4 daily deal services that will sell your book

If you’re like most authors, discoverability is one of your biggest problems. How do you get your book in front of the right readers so that they “discover” it?

There are at least four deal services for book lovers that use e-mail to help you do that. Each sends daily book deal e-mails to thousands – even millions – of readers who have opted in to get the messages offering books in the genres they enjoy.

These services not only help readers discover your book, they can also:

• Help drive sales for backlist titles
• Be part of a bestseller list marketing strategy (especially when you drop the price to $0.00)
• Generate buzz for your new release
• Introduce readers to what could become their next favorite series – yours

Here are specifics on four that could be selling your books.

BookBub

BookBub describes itself as “the leading service” for publishers and authors looking to reach new readers through limited-time e-book deals. According to the site, “Millions of members turn to BookBub’s daily e-mail to find free and deeply discounted e-books that match their interests.”

Millions is good, right? Top-selling fitness author Derek Doepker is one who credits BookBub for much of the success he’s had selling 50 Fitness Tips You Wish You Knew.

Subscribers to the mailings choose the genres they’re interested in so that messages are tailored to their interests.

To be considered for a BookBub daily e-mail, novels should be at least 150 pages, nonfiction books must be at least 100 pages, cookbooks at least 70 pages, and children’s picture books at least 20 pages.  It must be priced as free or at a minimum 50 percent discount, and the BookBub price must be the lowest price available before and after the promotion.

Learn more at https://www.bookbub.com/partners/requirements.

The Fussy Librarian

This service works a little differently. First, it has different requirements — you need a minimum number of reviews and a certain rating on Amazon.com or BN.com, a price of $5.99 or less (the site says that prices at $2.99 or less sell better), and “a quality cover.” Second, there’s a small fee for your book to be included in a daily e-mail. Third, it not only lets readers select the genres they like, it lets them indicate their preferences about language, violence, and sexual content, too.

The advertising fee is new, by the way. When one of my books was included in a daily e-mail, there was no fee. But it’s not much – either $3 or $6, depending on the genre. That’s a small price to pay to reach 13,800 subscribers who read the kind of books you write. Plus, your book will be included in the site’s searchable database for 30 days as part of the fee.

Go to http://www.thefussylibrarian.com/for-authors/ for details.

Readers in the Know

As with the others, Readers in the Know subscribers can select their book preferences so that the daily deal e-mails they receive are limited to books that match their selected categories, content, genres, and formats. But unlike the rest, readers using this site can also create a “watch list” of books they’re interested in, then be notified when there’s a special offer on any of the books on the list.

Authors and publishers can use the site to schedule promotions or giveaways once or several times. What’s more, they will reach readers in both the U.S. and the U.K.

There are no reader review requirements to be considered for a deal e-mail. You can try the service free for 60 days but after that, the annual membership fee for authors and publishers is $32.17 U.S. for the first three titles.

Go to http://readersintheknow.com/help and select the “Authors & Publishers” tab to get more information.

Riffle Select

Riffle also sends a daily e-mail message highlighting free or deeply discounted e-books representing a variety of different categories. Some are from “brand name” authors, others aren’t. To participate in Riffle’s program, you must offer a discounted price on your book (at least 50 percent off), and it must be the lowest price anywhere.

To qualify, your book must look and read like it’s been traditionally published (even if it isn’t) and must be at least 150 pages (or at least 32 pages for a children’s book).

Subscribers to the book deal e-mails select their genre preferences when setting up a profile. This ensures that your book is marketed only to people who read and enjoy they types of books you write.

To learn more about Riffle Select, start at this link: http://www.rifflebooks.com/advertise/overview. Use the tabs at the top to get more information and tips on how to make the most of this opportunity.

Most of these services have an editorial selection process, which means that your book isn’t guaranteed a slot in a daily e-mail. That also means it doesn’t cost you anything to try, so you have nothing to lose. Why not give one or two of them a try?

Have you used any of these or other services? What were the results?