Marketing a Science Fiction Book
Apologies for missing posting missives. I’ve been remiss.
I thought I’d update you on another marketing plan that you might find interesting.
Now, I’ve been associated with affiliate marketing businesses since the 90s, and have read thousands of marketing and promotion ebooks that haven’t worked for science fiction in that time. Most things you read, or program plans you’re offered, focus on dieting or get-rich-quick non-fiction ebooks which can help you to get-rich-quick. But as something that will give you a stable income, they don’t really work so well. (How many diet books can you conceivably release per month to keep your income topped up?)
Another option, of course, is to start your own publishing company ( Maldek House )and release as many books as you can in a variety of categories at the lowest cost. I tried that too, but there are so many ‘popular’ subjects out there that can make you money that cause my brain to freeze up from boredom. I’ve created books in all sorts of genres and they’re still selling, albeit slowly. But, none of them are me. None of them appeal to my own laser focus on science fiction and aliens. And the idea that I’ve got to spend a week of my life at a PC working on creating a book in a market that doesn’t interest me is enough to give me a nervous breakdown. (Or at the very least, rocking back and forth in a corner, muttering to myself!) Never again! I want to enjoy my life, thank you very much!
So, the third option is to create a series that you like, and keep building on that same series, with the hope of gathering fans who like what you like, and want to read more of what you can write.
I did that with my Alien Characters series. But it was just for 5-10 year olds. After that age, the series was forgotten. I guess I’ll have to wait until they marry, have kids of their own, then show them the ones they liked. A bit like Mr Men. Roger Hargreaves series didn’t become well-known until 30 years after he created it. I have 20 years to go!
I also did that with an IELTS series. ( IELTS Practice Tests ) But the fans of that only needed the books to pass the IELTS exam. So, fans for no more than a month, then gone forever.
Now, I have the Alien Dimensions series. This garnered a lot of interest across the world, but not as much as I would have liked. The series hasn’t paid for itself yet. So, while there are people reading it, it certainly isn’t a money maker by any means. But, of all the series I’ve been involved in, it is one of the most enjoyable to put together, and so I’m happy to spend extra time on the marketing of it.
So, when I got hold of a new marketing technique, that may help me to sell more issues using Amazon, of course I was excited.
Here is the step by step plan, without a lot of detail.
- Choose two of your titles that you’re happy to give away for free
- In your main title, add a page in it that directs people to your mailing list sign up form and the option to receive your second free book.
- Make your main title free on every platform
- Contact Amazon with the evidence of your title free on competitors sites, and politely ask them to price match it (Note: This is different to giving it away as a free promotion. A whole different category of algorithms are used for that system.)
- Wait for the results.
So, the results are in. I made Alien Dimensions issue 15 price match free on Amazon, and after 200 downloads, the ebook went to number one in a couple of categories. Apparently, once it hits number 1, the magic starts to happen.
Here’s a screen shot:
So, I thought I’d wait to see what happens, and then give you my analysis. Issue 15 went to 0.00 on the 20th August. It is now late September so, here are the results:
After a few days, the book dropped back out of the number one spot and is now, as of the 25th September, here:
#15 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Anthologies & Short Stories
#25 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Steampunk
#32 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Hard Science Fiction
Below are the dates and the number of free downloads of Issue #15. Please note that my stats are a bit skewed in that I’m reading them using Australian dates, but most downloads are from the USA, so if you want to find a correlation, read Monday as Sunday, for example. Not entirely accurate but it might give you a better idea as to the time to launch a freebie!
Monday 20th 11
Tuesday 21st 93
Wednesday 22nd 134
Thursday 23rd 44
Friday 24th 22
Saturday 25th 10
Sunday 26th 19
Monday 27th 14
Tuesday 28th 11
Wednesday 29th 10
Thursday 30th 13
Friday 31st 3
Saturday 1st 6
Sunday 2nd 8
Monday 3rd 395 (At the time issue #16 was launched)
Tuesday 4th 9
Wednesday 5th 9
Thursday 6th 9
Friday 7th 7
Saturday 8th 9
Sunday 9th 6
Monday 10th 3
Tuesday 11th 4
Wednesday 12th 11
Thursday 13th 10
Friday 14th 6
Saturday 15th 9
Sunday 16th 8
Monday 17th 9
Tuesday 18th 9
Wednesday 19th 9
Thursday 20th 5
Friday 21th 10
Saturday 22nd 8
Sunday 23rd 12
So, from this, there isn’t much difference for science fiction anthologies downloads, besides a very slight increase on weekends.
My concern is that there is that spike in downloads on Monday 3rd of 395 free copies of Issue #15 which was around the same time as Issue #16 came out for $2.99. I’m guessing that people saw the new issue advertisement and decided on the free issue instead. Rather than helping to promote Issue #16, it actually robbed it of sales and would explain why there have only been 15 sales of Issue #16 to date.
Was there an increase in sales of other issues? Was there more traffic to the website? Were there more subscribers than usual? Did I get an increase in reviews for the book?
No. No change at all, besides 1000 copies of Issue #15 being downloaded for free. (I also made it free on Google Play and itunes via Smashwords as well as Kobo and other places.) In fact, I believe it took sales from other issues and hasn’t worked well long term. At the very least I would have liked a large increase in subscribers, but only three subscribers signed up during the campaign.
Was it worth it? It might be too early to tell. Brand awareness can always help. Free downloads may not be read for months or years but it could lead to further sales in the future. And with Issue #15 advertising authors’ other works, it may lead to sales for them at some point. In any case, if you’ve read this far, I’ll be disabling the free version of Issue #15 soon so, if you want a free copy, best to get it now!