Results of BookBub promo for Sleep Writer (Book 1)

Posted on April 12, 2018 (Subscribe to Blog)

Recently, the book promotion giant BookBub ran a feature for Sleep Writer. I've had several features for Island of Fog in the past, but this was my first non-Fog book in the spotlight, so I was excited to see how it fared. Well, it did pretty darn well.

BookBub Promo -- April 7, 2018

Placement of the book on BookBub's site happened pretty early on April 7th, 2018, and I started seeing results from that. But the real power came from the email blast they sent out around mid-morning.

Both Island of Fog (Book 1) and Sleep Writer (Book 1) are free, which is a standard marketing ploy to get readers hooked so they hopefully buy the other books in the series. Currently, the Fog series has nine books, and the Sleep Writer series has four. Island of Fog typically gets around 1000-1200 downloads a month without any promos, whereas Sleep Writer gets... about 50.

So I was pleased when the BookBub promo the other day got me around 10,000 downloads for Sleep Writer on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple, and Kobo.

Sales of the other books in the series were up, too, and on that first promo day I nabbed five times what I usually do. The next few days have dropped off a little, but it's still a good result. Years ago, when I ran a BookBub promo for Island of Fog, I got 11,500 downloads the first time and $2000-worth of sales over the next six weeks. A similar thing happened the second time, but with 6500 downloads. And the next time. But the last time I did a promo, I nabbed a staggering 43,000 downloads and had mediocre sales from it. Something has happened over the years, something that's affected the conversion from free downloads to sales of the next books. Too many people nowadays just routinely grab all the free downloads they can get their hands on and don't have time for anything else, whereas years ago free downloads were more of a novelty and always led to sales.

Anyway, Sleep Writer has done pretty well. Also, the book made it higher in the overall free Kindle book chart than I've ever achieved before:

BookBub Promo -- April 7, 2018

#12 is... well, eleven places away from being the highest ranked free Kindle ebook in the entire USA. That's pretty incredible!

I've also gained a few more reviews. Here are some from US readers:

bookyloo reviewed Sleep Writer (Book 1)...
Keith Robinson has apparently hit a home run with this sci-fi series! Friends Liam, Ant and Maggie are flying through worm holes and having all kinds of alien encounters while their parents remain essentially clueless -- even when the roof of Liam's house is shredded by an escaped, gargantuan space creature. Loved it!! ...Except it ended too quickly and a few prepositions were perhaps misused, or are they used correctly in Robinson's neck of the woods?

Bookwyrm reviewed Sleep Writer (Book 1)...
Liam's new neighbor has a secret skill -- she foretells alien incursions. When Liam and Art accompany Madison to a nearby cemetery in the middle of the night, they're halfway convinced they're being pranked. Until the aliens show up. Sleep Writer is a fun, energized read that's marked as aimed at ages 9-12. Well, it doesn't talk down to that age group, has a sophisticated plot, and is a great read for any age. I should know, as I haven't been 12 years old for decades, get a bit jaded with some of the poor writing sold on Amazon, and I can only say that I was more than pleasantly surprised and immediately bought the next book. I fully plan to read the whole series based on the quality of Sleep Writer, and I don't do that often for free books I find on BookBub. Yes, you find good books that way, but the truly excellent are few and far between. Highly recommended for anyone who'd love a chance to jump in a wormhole and/or have a time wand. Also recommended for fans of science fiction and fantasy or anyone with a child who's a reluctant reader. Too much fun!

Kindle Customer reviewed Sleep Writer (Book 1)...
Sleep Writer has heart -- together with a fresh premise, compelling characters and believable writing that makes the most unbelievable things not just possible, but inevitable. Would be a great choice to read aloud to any ages, young and old; anyone who likes a good story with a big ending.

Lee Enslow reviewed Sleep Writer (Book 1)...
I enjoyed this book. It's a page turner for sure. Fresh concept. I've read/watched hundreds of this genre but this idea is a first. I did find a couple mistakes, however, most people won't. Worthy of a read. Enjoy!

If any of those reviewers are reading this blog post, THANK YOU! And Lee, please do let me know what those errors are so I can correct them.

All in all, it's been an exciting few days for my Sleep Writer series, and I'm pleased to see the second, third, and fourth books are selling as well. This series is so much fun to write (as all my books are), and a fifth book is in the pipeline for early 2019.

Download your FREE copy now:

(For Amazon outside the US, just click on the Amazon link and then change the web address to .co.uk or .com.au or .ca or whatever your country code is.)

Also available in print.

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