Which KDP Select Unlimited Strategies Actually Work?

KDP Select Unlimited strategies are all based upon the main following thoughts:

You know what KDP Unlimited Select is about
You need a following so that you don't run out of money quickly with ads and you can maintain sales
You need more than one ebook

KDP Select Unlimited is important because you get paid per page reads, and whilst the rates are very low, the amount over time can be large.

Some pointers what we have found is that:

Amazon has a regulator within it logarithm. Any vast increase in sales/ reads gets dampened over time and doesnt boost sales for ever. Constant sales/ reads is the main factor. Therefore you need external traffic rather than constant paid traffic. If you are paying for traffic be super careful as those ebook pages rates might not cover those expenses.
We have shown on this site that when combined with other promotional events, KDPS U increases and also sales of your ebooks.
Longer ebooks are great, but short quick ebooks that are fast reads are also fine- as long as you have many of them
Don't over estimate how much you will get from KDP Select Unlimited. Those millions of dollars that Amazon promotes in the Global Fund gets spread through everyone and rolls over if not used up. The rates also fluctuate- so care if you have bought ads with the assumption of a certain rate.
You are locked into this for 90 days. Keep that in mind if you want to sell it anywhere else or if Amazon shifts its stance somehow.

What has been found to be the most effective KDP Select Unlimited strategies? The first 5...

1. Multiple ebooks always wins in time. If a reader finishes book 1 (via KU) and jumps immediately into Book 2, that increases total pages read.

2. Similar to the multiple ebooks is a series always wins over singular themed ebooks. Again, the story follows and you get more page reads. Releasing regularly also promotes your content and then starts to place ebooks by the side of each other in recommended.

3. Short chapters, quick reads and hooks are staple in the fiction world. Non-fiction authors should take note. Reducing friction and allowing the flow increases page reads.

4. Make sure that your ebook is not filled with fluff or obstacles which will allow readers to stop reading. We created an ebook once that had links within the ebook. The proceeding pages were based on those links. So not a lot of people carried on reading. Also the first few pages were how to navigate through the ebook. Again, pages reads reduced. Abandonment cuts into your KU returns.

5. Use the 5 free-days per 90-day period. Promote well in this time to download the ebook. It will crank up download rates and will get you higher in competitive charts. But, remember the logarithm? Those placements start to drop over time if you dont have organic sales, actual sales and reviews. Think of it like this. If you gave someone an ebook for free and they didn't read it, recommend it or review it then Amazon sees this as very iffy. Free doesn't always mean sales or reviews, so keep that strongly in mind. And make sure you choose a category that is easy to rank in rather than a super competitive one. Always remember niche.

Second 5 KDP Unlimited strategies

6. Promote before you have a sale. If people know something is coming then there is a much larger chance of reads. Second to this, if they are the perfect audience for your ebook then the amount of reads increases even more. Try to figure out when the sale/ promotion is going to be and then work backwards the fill out the calendar with moments of notice/ news

7. Promo days sometimes are used up pretty quickly. So don't burn through all of them and all your sales processes at the very start (remember logarithm). This is where you have to monitor sales and reads. As the reads start to decline then throw in another promo. If you link the promo to a certain even then people are more likely to believe it. Halloween, Bank holidays, birthdays even are used by companies as a reason for a sale. Without a reason sales reduce.

8. Kindle Countdown Deals (KCDs). These let you temporarily discount your book, create urgency with a visible timer, and still get good royalty rates if your pricing fits Amazon’s rules.

9. Don't buy or read your own book. Doesn't work to maintain sales...and Amazon knows. Its an easy point to remember so here's another one. Track what is working. Track links to sales page and what jumps people to your ebook. Over a small amount of time you drop what is not working and increase what is. Different audiences have different marketing preferences.

10. If readers get what they came for in the first few pages then why should they continue to read on? And think of it this way, not all books have to stay exclusive forever. Some authors rotate titles in and out of KDP Select depending on performance, genre, etc. Maybe keep the first book of a series in Select, rotate others.

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Ebook selling case studies can be found here

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