Free Reads Steps onto the Promo Scene
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been trying to land a Featured Bookbub Deal for more than four years, and I have yet to be asked to join the lucky 20 percent who are chosen.
For those who don’t know, Bookbub has built the largest e-subscriber list known to readers (more than 10 million), and a discounted or free promotion on that list can be a game changer for any author, whether independent or traditionally published.
A Bookbub Featured Deal results in many thousands of downloads. It’s a chance for readers to love your book and talk about your book and cause the success of the book to snowball.
The Bookbub email with its lineup of discounted reads goes out daily, and readers can pick and choose which e-books they want to purchase at a low cost or for free. Most of the books listed are 99 cents or $1.99, but some cost a bit more, and as I've said, others are free. Readers who don't subscribe can visit the Bookbub website and find the complete list of books on sale that day.
Some promos only last a day, but most go on for several days.
A place in this coveted e-mail can cost the author anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. A free book deal costs the least and a book that’s on promo for $3 or more will cost more.
Every thirty days you’re allowed to submit your books for a Featured Deal (free or discounted).
A NEW PROMO
Since the start of my self-published days, I’ve tried to obtain a “free book” deal. I don’t love the idea of giving away multiple thousands of books for free, but because I have a series (The Jovian Universe Pentalogy), doing so would actually be a very good thing for me. Any reader who downloads a free first-in-series will potentially spend money on the other books in that series.
As I’ve already told you, none of my books have been accepted for a Featured Deal. However, one of my books was recently selected for something else. Bookbub is currently offering a new promotional tool to authors who want to provide their book for free. It’s called “Free Reads.”
If you submit your book for a free book Featured Deal, you may be turned down for the Featured Deal, but you may be offered a place in the Free Reads promo. What is the Free Reads promo? It’s a new product focused on free titles. A subset of Bookbub readers primarily download free books. This list is geared toward them.
When I submitted Staked: A Vampire’s Tale for a Featured Deal, I received an email with a Free Reads offer, and I took it. The book appeared on the Free Reads list in the Supernatural Suspense category on October 29. The timing couldn't have been better, considering the Halloween-appropriate theme of my book.
The cost was $135. It was free on Amazon on the 29th and 30th. I would have offered it for free for a longer time, but I’d already used up the rest of my Free Day opportunities (KDP allows for five per ninety-day period).
Ten days later, the results for Staked stand as follows: 4,487 downloads, 1,000+ page reads, and five new reviews on Goodreads (so far).
For the price, I consider this a big win, and I hope to do it again! If you’ve been trying to land a Featured Deal for ages, keep trying. The Free Reads option is not a bad substitute.
Have you done a Free Reads deal? I’d love to hear how it went. Reply to this email to let me know.
