{"id":23174,"date":"2020-07-10T03:00:51","date_gmt":"2020-07-10T10:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/?p=23174"},"modified":"2020-07-09T07:29:03","modified_gmt":"2020-07-09T14:29:03","slug":"my-first-experience-with-a-bookbub-featured-deal-by-keri-kruspe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2020\/07\/10\/my-first-experience-with-a-bookbub-featured-deal-by-keri-kruspe\/","title":{"rendered":"My First Experience with a BookBub Featured Deal by Keri Kruspe"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"My<\/a>Let\u2019s welcome back monthly columnist Keri Kruspe<\/a> as she shares with us \u201cMy First Experience with a BookBub Featured Deal.\u201d Enjoy!
\n***<\/p>\n

As a struggling new author,<\/strong> (for me, the definition of <\/span>struggle<\/span><\/i> is replacing my secular job with a writing full time gig) it\u2019s really hard to gain the needed attention for readers to find my fabulous books.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I strive to do all the right things\u2026 had a killer professional cover done; a catchy, eye-grabbing blurb (the first book was done professionally); and to add credence to my writing ability, I have some great reviews on the three books.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For marketing efforts,<\/strong> I\u2019ve thrown those puppies up on social media on a rotating basis. I\u2019ve religiously studied the various ad platforms to utilize so I can launch myself into author stardom.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

All I can say is I\u2019ve been plugging along like a racing snail. Everything I\u2019ve done helps, but nothing has given me the needed boost to <\/span>really<\/span><\/i> launch my career.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Needed Boost to Launch My Author Career: A Featured Deal with BookBub\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"lonley<\/a>One of the things I\u2019ve come across over and over as an aspiring author is the advice to get a <\/span>Featured Deal with BookBub<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I can\u2019t tell you how many podcasts<\/strong>, training sessions, as well as articles have all said one thing: \u201cIf you can get a BookBud Featured Deal \u2013 grab it!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

So, like any good student, I\u2019ve submitted my books over the last year and a half to BookBub trying to grab my part of that elusive unicorn of a deal, only to suffer disappointment.<\/span><\/p>\n

That Elusive Unicorn of a Deal<\/span><\/h2>\n

Then it happened. After reading yet another article on the merits of having a BookBub deal, I thought to myself\u2026 why not go all out?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I put my trilogy in a box set last year.<\/strong> How about submitting that?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>box set<\/span><\/a>\u00a0contained three full-length novels and also included a thirty-page \u201cwriters bible\u201d — chocked full of extra tidbits of the worlds and characters I created.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I thought, \u201cWhat the heck\u201d<\/strong> and sweetened the submission by slashing the price to 0.99\u00a2 from $8.99.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I promptly forgot about it until I got <\/span>THE<\/i><\/strong> email.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To my complete dumbfounded\/shocked\/flabbergasted surprise, I was accepted and they scheduled my sale for 06\/12\/2020.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Complete Disclosure, Running\u00a0 a Featured Deal with BookBub\u2026<\/span><\/h2>\n

To give you complete disclosure, running this ad on BookBub is expensive, but I knew that going in.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The category my books belong in is \u201cParanormal Romance,\u201d<\/strong> which has over 1,040,000 subscribers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the listing price of 0.99\u00a2 it would cost me $532 — the cost increases based on the price of your Deal.<\/span><\/p>\n

Average sales for this particular category is around 1,510.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So, by my calculations,<\/strong> if I sold that many I would pretty much break-even dollar wise. (0.35\u00a2 is the usual royalty earned when you sell a book at 0.99\u00a2.)<\/span><\/p>\n

My Goal\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Okay, now I had a goal: sell the average and recoup my expense.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Before I share my experience about my (hopefully the first of many) BookBub Featured Deals,<\/strong> let\u2019s go over what it is and why it\u2019s so important to authors.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What is BookBub and What Can They do for Me?<\/span><\/h2>\n

According to Wikipedia, \u201c<\/span>BookBub<\/span><\/a>\u00a0is a discovery service created to help readers find new books and authors. The company features free and discounted ebooks selected by its editorial team, as well as book recommendations, updates from authors, and articles about books.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Since its inception in 2012,<\/strong> BookBub has spent thousands of hours testing and retesting books on their platform.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As a result, BookBub only accepts the \u201ccream of the crop\u201d — books they deem worthy to be a part of their high-level marketing strategy.<\/span><\/p>\n

On average,<\/strong> BookBub editors get <\/span>300<\/span><\/i> Featured Deal submissions <\/span>per day.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The company has strict criteria for submitting a deal and even stricter criteria for getting selected.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As a result, they only accept 10-20% of those submitted. They know what sells (ack!), why it sells, and how to curate books to match the needs of their readers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Benefits for an Aspiring Author of a BookBub Featured Deal (such as myself)\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Getting accepted sounds like a daunting task.<\/strong> So why go through the pain and probable rejection?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n