Latest KDP Countdown Results
I'm starting another Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) Countdown Deal today (Mirrors & Mist for $0.99), so I figured I'd better post the results from my last promotion. On July 10 through July 17, 2017, I held a $0.99 sale on Crimson & Cream, Book I of The Oxbow Kingdom Trilogy. As I recently switched Crimson & Cream exclusively to KDP, it was the first Countdown Deal for this book.
My goal on this post is to share the experience I gained from this promotion, and hopefully help you see some of the strategies that worked for me, as well as identify the mistakes that didn't pay off their investment. In addition to sharing here, I posted the results from this event on Indielisters.
For this latest book promotion, I ran different ads on each day. Below are the advertising sites, with the ad's cost, followed by the date the ad ran, and the number of sales that occurred on that day:
Total units sold = 148
Total spend = $176
In addition to the above ads, I was also advertising with Amazon Marketing Services during this period. My Amazon data for the week of the promo was as follows:
In addition, my author rank reached #585 in Kindle eBooks > SF&F > Fantasy category, which was also a personal best.
My takeaway from this experience is that my books don't sell (much) without ads. The trick is matching the book sale price to the ad cost and making a profit. Moving forward, I'll adjust my methods and prices, and hopefully find that sweet spot.
If you have any questions, please let me know, as I'm happy to share information. And if you have any tips to share, please do. Finally, don't forget, Mirrors & Mist is on sale for $0.99!
My goal on this post is to share the experience I gained from this promotion, and hopefully help you see some of the strategies that worked for me, as well as identify the mistakes that didn't pay off their investment. In addition to sharing here, I posted the results from this event on Indielisters.
For this latest book promotion, I ran different ads on each day. Below are the advertising sites, with the ad's cost, followed by the date the ad ran, and the number of sales that occurred on that day:
- Robin Reads $50 (7/11/17) 34 sales
- Free99 - free (7/12/17) 5 sales
- Books Barbarian $50 (7/13/17) 23 sales
- Bknights - $11 (7/14/17) 5 sales
- Booksends $35 (7/15/17) 35 sales
- ENT $30 (7/16/17) 39 sales
- Amazon only (7/17/17) 7 sales
Total units sold = 148
Total spend = $176
In addition to the above ads, I was also advertising with Amazon Marketing Services during this period. My Amazon data for the week of the promo was as follows:
- eBook & print book royalties = $121
- Estimated KU/KOLL royalties = $21
- Total royalties = $142
- Net loss of $34
I took the biggest financial hit on Books Barbarian, where I invested in a 2-for-1 package that also featured Mirrors & Mist (in addition to Crimson & Cream). The extra cost of adding Mirrors & Mist didn't pay off in sales. Without this tactical error, I came close to breaking even overall.
Although I lost approximately $34 on the promotion, I learned a lot, and sold the most books I ever have in a week or month. My Amazon Author Rank broke the Top 100 Paid in the Kindle Fantasy: Swords & Sorcery category (the highest a book of mine has reached to date).
In addition, my author rank reached #585 in Kindle eBooks > SF&F > Fantasy category, which was also a personal best.
My takeaway from this experience is that my books don't sell (much) without ads. The trick is matching the book sale price to the ad cost and making a profit. Moving forward, I'll adjust my methods and prices, and hopefully find that sweet spot.
If you have any questions, please let me know, as I'm happy to share information. And if you have any tips to share, please do. Finally, don't forget, Mirrors & Mist is on sale for $0.99!
Author Update: I'm still working with my beta readers to polish the final version of Warlock & Wyrm. Although it's dragging out longer than I hoped, I'm making progress every day, and think this will be my most professional novel yet. Since August is slipping away too quickly, I'm shooting for a a September release.
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