How to Effectively Use Amazon KDP Free Book Promotions?

Are you a self-publisher looking for ways to increase the reach of your book on Amazon? One powerful tool that you shouldn’t overlook is KDP Free Book Promotions. This marketing strategy allows you to offer your ebook for free for a limited time, and it can bring you a range of benefits, from increased downloads and visibility to valuable reviews and future sales. In this article, we’ll delve into the details of how KDP Free Book Promotions work and guide you through the steps to set one up successfully.

Whether you’re a new author trying to build an audience or an established one looking to boost sales, read on to discover how KDP Free Book Promotions can help you achieve your goals.

Why Run KDP Free Book Promotions?

Free exposure for your book

Running a KDP Free Book Promotion gains free exposure for your book at the launch. This is because it gets your book ranking in the free category for whatever section it is listed in. If your book is high quality, it is likely to get lots of downloads during the promotion, which in turn will get the “best sellers” or “best new release” badge. Additionally, if readers enjoy your book, they may be more likely to recommend it to their friends and leave positive reviews, which can help boost your visibility even further. This social proof is very effective in getting more downloads, reviews, and sales in the future.

More Book Reviews

When people download your book for free, they are likely to leave a review on your book if they like it. This is why it’s important to have high-quality books when publishing through KDP. If you get bad reviews, it will affect you negatively. Promoting a high-quality book for free can yield significant benefits such as increased reach, downloads, and reviews, all of which can positively impact future sales.

Improve book ranking on Amazon

The free book promotion will get your book organically ranking on the page for your main keyword. Even though the book is being downloaded for free, it still counts as a sale and can help your book rank organically when someone searches for your main keyword.

Kindle Unlimited Page Reads

If your book is enrolled in Kindle Select, readers who have the Kindle Unlimited subscription service can choose to borrow your book rather than purchase it outright. This can result in increased page reads, which you still get paid for. By running a free promotion or sale, you may be able to attract more readers to your book and increase the number of page reads, which can help boost your income.

Boosting Overall Sales

Promotions and sales can also be an effective way to hook readers into a longer series or encourage them to explore your backlist. By offering a discounted or free book, you can introduce readers to your writing style and encourage them to check out your other titles. This can help increase your overall sales and revenue.

How to Set Up a KDP Free Book Promotion?

Before you can set up a free book promotion on KDP, your book must be enrolled in KDP Select. If your book is not enrolled in KDP Select, you will not be able to utilize the free book promotion option. Once you have enrolled in KDP Select, follow these steps to set up a free book promotion:

Step 1: Go to your Bookshelf on KDP and select the book you want to promote.

Step 2: Click on the “Promote and Advertise” button next to the book.

Step 3: Click on the “Create a new Free Book Promotion” button.

Step 4: Select the start and end dates for your promotion.

Step 5: Choose the marketplaces you want your promotion to run in.

Step 6: Decide whether or not you want to offer a countdown deal after your promotion ends.

Step 7: Click on the “Create Free Book Promotion” button.

Submit your free book to book promotion websites

Submitting your book to book promotion sites can be an effective way to increase its exposure during the free promotion period. Some of these sites have a large audience of avid readers looking for their next favorite book, and they can help your book reach a wider audience beyond your existing network. Some book promotion sites are free, while others charge a fee. It’s important to do your research and select the sites that align with your genre and target audience to maximize your results. By leveraging the reach of book promotion sites, you can increase the chances of your book being discovered and downloaded during the free promotion period.

How do the “Free Book Promotion Sites” Work?

There are plenty of sites that are ready to promote your book free of charge. Sometimes that’s just a post on their website, sometimes – they can even send your promo to their email list. These book promotion sites boast that they have collected a large number of emails and social media following of targeted audiences.  All you must do is submit your book information, and they’ll send it out to their readers. 

So, why do free book promotion sites do such an amazing service? Because often these site owners are Amazon affiliates. They assume that some percent of the people who followed your book link will buy something on Amazon. That way the site owners will earn their affiliate commission. There’s nothing bad about it. It’s just good to know how the system works. Many of these sites also offer guaranteed book promotions for a friendly price.

So, here is a list of some of the most popular websites that may promote your fiction or nonfiction book for free. Use them to promote your perma-free books and the discount deals during their Kindle promotion days.

Sites to Promote Your Fiction or Nonfiction Book for Free

1. snickslist.com, price $0
2. newfreekindlebooks.com, price $0
3. ebookstage.com – FREE with their affiliates program
4. bookangel.co.uk, price range: $0 – $5
5. humanmade.net, price range: $0 – $5 
6. awesomegang.com, price range: $0 – $10
7. discountbookman.com, price range: $0 – $15
8. ebookshabit.com, price range: $0 – $15
9. itswritenow.com, price range: $0 – $20
10. book-circle.com, price range: $0 – $20
11. toplesscowboy.com (fiction books only), price range: $0 – $20 
12. bookoftheday.org, price range: $0 – $20    
13. pretty-hot.com, price range: $0 – $25
14. readingdeals.com price range: $0 – $29   
15. digitalbooktoday.com (has a separate section for perma-free books), price range: $0 – $40
16. indiestoday.com, price range: $0 – $40
17. allauthor.com, price range: $0 – $59  
18. lovelybookpromotions.com, price range: $0 – $75 
19. bookbongo.com, price range: $0 – $150
20. bookpraiser.com  (has a separate section for perma-free books, also accepts upcoming books and promotes book series), price range: $0 – $180
21. bookgoodies.com (has a separate section for perma-free books), price range: $0 – $399     
22. indieauthornews.com (accepts upcoming books), price range – not stated

How do the “Paid Book Promotion Sites” Work?

Paid sites usually provide better quality and more book downloads. The process is similar to the free promotion sites. Simply submit your book details and author bio, choose the genre and promotion plan, and wait for the results. It’s advisable to use one site for each day so that you can evaluate the results. If you promote simultaneously on different sites, it might be difficult to evaluate their effectiveness since you won’t know which of the sites gave you the most results. I’ve compiled a list of the most popular paid book promotion sites to make it easier for you to see what is available out there.

39 Paid Book Promotion Sites

1. indiebooklounge.com, price range: $4 – $20
2. Bknights (a seller on Fiverr that promotes free or discounted books for a reasonable price and with good results), price: $5
3. ebookdealstoday.com, price range: $5 – $10
4. ebookdaily.com, price range: $5 – $20
5. bookbasset.com, price range: $8.99-$21.99+
6. tckpublishing.com, price: $10+
7. freebookshub.com, price range: $10 – $20
8. ereaderiq.com, price range: $10 – $40
9. ebookhounds.com, price range: $10-$50
10. hiddengemsbooks.com (romance books only), price range: $10 – $50
11. booksends.com, price range: $10-$249
12. thefussylibrarian.com, price range: $11 – $74
13. freediscountedbooks.com (has a separate section for perma-free books), price range: $12 – $35
14. mybookcave.com, price range: $14 – $44
15. bookreadermagazine.com, price range: $14 – $44
16. genrepulse.com, price range: $16 – $40
17. bookdoggy.com, price range: $18 – $20 or free of charge if you send out a newsletter by email to your 3000+ subscribers promoting BookDoggy’s free draw
18. goodkindles.net, price: $20
19. bargainbooksy.com (bargain books only), price range: $20 – $220
20. theereadercafe.com, price range: $25 – $40
21. fkbt.com (accepts new releases), price range: $25 – $100
22. ebooksoda.com, price: $29
23. manybooks.net (has a separate section for perma-free books), price range: $29 – $79
24. freebooksy.com  (promotes free books only, offers a paid promotion for book series), price range: $30 – $230
25. bookbarbarian.com (science fiction and fantasy books only), price range: $35-$55
26. pillowtalkbooks.com, price range: $35-$150
27. robinreads.com, price range: $40 – $85
28. bookgorilla.com, price range: $40-$100
29. ereadernewstoday.com, price range: $40 – $120
30. whizbuzzbooks.com, price: $49 for one year
31. thrillerfix.com (fiction books only, accepts new releases), price range: $49-$499
32. bookraid.com – pay-per-click with maximum spend of $60
33. kindlenationdaily.com, price range: $69 – $130
34. ohfb.com, price range: $75-$100
35. myromancereads.com (romance books only, accepts new releases, offers a paid promotion for book series), price range: $85-$175
36. booksbutterfly.com (offers a paid promotion for book series), price range: $90-$1,200
37. bookbub.com, price range: $113 – $3,984       

When You Shouldn’t Run a Free Book Promotion?

While free book promotions can be a powerful tool for authors, they’re not without their risks. Without other books in the series or a larger backlist, it can be difficult to recoup the costs of running a promotion. Additionally, there are many readers out there who simply collect free books and may never read them, which can limit the potential for discoverability.

To maximize the benefits of running a free promotion, it’s important to have a solid plan in place. This might include waiting until you have at least two other books in the series or a handful of other books in your backlist before running a promotion. By doing so, you can increase the likelihood that readers who enjoy your book will continue to engage with your work and become loyal fans.

Plan Your Book Marketing Campaign

It’s essential to understand that book promotion sites can be expensive, and you might not get the results you’re looking for. Therefore, it’s crucial to choose the right promotion site that suits your book genre and audience. Researching and comparing different promotion sites’ costs and services can help you make an informed decision.

To achieve better results include lead magnets inside your book so that those who download your book have the option to sign up for your email list and get some bonus. Considering timing your promotion to align with your book launches, price changes, and marketing efforts is also super important.

In conclusion, book promotion sites are a great way to get more book downloads with little effort. By using the right book promotion sites, planning marketing activities, and timing your book promotion, you can effectively increase your book marketing momentum. However, it’s important to carefully consider your goals and have a solid plan in place before launching a promotion.