Indie Publishing: BookFunnel – Part Two

So back in May (where has this year flown?) I wrote about BookFunnel and how I was using it to distribute ARC and free copies of my books. I also wrote about how I discovered (belatedly) that BookFunnel also allows you to participate in group promotions. You can read that article here.

This time I want to tell you what I’ve learnt since then. I’ve been in seven (two are currently on going) promos since then so I’ve had a chance to experiment and to see how it works. So, what have I learnt? 

• Not to trust the “conversion” rate BookFunnel displays. BookFunnel will tell you how many people viewed your book link and how many bought your book. Mine all say that no purchases have been made, but purchases are showing in my KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) dashboard.
• For an example, in one week I sold 5 books while running five promos (this wasn’t a typical week). This month I’ve been in two promos, one for each of my series. The Wings promo includes The Lady of Zion, and the 99c & Free has included The Kingston Chronicles. So far this month I’ve sold 6 copies from The Kingston Chronicles. This is a significant increase for me. The main thing I can contribute it to is running BookFunnel promos.
• Since starting BookFunnel Promos I’ve sold 15 books in basically two months. This is a significant jump.
• Don’t go crazy doing all the promos. When I started, I got a little over enthusiastic and joined a bunch of promos. I quickly realised that I had too many. Now I’m trying to keep it to two promos at a time. It allows me to focus better and get better results. BookFunnel gives you a ranking based on “shares” and it is easier to get a better ranking with less to offer.
• Readers are more likely to download free books than 99c books.
• Readers are more interested in free/99c books than KU books (Kindle Unlimited).
• I have had a better response with sales promos than KU promos. I will probably stop doing KU promos for a while.
• I have a better response when I post promo links on Twitter than on Facebook or Instagram.
• I have a better response when I post themed gifs with the link.
• Posting the link on Twitter once a day usually yields about 3 shares without bombarding my feed with sales pitches. I try to keep my feed 80% stuff, 20% sales/ads etc.

I’d like to upgrade to the next tier of BookFunnel so I can participate in newsletter promos, where you give away free books in exchange for readers joining your mailing list. But it will have to wait until I have some more funds in the bank.

I think BookFunnel has been a great tool to help me grow my marketing. It is pretty simple to use and is one of the best ways I’ve found to get my book in front of new readers without feeling like I was being pushy.

Side note: here are my current promos.