One way to launch a new book is by using Amazon’s KDP Select program. This program launched in December 2011 and I first enrolled one of our books in the program in early January 2012. The program is no longer as effective as it was in 2012, but we have still seen success with our books as well as the books of other authors.
Why Free?
When you are a new author it can give you exposure to new readers. We consider it a ministry and have given away over half a million eBooks on Kindle alone.
For books that are part of a series, it may be beneficial to keep the first book in the KDP select program to gain exposure and interest in the rest of the books in your series. Also, make sure you put an excerpt of the next book in the back of your book as well as links to the books from the entire series. Many authors find this is an effective way to promote the next book in the series.
I also recommend having a call to action within your book for readers to join your email list so that those that do read your book could continue to connect with you on an ongoing basis.
You can also use your free days to get verified reviews from your reviewers. You send them a PDF copy and let them know the dates it will be free. When the book is free you ask them to download it on Kindle and post their review.
Another Option
One option is to use the KDP Select program to launch your new books and then remove them after your 90-day contract. This allows you to publish them to other eBook platforms. Draft2Digital is one option you can use to do this.
Please note, that you have to go in and choose to remove your book from the KDP Select program or else it will automatically renew. You can do this by logging into http://kdp.amazon.com, clicking the link for the bookshelf, and then clicking “info” on the right side under the column for KDP Select. There you can choose to remove the checkmark that automatically re-enrolls your book in KDP Select.
Results will Vary
Realize that your results will vary. One of the most powerful aspects of running a KDP Select promotion is the free advertising Amazon will give you afterward. For each person that downloaded your book, they have also downloaded other free books or bought other books from Amazon. Amazon then figures out which books were most likely to be bought from the same customer and will include them in the list “Customers Who Bought This Book Also Bought.” Therefore, your book starts showing up on other book pages and getting free advertising which often boosts your sales and rankings.
Things change often at Amazon, so I encourage you to do your research and decide what is best for your books.
Find out more about KDP free promotions and get our checklist of places to submit your book to here: https://www.trainingauthors.com/47-places-to-submit-your-free-kdp-promotion-for-your-kindle-ebook/
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