Instafreebie is one platform authors use to distribute free stories to readers. A bonus to using Instafreebe is they have author group giveaways with a purpose of growing your newsletter. (Readers get a free book if they sign up for your newsletter.)
I had been struggling with this a little, as I only had short stories that I could give away free. All my novels and novellas are enrolled exclusively with Amazon and enrolled in Kindle Unlimited. In addition, I don’t have the budget for a fancy designer cover for a free giveaway, so I make my own.
Both these issues (average covers and shorter stories) resulted in less downloads than the other authors in the group giveaways. This was fine, as I continued to grow my mailing list, but made growth slow and I questioned the cost-effectiveness of this method.
Well, I found the secret for me to have DOUBLE (or Triple!) the downloads to my free stories!
It’s bundling them into a box set — and making it LOOK like a box set. (Note: I think this method will work for ANY platform, including Book Funnel, and even for sale on Amazon.)
For example…Here is what my Quick Escape: Fantasy Tales freebie used to look like:
And now, I give away the same freebie, and changed the image to this:
And it gets double the downloads, even though each story averages only about 2000 words.
I did the same with my Superhero Wives short stories. I used to give away just one story:
But I bundled it with a few other short stories I had to create this:
And downloads doubled!
You can see how Quick Escape: Fantasy Tales stands out on the page here:
That’s it. I just wanted to share this little trick with you. (FYI: I make my covers at http://www.canva.com and then made them look like a box set through https://lite.boxshot.com)
Of course, now that I have the subscribers, they need to be paired with a stellar newsletter welcome series to keep them reading.
As always, thanks for reading!
–Joy
thanks you advice is as usual great and helpful 🙂
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I’m glad someone reads it!
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I’m so happy your read it! I wish I knew the magic ticket for all of us.
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Reblogged this on YOURS IN STORYTELLING… and commented:
Some great tips here, folks.
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I have the app. 😊
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Stroke of genius! Thanks for sharing with us! Good luck with it!
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Oh, I just hope it helps others….but I may give myself competition. 🙂
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So smart, and really looks good! Super info, thanks!
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Thanks for reading and sticking with me for so long!
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A. Outstanding. Congrats on the expanded reach.
B. Thank you for sharing. You are, as always, awesome.
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Thanks Jay! I love the positive feedback. 🙂 You’re awesome, too!
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I am not quite at that stage yet but it is good to have this information ahead of time.Thank you.
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You’re welcome! Marketing is a longer, more time-consuming road than I expected. I hope others learn from my mistakes…and successes!
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Nice! It definitely looks awesome and professional! 🙂
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Thanks Lana!
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The box set looks great. Is the application easy to use?
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I think instafreebie is easy. I use the web version to upload (you need to have an epub to upload.) There’s also book funnel that many authors like (and costs less in the long run.)
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Good to know. Thank you 😀
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