Well, I've had my first ebook Five Times Vengeance exclusively on Amazon for a few days short of 2 months now. Here are the extremely disappointing stats for the last 2 months.
You Tube trailer...........325 views.
I'd wager that a full 50 to 60 are my own. I clear my cookies after each browsing session, so Youtube thinks I 'm a new visitor each time.
Google Adwords............Booooooooo.
I decided to pay 30 dollars to promote my You Tube trailer. Yes, in that week, I watched my trailer views jump from 70 to over 300, but who's to say that the views were from legitimate people actually interested in reading epic fantasy ebooks. Anyway, Google did their job and got me views, but nothing came out of it. Well, I tried it, at least. I would have much rather spent my $30 on a 5 pound bag of smokehouse almonds (man, I love those).
Blogger.............248 page views
Once again, 25% of those are probably my own. 248? Seriously? An utterly disheartening number.
Facebook...........1 friend
:(
Amazon
Currently, my book is ranked #669,250 in the store. Ouch!
I've sold a grand total of 5 copies for $11.23 (the dollar figure may be off slightly, I'm going by memory. I'll double check it later.)
I've given away 316 books during my promo period. I have 2 promo days remaining.
Conclusion:
In the last 2 days, I've given it much thought, and I've concluded that for a nobody like me, exposure is the key. Amazon places such a high importance on reviews, that the key is to get your book in the hands of people who read AND write reviews. But, how are they going to read your book if they don't know you exist?
5 sales....316 giveaways. The course of action is clear. That's a potential of 316 reviews. And seeing my book is just as good as anything that that hack Tolkien ever wrote, I'd say that there's the possibility of 316 four and five star reviews. (That last sentence was pure sarcasm. Just trying to lighten the mood. I regard the late Mr. Tolkien as the greatest writer of fantasy that the genre has ever known. A true God.)
I think it's time for this wannabe to pay his dues. I'm not yet ready to offer my book for free yet, but I've decided to drop it to 99 cents, effective today. Sure I'll only make 35 cents per sale, but that's what paying your dues are about. In fact, if the numbers end up as dismal as the ones above, I may have to opt for the free route.
So, to the 5 people who bought it for $2.99, I am deeply grateful. If I knew who you were, I would give you a copy of the sequel (when it gets done) for free, as a token of my appreciation.
So there you have it. I'm just glad I never set my expectations too high. Being a "glass half empty" guy does have its benefits.
Here's the link for Five Times Vengeance at the new, super colossal, low, bargain price of just 99 cents!
It's 141,000+ words and it's about an Assassin, Ogre, Elf, Barbarian, and Wizard coming together to form an alliance and exact vengeance upon everyone who has done them wrong. This story is about the good guys dying and the bad guys making them die. There's no redemption. There's no morality. There's no happy ending. There is but death and destruction.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009T6VKHS
Thank you,
Jason Lee
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