I’m pleased to report that in the 24-hour promotional period we gave away 968 free ebooks, catapulting SS #20 to the #1 spot on Amazon’s Science Fiction Anthologies bestseller list. Between this and the results of the SS #19 release promotion, I think we can now safely consider the Alice Cooper Theory to be proven. That is, it’s easy to hit the top of the charts. All you need to do is something big enough, loud enough, ridiculous enough, and expensive enough.
Staying at the top of the charts, though: that’s the next mystery to be solved.
I’m also pleased to report that the hoped-for knock-on effects have materialized, to some extent. These promotions do lift the sales of our other titles. Compared to buying Amazon or Facebook advertising, these free ebook promotions produce a far better return on investment and are a far more effective way of introducing readers to the kinds of books and stories we publish. So if you’re one of those people who wrote to me to say something like, “I almost feel guilty taking it for free,” don’t be. We want you to take free ebooks when we offer them. We want you to like what we’re publishing, and most of all, we want you to tell your friends about what we’re doing and how much you like it.
But if you truly do want to repay our kindness, then here’s something you can do that will really help: write a review.
It doesn’t have to be much. A line or two will do: something as simple as “I really liked [this story]” or “Nice collection. Didn’t totally bore me to sleep.” Amazon, we’ve learned, will cheerfully collect your star ratings, but only attaches them to the listing for a book if there is some written comment.
Reader reviews really do help. It takes ten reader reviews just to get Amazon to notice. At fifty reader reviews all sorts of good promotional things kick in. The whole point of Amazon’s marketing system is to find out what people like and then sell them more of it. Ergo, your comments really do matter, because that’s what Amazon tracks to determine what the marketplace likes, and comments from confirmed purchasers (which includes everyone who’s downloaded a free ebook) matter most of all.
End of sermon. Time to pass the collection plate. If you’ve downloaded any of these ebooks during any of our recent free ebook promotions and enjoyed what you read, please take a minute to rate the book and comment on it.
Thanks,
Bruce Bethke
Stupefying Stories | Rampant Loon Press
Amazon links:
Stupefying Stories 12
Stupefying Stories 13
Stupefying Stories 14
Stupefying Stories 15
Stupefying Stories 16
Stupefying Stories 17
Stupefying Stories 18
Stupefying Stories 19
Stupefying Stories 20
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