How Long Is Long Enough?

I’m the first to admit it, I’m on too many mailing lists. 

Many of those are free or discounted books sites. It happens. You submit a book and then
agree to be on their mailing list. As a publisher, this has the benefit of letting you know when your promotion goes out. As a reader, it’s a little overwhelming. I hardly order anything.

Here's what I do instead. When I see a book on sale that I think I’d like to try, I save that day’s offers.  I keep it in my inbox and plan to come back to it.

Then the day gets away from me. The next morning, I'll check to see if it’s still available. If it is, I’ll order it.  

I don't always make spot decisions. That’s why I’m trying out longer promotions. I already wrote about doing four days instead of three for free promotions. Now I’m trying out 99 cents for a week, or two weeks or even a month.

Basing a marketing strategy on what I do when there are so many excellent studies on the psychology of consumer behavior is simplistic at best. And yet. It makes sense.

Now we’ll have to see if it works.

Who’s Better at Promoting - Author of Publisher?

It’s a debate I see often. IMHO, no one can promote a book as well as the author.

Case in point. I posted on the Bacon Press Books  FB page about a book we have on sale for 99 cents for a week - The Man Who Built Boxes. That little box that keeps track of such things usually told me  I'd “reached” six people.. Then the author, Frank Tavares, shared the post and people reached climbed to 146. 

Authors - 1; Publishers - 0