Brandon Clements gave away 60,000 copies of his novel, Every Bush is Burning, using Amazon’s KDP Select service, hitting the #1 most downloaded free book on Amazon. The next week, he sold over 2,000 copies, 20 times what he was selling beforehand.
In this course, we’ve talked a lot about the power of generosity to help you build your Cartel and increase the size of your audience. Here, we talk about generosity’s power to sell more books.
Listen to the interview:
[audio:https://s3.amazonaws.com/scc_files/Brandon+KDP+Select+interview.mp3]One Caveat to This Interview
Since recording this, Amazon has changed their KDP Select program, decreasing it’s effectiveness to sell books. If you’re a first time author or have written a standalone book, I would not recommend using KDP Select.
However, if you’re publishing the second book on a series (or launching a serialized novel), try giving the first book in your series away for free. You’ll hook readers and generate interest in your second volume.
Giving your book away through KPD Select is also effective if you’re an author with several books. By giving one of them away for free, you’ll generate interest in your other books.
For other authors, I’d recommend using BookBub instead of KDP Select, an advertising service that allows you to publicize a discount on your book to their list of over 1,000,000 readers.
About the Interview
Brandon Clements is the author of Every Bush Is Burning, a blogger at brandonclements.com, and a pastor. He’s also one of the most knowledgeable people about self-publishing I know. In this interview, Brandon and I walk you through the benefits of KDP Select and how to get the most out of your KDP Select launch.
THAT’S THE END OF THE COURSE! Congratulations! But it’s not the end of the Cartel. We’ll send you an email shortly with further opportunities to participate in the Cartel, grow your audience, and sell more books, but why don’t you check out the courses in the Platform Starter Pack, which are complimentary with your Story Cartel Course membership.