Quote:
Originally Posted by Fbone
Bookbub fees increase according to the book's price. We're talking big increases $470 (free) vs $2350 ($2.99). At two grand they are probably finding fewer authors/pubs willing to spend so much on marketing.
|
That's not what I'm hearing. From following author threads, the authors have actually been applying for the "paid" book slots, but are getting turned down more and more often. But they can reapply for the cheaper slots and/or free and often get those. Keep in mind, I am relying on a "self-reporting" system. And I have no horse in the race. I've never applied for any slot, free or otherwise. Bookbub got its start with indie advertising and was hugely successful. Publishers began advertising with them some time ago and also report success also A couple of the marketing gurus that work there came from trad publishing jobs from what I understand (I've participated in the Bookbub twitter Q and A twice).
Indie authors put a lot of money into advertising, although from following the threads, they are actually pulling back this year. Too many of the bargain sites can't deliver downloads or buys. The market is hugely over-saturated with newsletters and mailing lists for the freebies/bargains and when authors buy ads, they have to be very careful because for the most part they can buy 7 ads, but all 7 of those ads are reaching the exact same audience (everyone signs up to multiple sites). There's also "download" fatigue and bargain fatigue.
Recently bookbub has upped the author features/sections to allow authors to create profiles and they may someday allow a blog feed (sort of like GR allows now). They also take out ads to gain subscribers (I've seen Bookbub ads while reading google news).