KDP Select and Promotions-My Two Cents
I think I’ve read everything imaginable about the KDP Select program, and it seems many authors grapple with the question, "should I stay, or should I go?”. I thought I would offer my two cents and my experiences with the program. Maybe it will help you in your decision.
I have all three of my books enrolled in the KDP Select program. Here’s a quick breakdown just in case you didn’t see the same thing on about a million other sites. Your book must be exclusive to Amazon during the enrollment period. You can have it in print at other sites but not as an ebook. The enrollment is 90 days and two exclusive things are offered; either a one-time free promotion, or a countdown deal in the U.S. market and/or U.K. market. I won’t bore you further because so many others have discussed the requirements in greater detail. I’ve used the free promotions two different times, one with ho-hum results, and the other with excellent results. The last free promotion I did was back in December for my first book, Flapjack. I don’t plan to do another in the foreseeable future as it doesn’t currently mesh with my business plan. I’ve instead focused on the Kindle Countdown Deals. I’ve done three since it started.
Let me say that it is strictly a personal choice whether to sell only at Amazon or not. I stay enrolled for a few simple reasons. I don’t have the time to try to manage other platforms, formats, and pricing, and I feel that as an author without an extensive catalog it just doesn’t make sense for me at this time. It is totally a personal choice. That’s the beauty of being an independent author. You are in control of your choices, but these choices make decisions about the course of your marketing a hair pulling ordeal.
The single biggest reason for me to continue to be enrolled in KDP Select is the ability to regain a 70% royalty on prices below $2.99 during a Countdown Deal. This one is the clincher for me. If I offer a book for $0.99 then I retain the 70% promotion. This comes out to be $0.62 after taking the delivery cost, instead of $0.25 I would get if I offered the book at that price without being in the program. What I have discovered is that I can do a higher budget marketing push with a decrease in risk. I have run three separate promotions and managed to make a little profit in the process during each of them. If I had done the exact same promotion at the lower royalty I would have lost money. I like low risk, but I still want the ability to take a chance. This portion of the program has allowed me to do that.
Let me give a quick example. Let’s compare BookBub with a group of other custom sites. BookBub’s current price in the mystery category for books below one dollar is $620. At the 70% royalty you would need to sell 1,000 books, after that it’s pure profit. At the 35% royalty rate you would need to sell 2,480 books to break even. Ouch. BookBub has the average sold number at 2,290 with a range of 280 to 6,580. Assuming you sold the average, which is a hefty amount of books, you would come in at a loss of $47.50. Not so bad. But at the 70% royalty you would have a profit of $799.80. Which would you choose? I only use BookBub as an example. I think they produce great results, and I have been fortunate to use them in the past, but this quick calculation can be used for any amount you plan to spend on any site. I usually try to go a bit bigger when doing my Countdown Deals (in terms of budget). I’m not concerned with a profit at this point. I just want to get my book in front of as many eyes as possible without losing my shirt in the process. If I don’t lose money, then I don’t feel bad about taking on more risk and trying something new the next time. The 70% royalty allows me to do that. I’m able to roll a portion of the profit (which is usually small) into marketing efforts for the next month.
This probably isn’t new to you, but it always helps to keep things in perspective. What are you trying to do right now? Gain more readers, reviews, or are you fortunate enough to be doing this for a profit? Those authors can afford the 35% royalty by selling on multiple platforms. For me at this time, I can’t. That’s why I continue to work at my day job. So for my own personal situation, the Select program is the way to go. And that’s what it comes down to. There’s no right or wrong answer because everyone has a different goal and situation. I don’t fret about profits right now, only exposure. Remember, most of you are a small business. What other small business can have this small amount of risk, little overhead, and actually get a return on their marketing efforts? There aren’t many. But right now I want to maximize my efforts and having the 70% royalty is the single greatest reason why I stay.
What are your thoughts? Do you have another reason why you stay in Select, or why did you leave? Feel free to comment below.
I have all three of my books enrolled in the KDP Select program. Here’s a quick breakdown just in case you didn’t see the same thing on about a million other sites. Your book must be exclusive to Amazon during the enrollment period. You can have it in print at other sites but not as an ebook. The enrollment is 90 days and two exclusive things are offered; either a one-time free promotion, or a countdown deal in the U.S. market and/or U.K. market. I won’t bore you further because so many others have discussed the requirements in greater detail. I’ve used the free promotions two different times, one with ho-hum results, and the other with excellent results. The last free promotion I did was back in December for my first book, Flapjack. I don’t plan to do another in the foreseeable future as it doesn’t currently mesh with my business plan. I’ve instead focused on the Kindle Countdown Deals. I’ve done three since it started.
Let me say that it is strictly a personal choice whether to sell only at Amazon or not. I stay enrolled for a few simple reasons. I don’t have the time to try to manage other platforms, formats, and pricing, and I feel that as an author without an extensive catalog it just doesn’t make sense for me at this time. It is totally a personal choice. That’s the beauty of being an independent author. You are in control of your choices, but these choices make decisions about the course of your marketing a hair pulling ordeal.
The single biggest reason for me to continue to be enrolled in KDP Select is the ability to regain a 70% royalty on prices below $2.99 during a Countdown Deal. This one is the clincher for me. If I offer a book for $0.99 then I retain the 70% promotion. This comes out to be $0.62 after taking the delivery cost, instead of $0.25 I would get if I offered the book at that price without being in the program. What I have discovered is that I can do a higher budget marketing push with a decrease in risk. I have run three separate promotions and managed to make a little profit in the process during each of them. If I had done the exact same promotion at the lower royalty I would have lost money. I like low risk, but I still want the ability to take a chance. This portion of the program has allowed me to do that.
Let me give a quick example. Let’s compare BookBub with a group of other custom sites. BookBub’s current price in the mystery category for books below one dollar is $620. At the 70% royalty you would need to sell 1,000 books, after that it’s pure profit. At the 35% royalty rate you would need to sell 2,480 books to break even. Ouch. BookBub has the average sold number at 2,290 with a range of 280 to 6,580. Assuming you sold the average, which is a hefty amount of books, you would come in at a loss of $47.50. Not so bad. But at the 70% royalty you would have a profit of $799.80. Which would you choose? I only use BookBub as an example. I think they produce great results, and I have been fortunate to use them in the past, but this quick calculation can be used for any amount you plan to spend on any site. I usually try to go a bit bigger when doing my Countdown Deals (in terms of budget). I’m not concerned with a profit at this point. I just want to get my book in front of as many eyes as possible without losing my shirt in the process. If I don’t lose money, then I don’t feel bad about taking on more risk and trying something new the next time. The 70% royalty allows me to do that. I’m able to roll a portion of the profit (which is usually small) into marketing efforts for the next month.
This probably isn’t new to you, but it always helps to keep things in perspective. What are you trying to do right now? Gain more readers, reviews, or are you fortunate enough to be doing this for a profit? Those authors can afford the 35% royalty by selling on multiple platforms. For me at this time, I can’t. That’s why I continue to work at my day job. So for my own personal situation, the Select program is the way to go. And that’s what it comes down to. There’s no right or wrong answer because everyone has a different goal and situation. I don’t fret about profits right now, only exposure. Remember, most of you are a small business. What other small business can have this small amount of risk, little overhead, and actually get a return on their marketing efforts? There aren’t many. But right now I want to maximize my efforts and having the 70% royalty is the single greatest reason why I stay.
What are your thoughts? Do you have another reason why you stay in Select, or why did you leave? Feel free to comment below.
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