I thought about starting off 2024 with a post discussing what I have on tap this year but decided to talk about how I wrapped up 2023 instead. Before I get started, please note that my Ocean Falls Trilogy is complete. Keep this in mind when comparing how your own promotion might go. The next event is in the spring and you do NOT want to miss it.
4 days. 135+ authors. 13 genres/subgenres.
First and foremost, special thanks to Haley Anderton (IG: hayley_a_writes) for creating and overseeing this amazing event. The amount of work and attention to detail she put in was a sight to see and made the entire process seamless from beginning to end. Now let’s talk details. I’m a list person, always have been, and as soon as I signed up, I immediately got to work. Before I got any further, this is MY process, how I chose to go about things. Some of what you read you’ll agree with, other things not so much. Take what you like, leave the rest.
Update book categories on Amazon. As it stands, authors are able to select 3 categories for their books. Let’s be honest though, most of our books fall under many more, and so every 3-4 months, I go in and update my categories. I see it as a bit of a refresher if you will. Keep in mind that it may take as many as 3 days to update so if that’s on your to-do, it should be at the top.
Pricing. This was the hardest part for me because while I wanted to get a lot of downloads during this event, I didn’t want to go with free across the board. Once I finally landed on a strategy, I went with the following:
Hardpressed (Bk1) .99
Hells Belles (Bk2) Free
Patience Paise (Bk3) Free
Who can resist a freebie? How many times have you snagged a free book knowing it’s not a standalone or book 1 in a series? We’ve all done it. Some readers spent the .99 to complete the set, all three books for a dollar. Those who didn’t now have 2 choices. They can purchase the book at its regular price OR read it on Kindle Unlimited. Both of these options generate a higher royalty amount than the initial .99 sale so in the grand scheme of things, that’s a win/win for me.
Marketing matters whether you’re doing a special promotion or not. I think this is one thing we can all agree on. The participating authors are broken up into groups with other authors in their genre. From there- brainstorming, collabs and ready to use graphics were made available. When one of us wins, we all win. Authors helping authors will always be a key to indie success. Always. One particular standout to me was reader reaction and my biggest takeaway is that quotes trump tropes. Both are great marketing tips but if you don’t often use quotes in your marketing, give it a go. Trust me.
My final numbers? 577 downloads in 4 days. 26 of those were Hardpressed at .99!
I hope you found some of this information helpful. The next event is April 12th-15th, 2024. Hope to see you there!
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