One of the hardest things in marketing is making your customers care. You can talk about your product until you’re blue in the face, but that isn’t going to push their “buy button.” However, Amazon has recently introduced a new feature that is almost guaranteed to boost sales, and it’s incredibly easy to use with KDP Select books (those published exclusively through Amazon). It’s known as Countdown Deals, and the main feature is that you can set discounts whenever you want. This will light a fire under all of your potential customers that will make them buy your books as quickly as possible.
Time-Based Discounts
Amazon will sometimes discount your book to increase sales. Countdown Deals is similar to that, but much more effective. The main thing that you can do is discount your book. For example, you can set the price from $4.99 to $1.99 for a period of time. That’s already effective, but Amazon added something else that will really push the customer’s buy button.
There will be a timer near the discounted price showing customers how long they have until the price goes back to normal. Time-based offers are always better because they force the customer to make a decision right now, rather than wait a few days and then forget about your product. That’s why all coupons have expiration dates.
Comparing the Price
Like with most deals, Amazon will also display the regular price right near the discounted price. It will also tell the customer how much he or she is saving. Why is this important? Telling someone that they are saving money is effective, but telling them exactly how much money they are saving is even better.
People like comparing things. A discounted product without the original price doesn’t tell the customer how good the sale is, which can reduce the effectiveness of the sale. By showing the customer how much he or she is saving, this allows the buyer’s brain to understand that this really is a good buying decision.
Dedicated Website
Afraid your book will get lost with the thousands of others on Amazon? There’s now a way to improve your chances of being found while still pushing the buy button. Amazon has created a dedicated website specifically for Countdown Deals books.
Any book that is currently discounted will show up here (and in the normal listings). This allows savvy shoppers to find the best price, and it also improves the likelihood of someone finding your book because there will be less competition.
This also gives you more exposure because you’ll be listed on several pages, rather than just one.
Tiered Discounts
This might be the best strategy that you can use with Countdown Deals, and Amazon directly suggests that authors do this. A tiered discount is when the price is discounted deeply at first, but the discount gets less and less until the book is back at normal price. For example, let’s say that your $4.99 book is on sale for $1.99 on Wednesday. On Thursday, the price will go up to $2.99, and then to $3.99 on Friday. Not only that, but Amazon makes this better by showing the customer what the price will be after the time is up.
Not only does this show buyers that the price really will go up if they wait, but it makes the buy button irresistible. Buyers want to save as much money as possible, not see the savings disappear. If they see that the price is slowly increasing, then they will buy the book as soon as possible.
Royalty Rate
You might be wondering if the royalty rate changes since Amazon only gives 30% royalty for books that are cheaper than $2.99. That’s another great thing about Countdown Deals. Your royalty rate remains the same, regardless of the price. If the royal is 70% and the book is set at $1, then you’ll still get 70% of the sale.
This allows you to make a killing without reducing your commissions.
Eligibility
Your book must be enrolled in the KDP Select program, but you can’t use the five free days of KDP Select (it’s either/or). The other requirements are:
-
Enrolled in KDP Select for at least 30 days
-
List price must be between $2.99 and $24.99
-
Price must not have changed in the last 30 days
-
The lowest discount is $1
-
The deal can only last seven days, and the minimum time is one hour
-
You can set five price increments at most
-
Your Countdown Deal must stop 14 days before your KDP Select period ends.