Happy July and belated Fourth of July. I almost forgot I needed to write a post for today. It’s not an excuse, but a reason. My family was hit with an emergency medical issue with my dad. For the past couple of months our schedules were interrupted. During this period I had a release I couldn’t push back.
I had a plan for how I was going to promote this book, but that never really happened…not fully. With all that was going on in my personal life, I found myself second guessing a few things. How to promote a book in a series when it ends on a cliff? How much should you spend on advertising? What about the cover…is it too racy? And let’s not forget my editor hit me with a major curve.
What was my plan? Run Facebook, BookBub, AMS and newsletter ads. I never got new FB ads up. I turned the AMS off. I’m on the fence about AMS ads. Personally, I think they are more effective for Kindle exclusive authors. I’m wide and I don’t experience the returns Kindle exclusives receive. I did run a BookBub ad which produced wide sales. I never set up newsletter ads.
I hear you saying, “It only takes a few minutes to set up ads.” You’re right, but when you’re juggling unexpected doctors appointments, tests and eventually surgery, ads and writing are the last things on your mind. I was grateful to God, the book was finished and edited. I reached out to a couple of authors for advice on marketing which helped alleviate some anxiety.
So what did I do? I had this book up on preorder for a few months and for the record, these were the most preorders to date in my writing career. I reached out to my author and blogger community for swaps and posts. I ran book one in a free giveaway to draw attention to the series (this really works…this is going to be a part of my release plan). I posted to my socials as well. I ran BookBub ads for the free book one.
How did I do? This was my second release this year. I released part four earlier this year which doubled the sales of book three which was released last year. This release has been out three weeks and so far it has out performed book four in the series.
Did I hit my sales goal? No. But some amazing things did happen.
First sale on Google Play
First preorders on Kobo
Kobo Sales have already surpassed last year’s sales
Most preorders to date in writing career
Preorder for book six (which only has one chapter so far)
Gained new readers and increased read-thru in the series
Best release sales to date
What did I learn with this release? Trust God. I’m not preaching, but being honest. The only way this release did well was because I asked God to help me. I was close to stress mode. The other thing I learned was Pre-Release Prep. There are things I can do now even though the book isn’t complete. I have a cover, but I can create the graphics and blurbs now. I already have the book on preorder and as soon as it’s complete, I’ll set it up at Amazon.
The other Pre-Release Prep I’ve done is hired some help. I realized I needed some help. If I’d had help I would have been able to implement more promotion things and done even better. My PA is already setting up swaps for me.
I’m also going to use some advice I received for the last release which I wasn’t able to, because book one was too small. Apply for a BookBub Featured Deal. There’s a lead-in book which meets the BB requirements. Here’s a tip…if you’re doing a series, try to write book one to the BookBub Featured deal requirement. If not, create a box set which can be a series starter. I’ve already added create a box set for The Good Girl series so I can apply for a BB Featured Deal for Book Six.
Let’s do a quick check on my goals for the year.
Here’s my updated goals list:
Get my letters
Triple my income
Triple my mailing list – Working on this. Added approximately 400 new subscribers so far
Master Facebook ads – I made a change last month to how much I spend and it’s paying off. Last month, I scaled back to one ad and it’s paid off. This one ad for a first in series free has led to sales of the books in two of my other series. I’m going to ride this strategy for a little while before scaling up.
Update covers – 13 covers in total to update. 8 completed.
Learn how to write a sellable blurb
Use Ingram Spark – Launching first books this month
Direct distribution – I started with Nook. So far, it’s worked out. Considering selling ebooks direct from my website.
Increase BookBub US Followers to 1000 – Added two hundred new US followers.
Increase my prices
Release 3 Books – Two down, one to go. I also added three short stories for anthologies. One is. My first Christmas story.
How are you doing with your goals so far?
Tracy’s Books
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I have been working hard to close out a series. It’s hard to believe my series The Good Girl started as a one off novella for a boxset. I had no idea this novella would turn into a six book series.
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Tracy Reed’s ability to capture an audience is unmatched. Her body of work has been described as a host of stimulating adventures and invigorating expression.
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Tracy Reed’s ability to capture an audience is unmatched. Her body of work has been described as a host of stimulating adventures and invigorating expression.
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Happy July and belated Fourth of July. I almost forgot I needed to write a post for today. It’s not an excuse, but a reason. My family was hit with an emergency medical issue with my dad. For the past couple of months our schedules were interrupted. During this period I had a release I […]
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Tracy Reed’s ability to capture an audience is unmatched. Her body of work has been described as a host of stimulating adventures and invigorating expression.
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Hope your dad is on the mend, Tracy. Congratulations on the release of this book.
Thank you for asking. My dad is doing much better. He got a clean report from the doctor. Praise God. This release has been my best to date.