Hey everyone! I’m taking a break from my regularly-scheduled programming (read: editing, haha) to feature a “hidden gem,” so to speak, of the indie world. I’m fresh from an authors’ workshop over the weekend and realizing that I may have a series of “did you know about this cool service?” posts in my future . . .
So, Bookfunnel. You’ve probably heard of it or even used it before, especially if you’re an author who sends out–or a reader who reads–ARCs (aka Advance Reader Copies). Bookfunnel is also often used to deliver newsletter freebies or ebooks sold directly through an author’s website. Basically, it’s a service that takes an ebook, hosts a purpose-driven landing page for that ebook, and then distributes book files to readers in whatever format they prefer (.epub is the big one these days, or .pdf or old-school .mobi).
None of those offerings are particularly hidden. What I wanted to highlight today was Bookfunnel’s answer to group marketing or cross-promotion. Basically, Bookfunnel has created a space on its platform where authors can organize sales and bookish “events” with other authors of a similar genre. These events usually have one of two goals: to increase an author’s exposure and newsletter subscriber count by offering free ebooks, or to encourage readers to buy ebooks directly from authors via their website. From there, requirements to join a promotion vary. Some of them get really specific: enemies-to-lovers romance on Kindle, for example, or witchy mysteries with LGBTQ+ representation, or really anything you can think of. They’re all free to join as an author (aside from the subscription fee you might pay to Bookfunnel to use their service), though Bookfunnel does track and report your specific engagement–for example, how many “clicks” you got on the sale page, etc.
Promotions are searchable by genre, and Bookfunnel will happily email you when a new promotion is offered that matches your criteria (as an author, that is; it’d be cool if this database was searchable for readers, but I don’t believe that capability exists–I think they prefer to draw in readers through other authors’ recommendations and direct links). Just beware, though, that some genres (ahem, romance) are very active and you’ll be getting daily emails with lots of options!
All in all, I find the amount of work Bookfunnel puts into making their services both author- and reader-friendly impressive. If you’re already paying them to be your ebook delivery service, make sure to look into other features you could use as well!
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