By Kristy Tate //
Confession. Even though several of my books have been enrolled in the Kindle Unlimited program, I’ve never used the Kindle Countdown Deal feature. Sporadically, I’ve toyed with the five free promotional days, but…
Wait. I’m sure some of you are scratching your heads and asking what is the Kindle Unlimited program? Amazon can explain it much better than I can. You can read about it here:
https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G200798990
Likewise, you can read about the benefits of the Kindle Countdown Deal here:
https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201293780
As I just admitted, I’ve sadly neglected this feature. I’ve been told free always outperforms 99 cents download-wise, but for the next few months, I’m going to sweep that advice to the side and focus on Countdown Deals.
It will be an experiment.
Because of my extensive backlist, I’m able to run three Kindle Countdown Deals a month for six months without promoting the same book twice. (Note, not all of my books are in the Kindle Unlimited program. Those that aren’t also have a loss leader, but they don’t rotate. They remain at a static 99 cents. I’m not talking about those.)
My goal is simple: For the next six months, I’ll publish frequently on my blog. I’ll post links to the blog on social media. At the end of each post, I’ll have a link to that week’s featured deal. I’ll also advertise the deal on freebie (or nearly freebie) newsletter blast sites.
Why am I doing three a month and not four? Because sometimes, although, in all honesty not for a while, I hope to have a new release, and I don’t want it to conflict with the Countdown Deal.
Why do I think people will read my blog posts? They may not. But I once read that the way you want to approach social media is to think of it like providing water to thirsty desert wanderers.
Another confession. In the days before the internet, there were times when I would read a mailer called The Penny Saver. For those unfamiliar with The Penny Saver, it was a flier that would land in my mailbox a couple of times a week. It had listings for almost everything. Things for sale. Job postings. Help wanted ads. I especially liked reading the personal ads posted by the lonely hearts looking for love. I also enjoy reading obituaries. My point is, if I hadn’t been able to get to the library, I would read anything with letters printed on it, but I really enjoyed those with a personal edge.
In today’s information-dump world, there’s a deluge of free reading material. We just have to go online. Still, people are looking for personal connection. Now, perhaps, more than ever. Through the blog, I hope to connect with thirsty desert wanderers (or readers). At the end of each post, there will be a link to that week’s Countdown Deal.
Will it work? I have no idea. It may take a while to get legs. I may burn out on the blog posts. (It happens.) Nevertheless, to get a better idea on whether or not my idea is working, I’ve chosen three books I rarely, if ever, promote. Next month, I’ll post the books’ ranks on May 1 and the books’ ranks on May 31 for comparison.
Stay tuned…
KRISTY TATE is the Social Media Director for O.C. Writers and a USA Today bestselling author. To date, her newsletter subscriber list is edging toward 15,000. www.KristyTate.com.