Results Of My Big Paid Newsletter Marketing Push

My What Now?

Ok, I don't think I talked about this a ton, so let me loop you in. I paid a bunch of companies who run fantasy book newsletters to put Bringing Home the Rain in their newsletter. 

Paid quite a bit, too. More than I wanted, but hey, it's all a gamble right? So lets talk about the why, first, then I will get into the specifics of who I paid what, and the results.

The Why

I've known folks over the years who have done this sort of thing. You usually hear folks talking about getting a BookBub deal, as that's the biggy. It's the, oh, 300lb gorilla in the room. It's not thaaaat much bigger than all the rest, but it is the biggest by a notable margin. 

So hearing from folks over the years, and knowing it can help, I decided to give it a go. I'm starting to really take my marketing more seriously, since coming to the realization that in person sales could only take me so far. Starting my facebook ad was step one, this was step two.

To help set me up for imagined success, I set up a promo deal through Amazon. From the 6th through the 10th I had book 1 for free (that was the one I applied to all the companies with). The rest of the series I discounted (.99/.99/1.99/1.99/2.99).

The Who and How Much

So I did some research and selected the following services, applied, and paid:

• Robin Reads - $65 - Live on the 7th (it wasn't availble on the 6th)

• Book Bub - $260 - Live on the 6th (This was a free reads ad, instead of the main newsletter)

• FreeBooksy - $170 - Live on the 6th

• Fussy Librarian - $55 - Live on the 6th

• Book Barbarian - $60 - Live on the 6th

• Ereader News Today - $45 - Live on the 6th

Total Spend: $655.00

The Stats!

Ok so here is a breakdown of the stats for the 6th-10th:

• Book 1: 11,230 Free Copies

• Book 2: 98 Copies Sold

• Book 3: 89 Copies Sold

• Book 4: 43 Copies Sold

• Book 5: 41 Copies Sold

• Book 6: 33 Copies Sold

• Audiobooks: 16 Copies Sold

Total Copies Sold: 320

The previous week (29th-5th): 47 sold, plus 42 Audiobooks

The five promo days (6th-10th): 304 sold, plus 16 Audiobooks

The next week (11th-18th): 55 sold, plus 17 Audiobooks

The next week  (19th-26th): 55 sold, plus 18 Audiobooks

What about Kindle Page Reads?

The previous week (29th-5th): 21,694

The five promo days (6th-10th): 25,448

The next week (11th-18th): 44,557

The next week (19th-26th): 39,958

Was It Worth It?

I'd say so! Now, at face value I didn't earn back my spend, at least not in the five day window. Amazon is estimating that I made about 440 bucks during those five days, and I spent 655, right? That's over 200 bucks lost.

But two things: 

1. That total doesn't include audiobook sales, so the amount earned will go up a little.

2. More importantly my sales, and especially my page reads have increased a good bit since then. Right now Amazon is guessing I've made $1,418.05. I spent $655 and have spent $325 on my Facebook Ad this month. So I spent 980 to earn 1420, so my net is looking like $440 from online sales, NOT including audiobook sales. And hey, there are still a few days left in the month!

So yeah, all in all this was a success I would say. Someone may come along behind me and say "Gross, spent so much to only net X." And then I will feel sad. But for now, this dog will hunt.