I'd love to hear all Indie authors' experiences with these promotional tools. I'm in the middle of a Kindle Countdown Deal with most of my books running at 99 cents. I've dutifully announced it everywhere I could (without being obnoxious and banned for spam :P) and I'm really not seeing the result I was expecting. Too many free titles out there to bother with 99 cents?
As for the KDP freebies, I get lots of downloads (in the hundreds usually), but almost zero exposure (ratings, reviews, etc). I do get a handful of sales after the freebie run is done, but that dries up quickly.
I've had the best result with Goodreads Giveaways in terms of sales and exposure, though the ratings/reviews I received during the giveaways were on different titles. May have been a coincidence. Lots of people put the giveaway titles on their to-read shelves, which is at least some visibility.
What has been your experience? What would be your advice?
As for the KDP freebies, I get lots of downloads (in the hundreds usually), but almost zero exposure (ratings, reviews, etc). I do get a handful of sales after the freebie run is done, but that dries up quickly.
I've had the best result with Goodreads Giveaways in terms of sales and exposure, though the ratings/reviews I received during the giveaways were on different titles. May have been a coincidence. Lots of people put the giveaway titles on their to-read shelves, which is at least some visibility.
What has been your experience? What would be your advice?
Thanks!
-M