| Are BB Deals Still Worthwhile? |
| This has been a topic floating around the romance community (and others) since BookBub made some changes back in March. The BookBub emails now feature more books, which translates to more links for readers and fewer clicks to individual books overall.That being said, the vast majority of authors still say BB Feature Deals are successful. (Sources: Writing Instalove group, Harlot Authors group, 50 Books to 50k group, Millionaire Author Mindset, chatting with authors and coaching clients in our romance genre)The general consensus is that FREE books perform better than books marked down to $0.99. From what I understand and have experienced, it’s easier to get a BBFD with a free book as well. |
Another huge deciding factor for whether or not a BBFD will be profitable is if it’s in the US or international. The US deals are much more successful but cost a lot more – upwards of $650 – $950 depending on the category.
Keep in mind that if you’re chosen for a BBFD, the deal will likely go out within 1-2 weeks, so make sure you have the means to pay for the deal when you apply. Also remember that you won’t get the actual payout from your promo for another 3 months (via KDP payouts) so you need to be okay with letting go of roughly $1k without seeing the immediate return.
Pro-tip: You can apply for multiple deals with the same book at the same time. For example, most of my books fit into the following BBFD categories:
Contemporary Romance, Erotic Romance, New Adult Romance, and Romantic Suspense.
For each of those four categories, you can apply for a free book deal AND a $0.99 book deal (giving you 8 chances of being selected instead of just one). You can also choose to apply for US only, International only, or All, though I suggest just applying for All and letting the BookBub gods decide your fate.
Once you get the deal, make sure to follow the best practices listed here! Set your price at least a day early and let it run for at least a few days after the scheduled deal goes out. If you have the budget, stack a few more promos to capitalize on this opportunity. Do NL swaps as well. Make sure to update your backmatter! Always be sending the reader to more of your library.
Finally, be active in the community and grow your audience! If you’re not sure where to begin, I’ve got good news… We have a BookBub builder starting in September! This is one small step but an important one. Having a bigger audience on this platform shows that readers are actively enjoying your stories, and they will jump on a deal if BookBub offers one!
Leave a Reply