Juggling Apples and Oranges for CAST THE FIRST STONE Free Days

The one absolute in online ebook promotion is that there are no absolutes. But oh how I wish it were easier to compare different marketing strategies in order to arrive at a “best practices” model.

The reality is, though, that all of us authors are comparing apples with oranges.

First, of course, we write different books in various genres. Second, some may have only one book being sold on Kindle, for example, while others may have many books. Some write only fiction, others write only nonfiction, while there are many authors who write both.

What makes it really hard to duplicate past successes or avoid past failures is that there is little ability to keep all variables the same.

Let me give you an example:

One effective strategy I have found for past KDP Select free days for other books of mine is to pay for inclusion in Digital Book Today’s top free books. But besides a slot being available on the day you want it, your book has to have a certain number of reviews and a certain level rating.

CAST THE FIRST STONE does not yet have the number of reviews needed for such an advertising opportunity. Thus I chose another Digital Book Today advertising option — a one-week slot along with other books on the sidebar of the site.

But trying to compare the effectiveness of this advertising opportunity with the one that CAST is not yet eligible for would not prove that one advertising option is better than another.

BECAUSE … the difference in the type of novel plus the difference in the number of reviews can be the determining factors rather than the actual advertising option.

Thus I am comparing apples with oranges when trying to determine an effective strategy for my next KDP Select free days.

And this one example is multiplied by all kinds of other examples, such as comparing using a service to submit your free book listing to numerous sites to submitting yourself.

Putting aside that some of the top sites also have requirements in terms of number of reviews and rating level, there is the consideration of sites that request a small donation to “guarantee” your book’s listing. If you are using a service to submit your book, you are probably missing the opportunity to make these donations.

And on any one day you have no idea what other books in your book’s genre are also free.

Then there are the questions re KDP Select (exclusive only for the ebook and not for physical formats):

How many of the five free days in each 90-day exclusive KDP Select period should best be used at one time?
Which days of the week are the best for free download offers?

Okay, now that I have reviewed just a portion of the considerations for KDP Select free days, I have to go back to juggling apples and oranges.

And please share the links to the free downloads for CAST THE FIRST STONE with your friends.

P.S. Thanks to prolific author Elaine Raco Chase for this tip: Now on an author’s Amazon Author Central profile there is an option in the top right-hand corner to “Stay Up To Date.” If you are signed into your Amazon account, click on the link to get an email when there is a new release.

(Note: This new option is somewhat wonky. First I saw it on my Amazon Author Central profile and then the next time I looked the option was not there. Elaine has experienced this issue in connection with which web browser is being used, but I used the same browser both times.)

Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of fiction and nonfiction books/ebooks, including TOP TIPS FOR HOW TO PUBLISH AND MARKET YOUR BOOK IN THE AGE OF AMAZON and the romantic suspense spy story CIA FALL GUY.

Click here to visit her Amazon author page at www.amazon.com/author/phylliszimblermiller

She also has an M.B.A. from The Wharton School and is the co-founder of the online marketing company www.MillerMosaicLLC.com