How to coordinate a smart release schedule that will hook new and old readers and make you more money – even with the first book free!
A Guest Post by Chris Keniston
For me, the small window of fall between blistering Texas summer and the first frost of winter is the perfect time of year. I love pleasant breezy days that aren’t melt-on-the-sidewalk hot or where’s-my-coat cold. We can count on fall to arrive with blooming colors and sunny blue skies, all with bright shades that inspire exotic names for crayons, but best of all, it’s ideal weather to relax and read a can’t-put-down book.
As an added bonus to bolster the urge to read, around this time of year a larger number of new books and series hit store shelves. Everyone is gearing up for binge holiday reading. My sweet romance series, Farraday Country, a contemporary twist on Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, was no exception.
For the fall of last year I had a plan to release my new series with a splash. I placed Adam the first book in Farraday Country on Nook, available for preorder with a price of free. Because I learned years ago from traditional publishing that it takes most readers at least three books to fall in love with a series, I followed some sage advice and scheduled books two and three, Brooks and Connor, to release on the same day. Yep, and that’s not all. Call me crazy, but if three books in a day wasn’t enough to make fans happy, I also added a rapid release schedule to drop another book of the series every six or so weeks.
This is when the cliché, ‘what’s old is new’ comes into play. Using a loss leader is not a new concept in marketing. Many moons ago (okay, 2013) when my first books were published, successful Indie authors used and recommended this same marketing plan of letting readers discover a new author or series with a free book (the old loss leader). If readers love it, they’ll want to have the rest of the series as fast as an author can write them (the rapid release plan). Using that marketing strategy, careers were launched and many authors skyrocketed to tops of the New York Times and USA Today best seller lists.
Anyone who knows me knows patience isn’t my best virtue, but I was determined to try what others before me had done. The rapid release concept is the part of the marketing splash that can be challenging for many authors. For me, I had to hold back on releasing until I had four books written. By the time Declan, my fourth book in the series released, fans had fallen in love with the Farraday family, the town of Tuckers Bluff, and of course, the mysterious dog (you’ll have to read the books if you want to know more—insert evil grin).
When Grace, the seventh sibling’s book released six months later, so much momentum had built because of the bulk same day release with first book free strategy that Grace outsold the seventh book of my previous Aloha Series (the original contemporary version, not the sweet version releasing November 24th with the first book free) by over 250%, and readers still wanted more.
Fortunately for fans of Farraday Country, the original seven siblings have plenty of cousins ready to find love in Tuckers Bluff. The second of these cousins, Ian is my latest outing and as soon as my job as mother of the bride is over, another cousin, Jamison, will be coming to town!
One last tidbit of fun news, I am delighted to be a part of the new sweet world, Main Street Romance. Set in the fictional town of Romance, Virginia, readers and fans will join in on the fun by helping the authors create characters and storylines and building our town. Make sure to check out our page here on Nook Press then come and play with us at Main Street Romance!
To learn more about Chris and her books, visit her at www.chriskeniston.com. To learn more about Main Street Romance, visit www.mainstreetromance.com
Now they will go back and love the Aloha series. I am so glad that the strategy worked. Everyone should get a chance to discover your wonderful writing.