Julie Broad (Book Broad), founder of Book Launchers, explains why regular ebook promotions remain a smart marketing strategy for nonfiction authors despite Amazon algorithm changes and delayed sales-rank updates. She lists five common mistakes authors make when running ebook sales — (1) sending traffic to a non-converting book page, (2) booking promos but forgetting to change the price, (3) long inactivity between promotions, (4) treating promos as standalone/passive events, and (5) failing to convert buyers into long-term readers/subscribers — and provides corrective actions and promotional best practices. The transcript also references Book Launchers products (Author Launch Kit, Author Business Accelerator) and recommends using promos alongside ads, email, reviews, and calls-to-action inside the book to build an author business.
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Ebook sales have long since been a tool used to hit bestseller status on a book launch or boost your sales ranking when a book has been out for a while. But with the Amazon algorithm changes, sales rank isn't updated hourly anymore, and it has delays of days. And some authors are saying ebook sales are less important as a result. I don't think that's the case for most nonfiction authors. And running regular ebook promotions is still one of the smartest things you can do to sell more books. But if you're running them and want to make sure you're not making a big mistake, well, then this video is for you. Hi, I'm Julia the Book Broad, founder of Book Launchers and your host here at Book Launchers tv. Book Launchers is your first choice for all things related to writing, publishing, and promoting a nonfiction book. All right, let's talk about the five big mistakes authors make when running ebook sales and what you can do instead so that you are getting better results, reaching more readers, and building a stronger author business. Because that's what we want to do, isn't it? But first, why does it make sense to run them a couple times a year? Well, that's because it's not really about making money. I mean, you're selling your book for 99 cents to $2.99 when you do these ebook sales, and you make a fraction of that. So it's not about money, but it's a strategic marketing tool that boosts your sales velocity, which ultimately feeds the Amazon algorithm. And it keeps your book visible. So even long after launch, new readers are still discovering it. Being found in various lists is also important because large language models like ChatGPT are pulling their synthesized answers from these lists. When someone asks for the latest book on leadership for people with anxiety, they'll be finding your book. Sales data is delayed and keyword discovery is shifting to more of a contextual search model. Now, if you're not using promotions and ads to drive attention, that means you have to be making these lists with your other marketing strategies. But I'm assuming you're running ads. So what are some common mistakes to make sure you're not doing this? Mistake number one, sending readers to a page that does not convert. If you're running ebook sales but your book has not ever sold well, I say the same thing about running Amazon ads, but ultimately, if it's never sold well and you're trying to run a sale to make it sell, you're flushing money down the toilet. When you pay for someone to look at your book page, it must be something that sells your book. If you if your book has never sold, you might want to focus on figuring out how to sell the book first. By the way, did you know we have a book marketing software tool and a book marketing community where we can support you and your book project for quite an affordable price? You can learn more about our Author launch kit at AuthorLaunchKit AI and you can also consider our Author Business Accelerator. But why I say this is because if your book has never sold, you're going to want some help figuring out what to do about your sales page. So it can be a conversion page, but here's some of the things that we look at. Does your cover match your genre and your category? If your book is a business book, it better not look like a sci fi novel. Does your book description hook the reader in this first sentence? That first sentence matters so much and it must spark curiosity. Clearly state the value and feel professional and appealing to your ideal reader. Inside of our software, you'll actually be able to draft your book description, so that might help a lot. You'll probably still want to edit it, but it will help you write a great description. Description now remember, when you're running these ebook sales, every click is a potential buyer, but that page needs to be ready to convert that visitor into a buyer. Mistake number two Booking the promos and forgetting to change the price. We know so many people have done this, so you promote your book as a 99 cent ebook, but oops, you forgot to drop the price and the promo gets canceled. Oh, and don't assume your price change will happen instantaneously. Set your price at least 24 hours in advance of your sale to make sure it actually drops in time. All right, the third mistake we want to avoid is doing nothing for 90 to 120 days and then freaking out because your book isn't selling. This is as bad as people who build an email list and then never send an email. Oh, is that you? I swear I heard you gasp. Well, my friend, feel free to subscribe to the channel and then come back to me after you've sent them an email. And if you don't know what to email, oh my gosh. Author Launch Kit Kit has you covered. We craft email content for you and then all you have to do is copy and paste it into your email service provider, which we recommend. Kit. But you can use whatever it is that you will use. So you're sending them emails. But back to ebook sales. How about in between the sales? What are you Doing well. You want to be doing promotions to that email list. Get yourself on podcasts, you know, do book swaps or author swaps to promote your book and grow your list. And also be getting consumer book reviews. I love get authentic book reviews, but we're also testing get books reviewed as another review service. And I would also recommend running Amazon ads in the meantime. What I am saying is Amazon is going to reward you for consistent conversion. Not a hit here and a hit there when you do an ebook sale. So doing more than ebook sales to promote your book is important. Visibility is built over time. Please don't be restarting from zero every time. Mistake number four, thinking ebook promos work only on their own. Yeah, too many authors treat an ebook promo like a one and done event or a passive activity. They pay for the promo and don't do anything because they expect it's going to do all the work. But when we have our authors set up these ebook sales, we encourage them or even give them social media graphics. We encourage them to tell their email list and we suggest they promote it the whole time it's happening. Whether that's a three day or a five day promo. Your promo email is competing with dozens of others in that reader's inbox. And you're not the only book on sale that time. So you want to be everywhere your reader looks when they're deciding what to buy next. And you want to use this as an opportunity to finally give those people who have decided to follow you on social or your email list but haven't purchased your book yet. This gives them a reason to do it right now. When ads and promos work together, you'll multiply your visibility and your results. Because you didn't write this book to sell books. You wrote it to have an impact and make a bigger income, which happens after people buy and read your book. All right. Mistake number five, not building relationships with your readers from the promotion. The Amazon bestseller flag doesn't mean a lot these days, but. But I know some authors still want to check that box. Like woo hoo, I'm an Amazon bestseller. Well, that's fine and go for it if it's something that you haven't done yet and you want to do. But an ebook sale just to check that box is a missed opportunity. You're missing the bigger opportunity, which is a connection with your reader. Ebook promos aren't just for sales. Try to use them to also build your platform. Be sure your book is ready with a clear call to action early in the book. I like a big bold thank you for buying or reading this book. To complement what you're about to learn, go to my website and get this workbook or this video course or this checklist or the audio version free. That's what we've been doing in Self Publish and Succeed and Self Promote and Succeed lately. So you can get the audiobook version for free with the page inside. Ultimately your goal is to turn a sale into a subscriber, a subscriber into a supporter. That's how you build a business and a brand as an author, not just sell a book. And Amazon is more competitive, Discoverability is harder, the algorithm less predictable. You're not just trying to sell a book, build a platform and a business, and even a legacy. And every promotion is a step toward that bigger goal. Now that you know the mistakes, what's your next move? Let me know in the comments. When was your last ebook promo and what will you do differently for the next one? And hey, if you like this video, give it a thumbs up. Definitely subscribe. And let me know if you get Author Launch Kit because I think you're going to have a blast with that software tool helping you with all of this and so much more.
