BookBub is perhaps the most coveted promotional opportunity on any author’s radar. Not only does it offer immediate access to thousands of readers, its elusive exclusivity also makes it all the more tantalizing. Authors will submit over and over in an attempt to gain access to BookBub’s seismic list of bookworms, but is the big double B really the only worthy opportunity out there for authors?
It’s important that anyone interested in promoting on BookBub keep a few factors in mind:
- BookBub, while wonderful, is not the only way to promote a book
- Landing a BookBub, doesn’t guarantee overnight success
- BookBub can be pricey, ranging anywhere from $50 to almost $4,000 for a promotion
So while you work on submitting to BookBub and waiting for the day when you get the green light, consider some other promotional sites that offer access to readers and opportunities to get the word out.
Keep in mind that any promotion, be it on BookBub or any other site, requires research, planning and most importantly, a larger scale understanding of your marketing goals. In some cases, you may drop the price of your ebook to $0.99 in order to attract readers to a sale. In other cases, you may offer your ebook for free to drive newsletter sign ups. Whatever site(s) you choose, define your plan, measure your results and optimize where needed.
Where to submit:
A free submission to this site could get you into their newsletter, with over 9,600 people subscribed. However, if you want to guarantee your spot, it is only $10. This fee also includes being featured on the Awesomegang homepage for two days and promotion via their social media platforms.
Set up arguably the most similar to BookBub, this site is easy to use. Prices are reasonable, ranging from $35 to $140, depending on the genre and price. They have about 500,000 Facebook followers and nearly 200,000 email subscribers. You can apply for a specific genre. You can also apply to be the Book of the Day, which is sent to all genres, but you must have at least a 3.5 star Amazon rating.
This ebook database and price tracking service allows you to submit for free. If you’d like to be featured as one of their “Daily Deals & Steals” newsletters, which promotes your book in a similar way to BookBub, prices range from $5 to $40. Mailing list sizes vary from 1,200 to 46,000.
Submitting for ChoosyBookworm is free, and they often choose books for placement off of the free submissions, but if you want to guarantee your spot, it’s only $17.50. That includes a feature in the newsletter and on the website. Going premium, which includes a spot on the home page for an entire week is only $42. The mailing list is about 68,000.
This ebook website has a large subscriber base; mailing lists range from 49,000 to 131,000. Prices start range from $40 to $65 for a single mailing list, but you can also apply to go premium. The premium spot is quite competitive; less than 1% of submissions are accepted, but it sends your book in all of their newsletters for only $80.
With mailing lists ranging from 7,000 to 120,000, BookSends gives you a lot of bang for your buck. Prices range from $10 to $125, with a $10 bump to additionally promote on Facebook.
Prices remain remarkably low on this ebook promotion site, given how large their mailing lists have become. Mailing lists range from 46,000 to 392,000, and prices from $25 to $150.
Obviously, if your goal is to reach as many readers as possible and price is not an issue, BookBub is the way to go. Their subscriber numbers range from 230,000 to 3,800,000, so shelling out upwards of $700 could easily be worth it. Just know that there are other options.
Double Up on Your Promotion
Once you’ve landed one of the coveted spots on any of these sites, make sure to double-up on the promotion by submitting the sale to Penny Pinchin’ Mom and Deal Seeking Mom. Both allow you to submit deal for them to promote on their sites for free.
If you decide to list your book as free, you can also submit it to Lovely Books. In addition to putting it in their newsletter with 21,000 subscribers, for $10 they’ll promote it on social media, including in 60+ Facebook groups. Make sure to submit at least 5 days in advance of your book being marked down.
While you’re at it, make sure to submit it for the Indie Book of The Day Free on Kindle listing. Make sure to allow at least 48 hours between submitting and your sale starting, but the earlier you submit, the better chance you have. This promotion includes Pinterest and Twitter.
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