KDP Select Giveaway Post-Game Wrap-Up

I ran my first KDP Select free giveaway for Mirrors & Mist on May 14 and 15, 2015. I thought I'd share the statistics I collected to try and get some idea on what worked and what didn't.

On May 14 (Day 1), 139 copies of Mirrors & Mist were claimed on Amazon and 6 copies of Crimson & Cream were downloaded off Smashwords in my coinciding giveaway of Book I of The Oxbow Kingdom Trilogy.

On May 15 (Day 2), 40 copies of Mirrors & Mist were claimed on Amazon and 3 copies of Crimson & Cream were downloaded off Smashwords.

In the days following the giveaway, two copies of Mirrors & Mist and one copy of Crimson & Cream were purchased on Amazon, along with two Kindle Unlimited selections.

So, in total, 188 e-books were given away and three follow-up sales occurred. Obviously, those were not the kind of sales numbers I was hoping for. But, Mirrors & Mist did peak at #31 on Amazon's 100 Free Best Sellers in Epic Fantasy and hovered in the 30s and 40s during the two-day giveaway. I'm treating it as a learning process and hope to do better next time with the additional experience of this event.

My statistics mirror what fellow writer and blogger Tony Jones experienced during his Kindle giveaway, as discussed here. Basically, you move the most units on Day 1, with a steep decline on Day 2 and beyond. Because you can offer a book enrolled in KDP Select free for five days during each 90-day enrollment period, I'm considering using my remaining 3 free days as separate 1-day events to maximize my giveaway potential. It's more work to promote four events verses two or three, but looking at the data, I could potentially find 200 more readers with four 1-day events as opposed to two 2-day events. 

Regarding the sites I used to advertise the giveaway, I posted here listing the free promotional posts I applied to. Of those applications, the following websites actually featured Mirrors & Mist on their listings/newsletters, twitter, etc.:

• askDavid.com
• Author Marketing Club
• eBook Stage
• JustKindleBooks.com
• eBook Korner Cafe
• eBookasaurus
• AwesomeGang.com
• frugal-freebies.com
• eBookLister.net

It's possible I may have been featured on some of the other sites, but just missed my posting, so don't discount them based on my experience. If you missed a chance at the free Crimson & Cream giveaway, or know someone who may be interested, you can still get a free copy at Smashwords with this coupon code: HB78A. I'll also be doing another KDP select giveaway soon, and will let you know once it's scheduled.