[benji smith]

546 people have started reading my book over the past 30 days.

You know how I know? It was actually an accident.

Near the end of Chapter 2, for various reasons, I wanted to include a link to a YouTube video. It's easy enough to put a realy hyperlink into an ebook. But I also released a paperback version of the book, so I needed the URL to be very short and very easy-to-type. YouTube video links have an awkward video ID, and I didn't want anybody to have to type that ID into their browser.

So I created a bitly link and customized the URL into something easy-on-the-eyes and easy-to-remember.

This was a happy accident, because now I can get analytics about how many people have clicked on that link.

Here are the bitly charts for the past 30 days:

Pretty cool huh?

This chart comes on the day after completion of a two-day KDP select free promo, so that's why the numbers have spiked so suddenly.

Anyhow, it's really nice to have a ballpark answer to the question of how many freebie downloaders actually read the book (or at least, how many start reading). Obviously, this doesn't work with readers on e-ink devices, but it gives a pretty good baseline.

 

[Mathew Reuther]

Now I wish I wrote anything where I had an excuse to have people click.

 

[AnneEton]

So how many freebie downloaders actually DID read your book, or at least started to? Percentages? Just curious! Thanks for sharing.

 

[benji smith]

So how many freebie downloaders actually DID read your book, or at least started to? Percentages? Just curious! Thanks for sharing.

Oh yeah! Ummmm.... At this very moment, 538 of the freebie downloaders have clicked on the link, from a total freebie population of 25,308 downloaders. That's about a 2% click rate.

But I don't know what percentage of readers are using e-ink devices (and who probably wouldn't click on a video link) or what percentage just skip past the link without clicking.

 

[Clare K. R. Miller]

Wow, that's really cool. I'm glad at least some people are reading your freebie!

Is it obvious that it's a Youtube link so they know not to click from an e-ink device?

 

[SBJones]

I would like to see that 30 day chart again at the end of 30 days.  My experience and data after doing a free promo says the benefits last approximately three weeks.  It would be valuable to see how long it takes before your click rate returns to pre-promo numbers.  Of course, I would like to see it spike back up and never go down because your book is selling.

 

[Terrence OBrien]

If I have a Kindle, not a fire,  can I click on a link and go there?

 

[benji smith]

Is it obvious that it's a Youtube link so they know not to click from an e-ink device?

Yes, the text looks like this:

The day after the wedding, we sent this video to everyone we knew:

http://bit.ly/TheLinkToMyVideo

A silly video for a spur-of-the-moment wedding, between two ridiculous people.

(Obviously, I changed the URL here, because I really only want people reading the book to click on that link.)

 

[benji smith]

I would like to see that 30 day chart again at the end of 30 days. My experience and data after doing a free promo says the benefits last approximately three weeks. It would be valuable to see how long it takes before your click rate returns to pre-promo numbers. Of course, I would like to see it spike back up and never go down because your book is selling.

Agreed! I'll post an update 27 days from now

 

[AuthorMichaelThomas]

You actually happened upon a pretty cool trick that I use too, but you will actually get more use out of it by seeing how many people view your book on Amazon. The trick is similar, but instead of only seeing people who click a link inside your book, you get to see how many people VIEW your book before purchasing. Then, with purchasing numbers, you can see your conversion rate, referring links, etc.

This is my book, so yes, some self-promotion , but it covers that trick and some others as well if you are interested.
http://bit.ly/KindleSecrets

 

[teashopgirl]

Neat! Thanks for sharing. My travel guides have tons of links, but I never thought to track them like this. Very cool.

 

[bonnerauthor]

I'm trying to set up the bitly analytic for my books. I have a valid URL and the bitly link but having difficulty writing the HTML. I put it in the book description, wait the requisite 8-12 hours and find I have only managed to add a string of source code to the book description or a small textured rectangle appears. Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong and how the source code should look? Here's an example of my failure:

<img src="http://bit.ly/10uyjxX" align="left">

Thanks in advance. More available with solution.

 

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

You actually happened upon a pretty cool trick that I use too, but you will actually get more use out of it by seeing how many people view your book on Amazon. The trick is similar, but instead of only seeing people who click a link inside your book, you get to see how many people VIEW your book before purchasing. Then, with purchasing numbers, you can see your conversion rate, referring links, etc.

This is my book, so yes, some self-promotion , but it covers that trick and some others as well if you are interested.
http://bit.ly/KindleSecrets

I'm not from the US, but I thought her name was Betty Crocker