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Content removed, please delete all quotes of my words

2K views 11 replies 12 participants last post by  Nikolas TorVald 
#1 ·
Content removed because I do not consent to VS's retroactive claims about ToS.
 
#3 ·
I'm slowly going back wide again (I decided to jump back when Google Play opened their portals for a few hours and actually let me in), and I'm seeing the same challenges you are.

So far, the best solutions seem to be a high quality magic wand and some carefully worded spells and incantations.

Otherwise, it looks like a long, hard slog. But these days, the same can be said for Amazon.
 
#4 ·
Other than "it takes time", the only way I've found is free first in series with good back matter pointing them to the next one. Then promote extensively.

I recently had a Bookbub featured deal, which appears to be the only promoter with established readers in those markets. Freebooksy sees a small spike usually, along with Robin Reads, ENT and FKBT, but far less so than their Amazon reach. In the four days since my Bookbub, sales on the subsequent books and others in my name have turned a decent profit already, with around two thirds coming from Amazon and a third from Apple & Nook combined (and a fraction somewhere in there not worth mentioning from Kobo, although I suspect their reporting is sluggish over the new year and Christmas holidays ... at least I hope so; Kobo is usually pretty good for me).

So, that's all I can offer, I'm afraid. Even a temporary discount might help if you don't want to do it as permafree or perma-discounted. The Facebook or BB CPC ads you already mentioned might help too, being able to target very specifically, but it'd take a lot of investment.

I'm sure there may be others with better track records than me who can give you something that shortens the "it takes time" period.
 
#5 ·
Kobo: Ask for the promotions tab and submit your books for promotions. Most of the Buy 2, Get 1 and percent discount promos are run using coupon codes so Amazon doesn't price match those. I'd say 95% of my sales on Kobo are from those promos. Nice thing is, with most of them you don't pay unless you sell so you can promo without losing money. Works nice for my niche non-fiction titles when I can get them in the promos. The other thing I've seen is that after two international-only Bookbubs I'm starting to see organic sales on that series on Kobo.

Google: Be sure to include keywords at the end of your blurb. (Mark Cooper I think it was had links to his books on Google a while back to show how that's done.) Also Google Ad Words seem to result in sales there for romance but I have yet to find a way to make those ads profitable. Might work for someone with a long series and good sellthrough.

Nook: There seems to be some sort of new release bump there. At least I saw one when I put my books that had been through D2D direct. Also Early Bird was able to get me sales there (about 20% of what they deliver on Amazon), but overall those promos are too expensive for what they deliver so I can't recommend running one.
 
#6 ·
I have just started going wide (D2D), and ran my first fb add. I used a link to books2read.com/u/bOaWdQ . The landing page to that link shows a cover thumbnail and all my links, including Amazon. The setup is friendly, two clicks get the potential to their desired retailer's page for my book, and it's free. So far so good for me.
 
#7 ·
Start with the questions:

What sort of readers are most likely to read off Amazon--or buy, rather than borrow, on Amazon, because they are part of the "wide" audience, too?

The answer is likely to be: readers who don't read a book a day, readers who are prepared to pay for premium books, readers who are not in the US.

Where are these readers getting their recommendations and free samples?

The answer may include: friend recommendations and blogs, but don't discount free author-run promotions and Instafreebie. People who get their freebies at Instafreebie are less likely to have a KU subscription, because otherwise, they'd get their free fix in KU.

How can you reach these readers?

Get them on your mailing list. Then separate them out according to where they buy.
 
#8 ·
CaptnAndy said:
I have just started going wide (D2D), and ran my first fb add. I used a link to books2read.com/u/bOaWdQ . The landing page to that link shows a cover thumbnail and all my links, including Amazon. The setup is friendly, two clicks get the potential to their desired retailer's page for my book, and it's free. So far so good for me.
Thanks for this suggestion. I am marketing my first Kindle publication and a bit overwhelmed ...
 
#9 ·
CaptnAndy said:
I have just started going wide (D2D), and ran my first fb add. I used a link to books2read.com/u/bOaWdQ . The landing page to that link shows a cover thumbnail and all my links, including Amazon. The setup is friendly, two clicks get the potential to their desired retailer's page for my book, and it's free. So far so good for me.
They will also let you customize your link to make it easier to find your books. (ie https://www.books2read.com/ CitrusBeachMystery-1 )
and they send out a post to anyone who is a follower that you have a new book
 
#10 ·
I have a new series going wide and I'm hoping somebody could speak to whether it is better to price the first in series at full price and then put on sale and promo in pulses or get the first in series on perma-free and promo it that way. Any thoughts on this from writers who have done well (or not so well) with either of these ideas? Perhaps some ideas on other ways to get sales traction? 
 
#11 ·
Victoria LK said:
They will also let you customize your link to make it easier to find your books. (ie https://www.books2read.com/ CitrusBeachMystery-1 )
and they send out a post to anyone who is a follower that you have a new book
But what if you have your titles direct on Amazon and Google, and the rest on D2D for example? The link isn't helpful in that case, unless you can add those somehow.

EDITED: I just tried it and they do! Brilliant. This will definitely come in handy.
 
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