Amazon is not set it and forget it maretplace. If you want to have consistend success, then you will have to use different strategies to promote your books and increase their exposure.
FREE vs 99c
The KDP Select program is still a must for any new writer out there, because it helps you get more exposure. It is not as effective as it was before, but still the free days allow you to get a lot of reviews and exposure to your book. Keep in mind that KDP Select requires you to distribute your book exclusively on Amazon and nowhere else. There is a saying that 100 free downloads make 1 However I am personally against free days and mostly agains the free launch. Because this way the people that were interested in your book and expecting its release will get it for free. You will miss a lot of solid sales this way. If you don’t have any auhor paltform, maybe still the free launch is the best option for you. If you have a small platform then go for the 99c launch.
The 99c advantages are:
- your paid ranking will improve (which will not happen from the free day)
- You will getting more quality reviews from people that are at least a little bit interested in the topic of your book. They have paid for it after all.
Downsides:
- You won’t get as much reviews as from a free day.
Another pitfall from the free day is that you risk getting a 1 star reviews from people who have no interest on the subject of your book, that bought it just because it was free. These reviews usually sound like this. “I am glad it was free….. “
Another way of use for the same strategies are the promotion days on regular basis during the KDP Select program. This will help you improve your rankings a lot. Especially if you make 99c promos. You will get a solid increase in the sales after the promotion and you will get a nice number of reviews. A thing you need to keep in mind about a FREE DAY promotion is that it might ruin your review ratings. By getting a lot of unrelevant reviews.
Before maing any FREE DAY promotions you have to prepare well and submit your promotion to FREE BOOK promotion websites. You can get a list from this great blog here: http://www.tckpublishing.com/list-of-sites-to-promote-your-free-amazon-kindle-books/
THE DOMINO EFFECT
In order to understand which strategy works best for you, you need to keep track on your metrics on a regular basis. The most important things to track are the SALES and REVIEWS. These are the 2 things that will determine the success of your books. Sales are directly responsible for your ranking and the most recent sales have the greater impact on your ranking on Amazon Top Paid 100, Hot new Releases, Keyword Search, Customers also bought section. Amazon is the 3rd largest search engine in the world, do you get it how important is your ranking? Reviews have almost none impact on your ranking, but they have a great impact on your sales, the better the reviews, the better your book will convert. Do you get the picture, it is like a DOMINO EFFECT.
