I am an advocate of giving incentives for book buyers. It’s similar to a retailer offering a buy-one-get-one-free offer. In this case, your bonus item could be a companion workbook, templates or worksheets, or items that you collect from peers.
Instead of following the Amazon Bestseller Campaign route and giving bonuses away for a day or two, why not give them away for a month—or a year or more. It provides value for your readers, which can build loyalty, and it shouldn’t cost you anything if your bonus items are delivered via electronic download. I used this strategy when I launched my last book, Own Your Niche. The bonus items were so well received that I decided to leave the offer up indefinitely.
One of the smartest launch campaigns I’ve seen was when Colette Baron-Reid’s book The Map was released. In lieu of incentives, buyers could enter to win dozens of prizes offered by the author’s partners (fellow authors at Hay House publishing). There was an elaborate website set up where you could click on each contributor’s link, which would add you to their mailing list and enter you to win a prize. Prizes ranged from tickets to a cruise to consulting sessions with the promotion partners.
I liked that this campaign was out of the box, and that it benefited all who participated. Baron-Reid’s promotion partners benefited from lots of exposure and also grew their mailing lists. Participants had a chance to win prizes. This felt less contrived that one of the standard Amazon Bestseller campaigns, and the promotion also ran for several weeks, not just one day.
The point is to get creative with your launch strategy and make it a win-win for you and your readers.
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