bar Bookbub, they are concentrating on Amazon, which I know has the highest readership, but there is a growing market at the other ebook sites, which is as yet largely untapped by the promotional sites. If they use mailing lists, it might be worth their (and our) while linking to those too.


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## TJHudson (Jul 9, 2012)

Thanks for publicly running this experiment. Notes have most certainly been taken.


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## TexasGirl (Dec 21, 2011)

I wanted to point out, however, that if you spread out a 99 cent promo, you are having to stay at 99 cents.

Eventually you want to get the book back up to a profit venture.

So I still think you did it right. You reached for a brass ring, and that's what most promo is for. To see if you can tap into an algorithm that gives the promotion legs.


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## S.A. Mulraney (May 20, 2011)

Hey Shaun. I've been lurking on this thread to see how things have been going. Obviously a bit of a mixed bag for you so far. Just wanted to say that KULT just popped onto my Pinterest thread from DigitalBookToday.com. Not a stellar promotional avenue for them as they only have 80 followers. So, I gave it a bump and threw it onto a community board with ~1900 followers. Hope it helps. Just trying to passa a little karma along.


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

S.A. Mulraney said:


> Hey Shaun. I've been lurking on this thread to see how things have been going. Obviously a bit of a mixed bag for you so far. Just wanted to say that KULT just popped onto my Pinterest thread from DigitalBookToday.com. Not a stellar promotional avenue for them as they only have 80 followers. So, I gave it a bump and threw it onto a community board with ~1900 followers. Hope it helps. Just trying to passa a little karma along.


Thank you for that


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## EdShull (Mar 1, 2013)

S.A. Mulraney said:


> Hey Shaun. I've been lurking on this thread to see how things have been going. Obviously a bit of a mixed bag for you so far. Just wanted to say that KULT just popped onto my Pinterest thread from DigitalBookToday.com. Not a stellar promotional avenue for them as they only have 80 followers. So, I gave it a bump and threw it onto a community board with ~1900 followers. Hope it helps. Just trying to passa a little karma along.


Very cool of you.


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

Quick update. Total sales now stands at 746 on .com and 9 on .co.uk, and 24 sales of the second book in the series. 

I initiated raising the price back up via KDP nearly 24 hours ago, but as of yet, it hasn't gone back up on Amazon and is still 'Publishing' on the bookshelf. 

From those that have replied, these are the recorded sales:

Bookbub 571
Book Blast 78
Kindle Books and Tips 56
ENT 31
KBoards 14


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## scottmarlowe (Apr 22, 2010)

Shaun Jeffrey said:


> Quick update. Total sales now stands at 746 on .com and 9 on .co.uk, and 24 sales of the second book in the series.
> 
> I initiated raising the price back up via KDP nearly 24 hours ago, but as of yet, it hasn't gone back up on Amazon and is still 'Publishing' on the bookshelf.
> 
> ...


I changed some categories on one of mine yesterday and it also got stuck in "publishing" for over 24 hours. I had to email KDP Support to get it unstuck.


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## TexasGirl (Dec 21, 2011)

Publishing has been taking longer than 24 hours for everyone lately.


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

Well I received the email to say, Congratulations etc over 12 hours ago, but the price still doesn't show that it's been raised on Amazon itself!


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## TexasGirl (Dec 21, 2011)

That means they are price matching to something.

Double check everything. If they are all back to full price, email Amazon and tell them they are price matching to a cache and to raise it back up.


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

Thanks. Barnes & Noble hasn't been updated via Smashwords yet, so that must be why


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## TexasGirl (Dec 21, 2011)

Yup. When BN finally goes back up, republish or email KDP, whichever you find easier. When you publish, the bots go out looking.


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

Now that Smashwords has updated the Barnes & Noble sales, here's the final sales update (The Kult is now back at it's regular price and is selling a few copies a day, but this is the sales to date since the promotion started): 

Amazon.com total sales: 831 (2 refunds)
Amazon.co.uk: 10
Barnes & Noble: 257

(there have been 38 sales of the second book in the series, Killers)

There have also been 5 reviews since the sale. Two 1* and three 5*


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## TexasGirl (Dec 21, 2011)

So what would you do differently if you could do it again?

I'm starting a mini-blitz next week. BookBlast Friday, BookBub Tuesday, Kindle Books & Tips the next Friday.

Got blown off by ENT, it seems, but they ran this book as free about a year ago, so who knows.

I need 785 sales at 99 cents to break even.


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## 56139 (Jan 21, 2012)

TexasGirl said:


> Yeah, I did Addicted to eBooks and Romance Book Bargains last week since they were $10 each, and why not. Nada.
> 
> My absolute best thing has been cross promo with other authors in the same genre releasing at the same time. Free and fun and builds happy also-bots.
> 
> I'll organize something else when I release another new book.


Yup. Me too, Deanna. Tragic released last Monday, Lizzy Ford had her big promo over Memorial day weekend, I think I paid $10 to get in on it, I really don't remember, it was a while ago. And I paid $50 for a BargainBooksey ad on Friday. I got 500 sales in two days for $60.

Plus, I had my own release day blitz and I had Damaris from Good Choice Reading do a blitz for me too. My blitz was free, obviously, and Damaris' blitz was $40.

So, total expenditure on release day week, $100.

I'm not sure if I could repeat this result. It's about luck too.

Tragic is ENT BOTD tomorrow.  Clutch was scheduled, but I asked Greg if I could switch with Tragic last week and he said yes.

I love Greg.


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## lukemallory (May 13, 2013)

Hi Shaun,

For a newbie like me, that was really, reallllllly useful and interesting - thank you so much for keeping us updated   Gives me some idea of what I need to be doing in the future, and what not to do!

Cheers from Ireland,
Luke


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

TexasGirl said:


> So what would you do differently if you could do it again?
> 
> I'm starting a mini-blitz next week. BookBlast Friday, BookBub Tuesday, Kindle Books & Tips the next Friday.
> 
> ...


I think you've already nailed what I would do with the companies you have lined up. Like your good self, I would space them out with probably around three or so days in-between each ad. And these would be my picks to use if possible: 
Bookbub
Book Blast
Kindle Books and Tips
POI
ENT

Hope it goes well for you and I'd be interested in seeing your results.


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## TexasGirl (Dec 21, 2011)

Yeah, I submitted to POI and ENT. POI is always an enigma. You'll just see if you get them when it happens. I'm surprised ENT didn't pick it up though. It's been a very long time since it was free and this particular book is always popular as a romantic comedy.


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

Well I've planned another promotion. This one is more tailored and is for the second Prosper Snow novel, Killers (which can be read as a stand alone novel) but this opens up a whole host of issues about whether promoting the second book in a series works. Anyway, this time I've got Bookbub to run the ad as a thriller, which is what I wanted for The Kult.

So here's the lowdown:

Bookbub June 25th
Ebookbargains June 25th
Bookblast June 27th
Kindle Books and Tips July 1st

I've contacted ENT and POI, but will have to wait and see whether they pick it up.

Cost of this promo, $325


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## Sever Bronny (May 13, 2013)

Just wanted to add my voice of thanks for this Shaun, it's invaluable information. I've saved the thread and will consult it again before attempting a paid advertising stint.

Sever


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## TexasGirl (Dec 21, 2011)

My mini-blitz is underway and I'll report this weekend.

Looks like it's going to be simply a break-even venture at $280. Trading money for money.

I did Bookblast--Bookbub--Kindle Books & Tips.


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## NathanHaleJefferson (Apr 3, 2013)

Shaun Jeffrey said:


> Well I've planned another promotion. This one is more tailored and is for the second Prosper Snow novel, Killers (which can be read as a stand alone novel) but this opens up a whole host of issues about whether promoting the second book in a series works. Anyway, this time I've got Bookbub to run the ad as a thriller, which is what I wanted for The Kult.
> 
> So here's the lowdown:
> 
> ...


Keep us posted! ALso, I know how to contact Bookbub - they already turned me down, but how can I get a hold of the others?


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

NathanHaleJefferson said:


> Keep us posted! ALso, I know how to contact Bookbub - they already turned me down, but how can I get a hold of the others?


They have contact details on their sites to submit books:

http://www.bookblast.co/advertise.shtml

http://www.fkbooksandtips.com/for-authors/

Hope that helps


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

TexasGirl said:


> My mini-blitz is underway and I'll report this weekend.
> 
> Looks like it's going to be simply a break-even venture at $280. Trading money for money.
> 
> I did Bookblast--Bookbub--Kindle Books & Tips.


Good luck with it. Look forwards to hearing the results.


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

Okay, my promotion for Killers is now underway. Bookbub posted the ad yesterday. Being the second book in the series, I had reservations whether it would do so well. Well those reservation have been blown away.

*Day 1 update. UK time: 12.24*
Amazon.com total sales: 811
Amazon.co.uk: 8

Amazon.com sales rank: #150 Paid in Kindle Store

Sales of the first book, The Kult at full price, 42

Barnes & Noble sales rank: 30


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## DanDillard (Mar 10, 2011)

I'm in love with this thread... I haven't figured it out yet, but thanks to EVERYONE for spilling. Getting the ration of cash out to cash in for advertising is the hardest thing to figure, especially since the market is so weird and always changing. Two years ago, I got lucky and had a free book promotion that yielded almost 100,000 downloads of a couple of short stories, that led to 2500 sales of the collection I was promoting and about 1000 sales of my other books at the time. I have no idea what I did to achieve that. Haven't been able to capture that again, but I hope everyone's work on here will help. 

Too cool, all.


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

*Day 1 update. UK time: 12.24*
Amazon.com total sales: 811
Amazon.co.uk: 8

Amazon.com sales rank: #150 Paid in Kindle Store

Sales of the first book, The Kult at full price, 42

Barnes & Noble sales rank: 30

*Day 2 update. UK time: 11.26*
Amazon.com total sales: 972
Amazon.co.uk: 10

Amazon.com sales rank: #367 Paid in Kindle Store (highest it got to was 141)

Sales of the first book, The Kult at full price, 70

Barnes & Noble sales rank: 103 (highest I saw it get to was 26)

Today I have the Book Blast ad, and ENT emailed me to let me know they will run an ad tomorrow for it.


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## purplesmurf (Mar 20, 2012)

It sounds like running the 2nd book has been very successful for you so far! Congrats, and i'm sure you'll get another nice boost in rank once ENT runs you!


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

*Day 1 update. UK time: 12.24*
Amazon.com total sales: 811
Amazon.co.uk: 8

Amazon.com sales rank: #150 Paid in Kindle Store

Sales of the first book, The Kult at full price, 42

Barnes & Noble sales rank: 30

*Day 2 update. UK time: 11.26*
Amazon.com total sales: 972
Amazon.co.uk: 10

Amazon.com sales rank: #367 Paid in Kindle Store (highest it got to was 141)

Sales of the first book, The Kult at full price, 70

Barnes & Noble sales rank: 103 (highest I saw it get to was 26)

*Day 3 update. UK time: 10.31*
Amazon.com total sales: 1068
Amazon.co.uk: 10

Amazon.com sales rank: #638 Paid in Kindle Store (highest it got to was 141)

Sales of the first book, The Kult at full price, 72

Barnes & Noble sales rank: 409 (highest I saw it get to was 26)

If I could have done anything differently this time, I would have had the ads run consecutively as when sales slowed on the second day, it started dropping in rank.


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## RinG (Mar 12, 2013)

Glad to see the promo of the second book is working out well! Who would have thought. 

It can be so hit and miss with sales. I'm trying an daily deals ad with digital book today, and it's been a total wash out. Barely any sales! But it was only $25, so I thought I'd give it a go.


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

Yes, I'm pleased it went better than I thought it would.

*Day 1 update. UK time: 12.24*
Amazon.com total sales: 811
Amazon.co.uk: 8

Amazon.com sales rank: #150 Paid in Kindle Store

Sales of the first book, The Kult at full price, 42

Barnes & Noble sales rank: 30

*Day 2 update. UK time: 11.26*
Amazon.com total sales: 972
Amazon.co.uk: 10

Amazon.com sales rank: #367 Paid in Kindle Store (highest it got to was 141)

Sales of the first book, The Kult at full price, 70

Barnes & Noble sales rank: 103 (highest I saw it get to was 26)

*Day 3 update. UK time: 10.31*
Amazon.com total sales: 1068
Amazon.co.uk: 10

Amazon.com sales rank: #638 Paid in Kindle Store

Sales of the first book, The Kult at full price, 72

Barnes & Noble sales rank: 409

*Day 4 update. UK time: 12.24*
Amazon.com total sales: 1200
Amazon.co.uk: 11

Amazon.com sales rank: #776 Paid in Kindle Store

Sales of the first book, The Kult at full price, 82

Barnes & Noble sales rank: 4,135

Smashwords sales for Barnes & Noble have now updated, and I had to look twice. A blistering 1591 sales!!!!!


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

*Day 1 update. UK time: 12.24*
Amazon.com total sales: 811
Amazon.co.uk: 8

Amazon.com sales rank: #150 Paid in Kindle Store

Sales of the first book, The Kult at full price, 42

Barnes & Noble sales rank: 30

*Day 2 update. UK time: 11.26*
Amazon.com total sales: 972
Amazon.co.uk: 10

Amazon.com sales rank: #367 Paid in Kindle Store (highest it got to was 141)

Sales of the first book, The Kult at full price, 70

Barnes & Noble sales rank: 103 (highest I saw it get to was 26)

*Day 3 update. UK time: 10.31*
Amazon.com total sales: 1068
Amazon.co.uk: 10

Amazon.com sales rank: #638 Paid in Kindle Store

Sales of the first book, The Kult at full price, 72

Barnes & Noble sales rank: 409

*Day 4 update. UK time: 12.24*
Amazon.com total sales: 1200
Amazon.co.uk: 11

Amazon.com sales rank: #776 Paid in Kindle Store

Sales of the first book, The Kult at full price, 82

Barnes & Noble sales rank: 4,135

Smashwords sales for Barnes & Noble: 1591 sales.

*Day 5 update. UK time: 10.04*
Amazon.com total sales: 1229
Amazon.co.uk: 11

Sales of the first book, The Kult at full price, 95

Smashwords sales update for Barnes & Noble: 1591 sales.


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

Okay, here's a final update. I've been very pleased with how this promotion has gone, as it has resulted in nearly 3,000 sales of Killers across Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

*Day 1 update. UK time: 12.24*
Amazon.com total sales: 811
Amazon.co.uk: 8

Amazon.com sales rank: #150 Paid in Kindle Store

Sales of the first book, The Kult at full price, 42

Barnes & Noble sales rank: 30

*Day 2 update. UK time: 11.26*
Amazon.com total sales: 972
Amazon.co.uk: 10

Amazon.com sales rank: #367 Paid in Kindle Store (highest it got to was 141)

Sales of the first book, The Kult at full price, 70

Barnes & Noble sales rank: 103 (highest I saw it get to was 26)

*Day 3 update. UK time: 10.31*
Amazon.com total sales: 1068
Amazon.co.uk: 10

Amazon.com sales rank: #638 Paid in Kindle Store

Sales of the first book, The Kult at full price, 72

Barnes & Noble sales rank: 409

*Day 4 update. UK time: 12.24*
Amazon.com total sales: 1200
Amazon.co.uk: 11

Amazon.com sales rank: #776 Paid in Kindle Store

Sales of the first book, The Kult at full price, 82

Barnes & Noble sales rank: 4,135

Smashwords sales for Barnes & Noble: 1591 sales.

*Day 5 update. UK time: 10.04*
Amazon.com total sales: 1229
Amazon.co.uk: 11

Sales of the first book, The Kult at full price, 95

*Day 6 update. UK time 18.00*
Amazon.com total sales: 1270
Amazon.co.uk: 12

Sales of the first book, The Kult at full price, 106


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## August Wainwright (Apr 25, 2013)

So the second in the series did much better than the first with a similar add, right? Might have missed it, but what was your promo priced at (I'm assuming $0.99) and what was the first in the series priced at during the promo?

And thanks again for all the numbers.


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

The promo price for both was 99c. The first time around, The Kult was priced at $2.99 before the promo. I raised the price after, and the books are now priced $3.99. The Kult was promoted as horror, Killers as a thriller.

Here's a side by side comparison:

The Kult / Killers
*Day 1*
Amazon.com: 222 / 811 
Amazon.co.uk: 3 / 8

*Day 2*
Amazon.com: 451 / 972
Amazon.co.uk: 5 / 10

*Day 3*
Amazon.com: 530 / 1068
Amazon.co.uk: 7 / 10

*Day 4*
Amazon.com: 617 / 1200
Amazon.co.uk: 8 / 11

*Day 5*
Amazon.com: 704 / 1229 
Amazon.co.uk: 8 / 11

*Day 6*
Amazon.com: 726 / 1270
Amazon.co.uk: 9 / 12

19 sales of Killers / 106 sales of The Kult

Barnes & Noble: 257 / 1591


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## ChristinaGarner (Aug 31, 2011)

What a fantastic thread! Thanks for sharing and congrats on your results! I just did a BB ad for book 1 in a trilogy and sold about 320. Nothing crazy, but I more than broke even. Now I'm debating whether to run a BB add for book 2, and if so, when. Your info is greatly appreciated!


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

Thanks. I'm glad people found it useful. As per the Bookbub terms, I will wait 90 days and then try submitting the first book, The Kult again, but I will try to get it listed as a thriller this time, like the second book was. That would make for a great comparison.


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## Emily Kimelman (Apr 29, 2011)

Thanks for posting. I've had a similar experience with Bookbub with later books in the series doing better. I have no idea why this is but the further the book is in the series the more sales I get. Doesn't make much sense to me but there you go. Nice to see some other data that confirms this weird trend.


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## JohnHindmarsh (Jun 3, 2011)

Shaun,

An invaluable thread. I am planning for three releases later this year [Sept/Oct/Nov] and this has provided excellent material for my planning.

Well done!


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

As mentioned previously, I submitted The Kult to Bookbub again for the thriller category, and I've had it accepted for August 30th.


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## ER Pierce (Jun 4, 2013)

awesome thread, and congrats on your successes!


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

Okay, The Kult promo was sent out by Bookbub yesterday in the thriller category, and I had high hopes after the success of the second book in the series, Killers, but at around 24 hours after the email went out, sales on Amazon.com are: 509. 

It's more than when it was run as a horror novel, but not as many as Killers sold in the same period. Also, Killers reached rank 26 in the Barnes & Noble sales rank, whereas The Kult only reached 50. Also, Killers reached 150 in the Amazon charts, but The Kult only reached 291 at its peak, so in this instance, the second book in the series did far better. :/


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## RockyGrede (Apr 19, 2013)

Just spent the last 30 min reading this thread. Thanks for creating it and all the best with the ventures!


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