The KDP Countdown deal Results are in! #indie #indieauthor

Posted on July 27, 2017 by suzannerogersonfantasyauthor

Well, I’m astounded by what a little advertising can do. These aren’t the massive results others have achieved, but it is the BEST I have ever done, and the best Visions of Zarua has ever done. I’m ecstatic, and my self publishing verve has been restored!

So how did Visions of Zarua do during the 99p / 99c countdown deal?

The deal ran 20th to 27th July 2017

Day 1 – My efforts consisted of Tweeting, blogging, Facebook, Instagram – the usual suspects.

COST = MY TIME. SALES = 0

Day 2 – BKnights

COST = $11. SALES = 3

Day 3 – My Facebook Ad: Aimed at 15-30 age group male/female in UK and US with interests in reading, fantasy etc. Total of 9 interests.

COST = £6. SALES = 0

Note – I picked this age group as they had shown the most interest in previous ads. There were 1,169 people reached – 16 likes and 1 link click (to Amazon book page). 12 photo quote clicks were recorded – obviously having the photo quote took away from the amazon link click. (A few days later I invited these people to Like my facebook page.)

Day 4 – Bargain Booksy Ad

COST $40. SALES = 24!

Finally making progress, although I haven’t covered my costs. There were 21 sales in the US and 3 in the UK.

Day 5 – Facebook Ads attempt 2

This time I ran two ads, 1 US and 1 UK. I upped the age range 16-65+ male/female. I reduced interests to 4.

I also used the Amazon book page as the direct link for the Ad, rather than have the universal link in the wording of the ad as before.

US 14 likes, only 2 link clicks (234 people reached)

UK 2 likes, 21 link clicks. (470 people reached) No idea if these resulted in sales.

COST = £8. SALES = 10 (5 UK / 5 US) – Maybe a result of Bargain Booksy and / or facebook ad?

Day 6 – Booksends

COST $35. SALES = 28

Very happy with these figures!

DAY 7 – Bookrunes.

COST = $25. SALES 9.

I was interested to give Bookrunes a shot as they advertise to UK, US, Australia and India. Even though the deal doesn’t run in all those countries, it’s still very much needed exposure.

And guess what,

Day 8 = 3 sales in Australia!

Extra: Amazon Marketing Services

I also ran an AMS ad throughout the whole KDP countdown deal. The results take a few days to finalise, but so far it looks as though it received 1847 impressions, 1 click and 1 sale. That sale cost so far $0.07. I have a profit WOOHOO! However, that’s the worst an AMS ad has ever performed for me. It was a sponsored product ad with 48 keywords, but they would not let me mention anything to do with the sale or price in the ad so that doesn’t help matters. I also still have an ad running for Visions of Zarua all the time, so the two ads will have been very similar.

The deal has ended, but I have my fingers crossed that more sales will trickle in over the next few days / weeks.

Final Thoughts

Over 8 days Visions of Zarua sold 77 copies. 17 UK 57 US and 3 AU.

I may be out of pocket but it doesn’t matter because 77 new people own my book and countless others have seen it! Even though I haven’t hit any bestseller lists, I’m still happy with the results.

In the past I’ve sold in Canada, Germany and been read in India – so I really can say that Visions of Zarua has been read Worldwide. If I hadn’t had the guts to self publish back in 2015, no one would have seen my work, and no doubt I’d be out in the real world right now trying to find a job that fits in with school hours and term times – boring!

Instead, I’m fully pumped and ready to get on with book 2 in the Silent Sea Chronicles so I can start this crazy business all over again.

P.S – Thanks to my blogging friends who gave me words of advice and encouragement when I had a wobble a few weeks back.

P.P.S – I’m still desperate to get some reviews for The Lost Sentinel (and Visions of Zarua). I want to try a repeat experiment with countdown deals for The Lost Sentinel soon, but it only has 4/5 reviews on Amazon and some ad sites require 10+ reviews. Can you help?

If you’ve read either books, please consider reviewing them on Amazon. If you would like a reviewers copy, please get in touch.

Now I’m planning a whole week without the internet – well almost. I’ll still be checking my emails, wordpress comments etc, so please add your thoughts and comments. I love to interact, that’s what makes this whole thing worth the effort.

Thanks for reading!

Visions of Zarua Amazon link

The Lost Sentinel Amazon link

#WWWBlogs Question for #indieauthors & #readers about #KDP & advertising

Posted on July 12, 2017 by suzannerogersonfantasyauthor

I’m about to set up another Kindle Countdown deal for my book Visions of Zarua. In the past I’ve run a few ads on AMS, Facebook and Goodreads but I wouldn’t say they had resulted in many sales.

I want to ask;

Readers how / where do you discover books and are you more inclined to buy a book during a deal period?

Indie Authors where have you advertised your countdown deals and have they resulted in a good sales? In fact, while we’re on the subject where do you advertise your books whether it’s a promo or not.

I have a limited budget and there are so many sites to choose from, so I’m looking for some guidance. My genre is fantasy, so I’m looking to target readers of fantasy fiction.

Please get in touch and start a discussion on the difficult subject of advertising.

Thanks for your help!

P.S. I have blogged before about my experiences with KDP and if this time turns up any good results I’ll be sure to share them with you.

Visions of Zarua #Kindle #Countdowndeal – 99p/99c Today Only! http://mybook.to/VOZ

Posted on March 23, 2017 by suzannerogersonfantasyauthor

Fancy trying out a new author of epic, dark fantasy? Today’s the perfect day to start with this standalone fantasy novel, Visions of Zarua for only 99p / 99c.

Two wizards, 350 years apart. Can they save the realm of Paltria from Zarua’s dark past?

Recent reviews

A Thoroughly Enjoyable Sword and Sorcery Based Epic Fantasy 28 December 2016

A dark story with many twists and great characters 17 December 2016

This is a dark fantasy novel that I loved 26 November 2016

brilliantly written fantasy, finished it and wanted more! 7 July 2016

A gripping fantasy with a strong premise and endearing characters 16 July 2016 Told through four unique perspectives, Visions of Zarua is an epic fantasy that follows three friends as they struggle to fight demons of the past threatening their homeland of Paltria. Moving between the past and present, the narrative unfolds at a brisk speed, never losing momentum, introducing an intricate world full of magic, intrigue and danger. In Suzanne’s deft hands, the premise transcends the normal stereotypes…

Amazon links

UK and US

You might also want to check out the reviews on Goodreads book page.

Two wizards, 350 years apart. Can they save the realm of Paltria from Zarua’s dark past?

An ancient darkness haunts the realm of Paltria.
Apprentice wizard Paddren is plagued by visions of a city on the brink of annihilation. When his master Kalesh dies in mysterious circumstances, the Royal Order of Wizards refuses to investigate.
Helped by his childhood friend, the skilled tracker Varnia, and her lover Leyoch, Paddren vows to find the killer.
The investigation leads Paddren down a sinister path of assassins, secret sects and creatures conjured by blood magic. But he is guided by a connection with a wizard from centuries ago – a wizard whose history holds the key to the horror at the heart of the abandoned city of Zarua. Can Paddren decipher his visions in time to save the Paltrian people from the dark menace of Zarua’s past?

***

Visions is also enrolled in KDP Select, so is free to read for any one with a kindle unlimited subscription.

If you get the chance to read it, I’d love your feedback. A short review on Amazon will help the book be discovered by other readers.

Thanks for reading and please share away. I’d love to reach out to new readers today.

#Mondayblogs #fantasybook update and new #kindle #countdowndeal for Visions of Zarua

Posted on March 20, 2017 by suzannerogersonfantasyauthor

I’ve taken a long break from blogging to concentrate on my next book, The Lost Sentinel – Book 1 in the Silent Sea Chronicles.

I’m pleased to say it’s now with my editor for an edit and proofread, so fingers crossed I’ll soon be able to set a publication date. I can’t wait to do the cover reveal and to start contacting book reviewers to offer ARC of the finished book. And I can’t wait to finish book 2, which I’ve also been neglecting for too long.

In other news, Visions of Zarua has finally been seeing some action on Kindle Unlimited which I’m really pleased about. There’s nothing quite like checking the pages read to see it spiking over 1k pages in a day. That’s the equivalent of 2.3 books read and although that may seem small to many authors, I’m chuffed.

Now I need to convert some of those reads into reviews! The reviews have slowed down, nothing since late December, so if anyone is interested in reviewing Visions of Zarua please get in touch for a review copy.

Or you could pick it up for 99p on Thursday 23rd March when the Kindle countdown deal starts in the UK & USA. It’ll then be 1.99 on 24th March and revert to its usual price on 25th March.

Here’s the book link Amazon UK & Amazon USA

Visions of Zarua Book Cover.jpg

cathy - pyre picture quote

I’ll be blogging about it throughout the deal, and I’d love your support in sharing the posts. Thanks very much.

Visions of Zarua #Kindle Countdown deal 1 day left #fantasy #sale #fantasybook

Posted on December 10, 2016 by suzannerogersonfantasyauthor

Good Morning world. Today you can still pick up my debut fantasy at a reduced price in the UK and US.

Be quick as the usual price resumed tomorrow.

Amazon UK

Amazon US

Two wizards, 350 years apart. Can they save Paltria from the dark menace of Zarua’s past? Pick up Visions of Zarua and find out.

Please share this post and help me reach more readers like these lovely people who’ve left reviews.

thrilling and dark fantasy that really keeps you gripped from beginning to end!, January 27, 2016

Visions of Zarua | dark sorcery with slithering secrets, 8 April 2016

brilliantly written fantasy, finished it and wanted more!, 7 July 2016

A super fantasy read, December 4, 2016

#Mondayblogs Call for help & advice with KDP Countdown Deals #indieauthors

Posted on December 5, 2016 by suzannerogersonfantasyauthor

I would like to ask for help and advice for my upcoming KDP countdown deal.

My second attempt at the countdown deals starts in the UK and US on 9th December – if I have set it up correctly this time!

Visions of Zarua will be 99p on 9th & £1.99 on 10th December.

It was a bit of a non event last time as I didn’t know what I was doing. Now I’m hoping to generate some interest via Amazon’s sponsored products & product display Ads. I will also have a Goodreads Ad and Facebook Ad running for those few deal days.

Are there any other free or cheap promo sites that will help me? I really want to draw some attention to the sale and make it worthwhile this time around.

Help from the blogging community would be greatly appreciated. If you could reblog and retweet my posts on those days I would be very grateful.

I also want to set up a Rafflecopter paperback giveaway in the UK before Christmas. I haven’t run one before, are there any tips anyone can offer?

Thanks in advance.

#WWWblogs 1 week to go with #KDPSelect – My thoughts & why I’m renewing #indieauthor #indie

Posted on November 1, 2016 by suzannerogersonfantasyauthor

The first 3 months

It’s been an interesting 3 months using KDP Select for the first time. So far the biggest impact has been having my book enrolled in Kindle Unlimited. The page numbers read has increased each month from 0 in Aug, 768 in September and 786 in October. The figures are modest, but they are still readers, that’s what matters most to me!

I’m always so happy when I check the daily report to see the line on the graph has moved up. Thank you unknown readers, whoever you are.

I’ve yet to see an increase in reviews or sales through KDP Select, but I’ll take this success and continue to be positive about it – after all I sold nothing through Smashwords and the various retailers after the pre-order buzz for Visions of Zarua.

So based on the small success of Kindle Unlimited, I’m going to renew for another 3 months. At least I no longer feel as if my book is completely lost amongst the thousands.

5 day free promo or Kindle Countdown deals?

The next question is shall I run a 5 day free promo or go with kindle countdown deals again? People seem to have mixed opinions on what works best. I suppose it depends on the outcome you require. I want to encourage readers to read and review my book, I’m not so interested in hitting Amazon’s best seller lists for free book downloads. That would be great of course, but my genre is too big to get near those rankings.

With the Countdown Deals at least I understand how things work this time around. I’ll make sure I run the UK & US deals starting on the same day! Thanks Terry Tyler for pointing that one out!

Amazon Ads

I’m also going to promote the Kindle Countdown deal this time, which I plan to do via Amazon Ads: Sponsored Product and Product Display Ad for the sale period and maybe a few days after as well.

My current Amazon Ads have cost me quite a bit with only one sale coming out of 64 clicks! I don’t understand why so many people have clicked on the Ad (which shows the book cover, tag line, cost and star rating) and not followed through. Maybe some of them have gone on to read it via Kindle Unlimited. I have asked Amazon if there is more data available regarding these clicks, and will let you know if I hear back from them.

Hopefully combining the Ad’s with the Countdown Deals will see a better return.

Other book sales sites

I want to try other sites that promote book sales, can anyone recommend any that aren’t too expensive?

***

I hope you’ve found my 3 month experiment with KDP Select helpful.

My other posts were 1 month in with KDP Select and 2nd KDP update

What are your thoughts and experiences on the scheme? If you have any tips to share, I’d love to hear them!

And of course, if you have read Visions of Zarua, would you consider leaving a review? Just a short one, letting other readers know what you think and what you liked / didn’t like.

#WWWblogs – My 2nd KDP Select update on Ads, Giveaways & a review request #indie

Posted on September 20, 2016 by suzannerogersonfantasyauthor

I had some great responses to my post a few weeks ago about my experience 1 month into Kindle Select. See original post here. There were many people who were struggling with it like me, and others who had advice to make the experience work better for you.

Here’s a quick update of my findings:

Stick with KDP Select – Most people believe KDP is the best place to sell your indie books as Kindle is the highest retailer of ebooks.
You still have to do ALL the marketing yourself – I had been naïve enough to think that once you went with Select, they would promote your book to all their unlimited subscribers.
Reviews – Once you hit a certain amount of reviews, Amazon does start to help you with promotion. This is one I’ll be looking out for with interest once I hit that magical number, whatever it is!
Countdown Deals – You can run them in the UK & US at the same time, but not if you put in different starts dates as I did. You NEED to promote Countdown deals yourself. Pay to advertise your sale on the many different book ad sites out there. I haven’t used any paid ad sites myself, but will be looking into this option. Any one have any recommendations?
5 Free book days per enrolment period – Best to do when you have more than one book published. Others have reported success with lots of downloads on their free days, and if it can help get those sought after reviews, all the better. I may hold off setting up my free days until my next book comes out though. Don’t forget to advertise.
Free Copies to reviewers – This one was a real issue for me, but I have since heard back from Amazon who stated a free copy of a physical product is permitted if the author states they welcome positive and negative feedback, and the reviewer states a free copy was received in exchange for an honest review.
Other ad options – There are other marketing options to try with KDP Select – I’ve set up several ad campaigns.

Sponsored products – You only pay when someone clicks on your ad, which is shown on the Amazon website when your selected key words are searched for. I’ve had this running a while and according to them I’ve had over 3k impressions but only 3 clicks. So far this hasn’t resulted in sales, but maybe the people who have seen the book cover a few times will get intrigued enough to click on it and find out more.

Product Display – This is where your book will appear on people’s kindles and Amazon.com when they search certain genres. I held off with this as you have to set a minimum budget of $100, but they only start billing you when people start clicking on your ad. Mine only went live today so I don’t know if it will help with sales.

And finally the big news, I’ve just set up my first ever Amazon.com Giveaway. Anyone in the US can enter for a chance to win my paperback. I’ve set it that they have to follow me on Amazon.com so we’ll see if anyone is interested and if this will help me get more coverage in the US.

If you’re in the US and want a chance to win a paperback copy, please check out the link here.

A note of caution for those wanting to set up an amazon giveaway – as per the set up rules the details cannot be changed once submitted. I misunderstood what the Welcome message was, I assumed it was once someone had clicked to enter. But it appears with the ad so would be much better suited as the blurb or tag line of the book. Now I have to plug my giveaway, the whole time feeling like a fool for getting something else wrong. (This indie author learning curve is a steep one, and never seems to end!)

UPDATED 4.40pm 20th Sept 16. I don’t understand the Amazon giveaway. It closed after less than an hour and a winner has been picked after only 57 entrants. I set it up to be 1 winner in 100. The upside is now I can redo it without my mistake on the Welcome message, not allow everyone to share the giveaway, set it up to have a higher amount of entrants. The downside is, I have to pay for another giveaway already, I thought this one would last a week!

Now over to you – Have I inspired you to try Kindle Select, or put you off trying it altogether? Have you any findings to share or tips on improving sales whether through KDP Select or other means? Maybe you’ve made some mistakes you’d like to share. I’d love to hear your views.

***

Finally my cheeky request.

I’m looking to reach that magic number of reviews on Amazon, I’ve read that it could be 20. I have 14 great reviews so far, and I’m really hoping to reach 20 reviews by the end of the year. I’ve been researching book reviewers and will be contacting some over the next few days, but I thought I’d also put the request out to you guys. If any of you are book reviewers and are interested in reading Visions of Zarua, please get in touch in the comments or via my ‘contact me’ page.

I’m also willing to take part in Q&A sessions and author interviews if anyone would like to feature an indie author on their blog.

I’ll leave you with the Amazon link here if you want to find out what the book is all about. Obviously its free if you’re a Kindle Unlimited customer (Amazon suggested I tell reviewers that!).

Thanks for reading.

1 month into KDP Select – my thoughts so far… #indiepub #selfpub #writetip

Posted on September 10, 2016 by suzannerogersonfantasyauthor

I signed up to KDP Select in August 2016. It was a horrible experience to unpublish with Smashwords after all the work that goes into preparing the manuscript for them. It feels like a step backwards to remove the book from so many book buying platforms, but I decided it was worth it to go exclusive with Amazon Kindle.

I came into KDP Select with high hopes. There seemed so many benefits of offering them exclusive ebook rights, and being enrolled in Kindle Unlimited seemed like a win win for everyone.

Well, I’m disappointed to report the results so far are no better than when I was going it alone. I don’t see any benefit to being exclusive, rather I feel tied to Amazon with no help in return. Even running the Kindle Countdown deals has been a disappointment. They haven’t help with the promotion. All it has done is made me clutter my twitter feed, facebook etc with buy my book posts, which I hate. But if I don’t try to spread the word, whose going to know there is a sale on and what’s the point of doing it in the first place?

I did rush into KDP Select without reading the small print, but they draw you in by saying you can reach more readers, earn more money and maximise your sales potential. However, you can only run one promo in one enrolment period. I opted for UK countdown deals, not realising I couldn’t run the US one at the same time. I also wanted to use their ‘5 day free’ book promotion, but do I want to tie myself to them for 6 months?

I had big plans to approach lots of reviewers in September, but I cannot give away copies of my own book. How ridiculous is that? I believe I may be able to gift copies, but I’m waiting for Amazon to get back to me on how this is done without going against their terms and conditions.

Anyone out there have any advice on how to make the most of KDP Select?

This is a very dispiriting time for me. I don’t like to be negative in my posts, and I’m sure when the next marketing opportunity comes up that I’ll feel more positive again. I suppose I just need to let off steam and then I can focus on finishing my next book. That is why I’m doing this. I love writing and I’ve loved sharing Visions of Zarua with the world and reading the wonderful reviews people have written.

I would just like to thank all those who have supported me. Without you guys, I’m sure I would have given up on self publishing by now.

***

I’m feeling a bit blogged out at the moment, but I hope to start sharing book reviews, writing advice and my photographs again soon. Thanks for bearing with me.

#Tuesdaybookblog – Visions of Zarua KDP Countdown Deal #epicfantasy #kindle

Posted on September 6, 2016 by suzannerogersonfantasyauthor

News Update

I’m running my first promotion since joining KDP Select. On Thursday 9th September, Visions of Zarua will be £0.99 in the UK. As part of the Kindle Countdown deal, it will then be £1.99 on 10th until returning to its usual price of £2.99 on 11th September.

It’s also available for free if you are a kindle unlimited subscriber.

Why not take a chance on this standalone epic fantasy that’s currently shortlisted in the Creative National Writing Competition 2016.

Here’s what a few reviewers have been saying;

Thrilling and dark fantasy novel that really keeps you gripped from beginning to end!, 27 Jan. 2016

brilliantly written fantasy, finished it and wanted more!, 7 July 2016

Wonderful 3-dimensional characters in an epic fantasy, 12 July 2016

A gripping fantasy with a strong premise and endearing characters, 16 July 2016

See all the reviews on Amazon UK

Blurb

Two wizards, 350 years apart. Together they must save the realm of Paltria from Zarua’s dark past.

***

This is an experiment and I’m interested to see if the KDP Select countdown deals have any impact on sales. Please help me spread the word.

I’ll blog about the results once I’ve finished working through the latest draft of The Lost Sentinel, my next book planned to be published late 2016 / early 2017.