Kindle Countdown Deals is a new Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) Select benefit that allows authors to run limited-time discount promotions on their books, which can help earn more royalties and reach more readers.
Customers can see the regular price and the promotional price on the book’s detail page, as well as a countdown clock (see example below) telling them how much time is left at the promotional price. You’ll also continue to earn your selected royalty rate on each sale during the promotion.
Benefits of Kindle Countdown Deals:
- They’re time-based: Not only does this give you more control to decide how long the book is discounted, but the time remaining for the promotion is visible to customers to increase excitement for the price discount.
- Customers see the regular price: It’s easy for customers to see the great deal they’re getting, as the regular price is included on the book’s detail page, right beside the promotional price.
- Royalty rate is retained at lower prices: You will earn royalties based on your regular royalty rate and the promotional price. As a result, if you are using the 70% royalty option, you’ll earn 70% even if the price is below $2.99.
- There’s a dedicated website: Customers can easily browse active; Kindle Countdown Deals at www.amazon.com/kindlecountdowndeals, providing yet another way for books to be discovered.
- You can monitor performance in real-time: A new KDP report displays sales and royalties at each price discount side-by-side with pre-promotion performance, so it’s easy to compare.
Say for example your book has a list price of $4.99, and you start a promotion on Monday at 8 A.M. your time, with a starting price of $1.99. You set three price increments to run 24 hours each:
During each promotional day, your book’s detail page will display a counter announcing the promotion, the current price, the time remaining until the price changes, and the next price.
Eligibility
Books enrolled in KDP Select are eligible if their regular prices fall within these limits:
- $2.99 – $24.99 (Amazon.com)
- £1.99 – £14.99 (Amazon.co.uk)
Also, your book has been enrolled in KDP Select for 30 days or more and the regular list price for your book must not have changed for 30 days or more. Visit the FAQ page for more info, and tell us how you plan to take advantage of the new countdown deals!
Hello,
I’m not a new author, but I’ve started self-publishing and although I haven’t tried this new pricing promotion program KDP offers, I’ve tried the free promotions offer for your book when you list it on KDP. My book received 5 stars mainly when it sold the first time around, seems in less than a month it exceeded the average freebies people sought for my novel here, but not sure it’s really improved anything. I may use the new pricing promotion bit, but I don’t have a FB etc. so many other authors seem to have all this stuff. I know it went to top 10 free but it’s free so not sure if that was anything. I write murder mysteries, romantic thrillers, drama, romance and I am a poet as well. I’m trying to decide whether to sign up for the KDP program again because I’ve read a lot of pros yet many cons and it limits the author to a degree. Still, it allows a self-published author or if you are now going on your own as I am, to take charge of their own writing career and I like that. Thank you
Thanks for sharing and yes, there are pros and cons – but if you’re making the majority of your sales there, the limits against being on other sites don’t seem to cut into the bottom line, yes? You write a LOT – impressive!
With my OH having a birthday next week and us having our 20th anniversary. I figured now would be the PERFECT TIME to use the KINDLE CountDown opportunity, especially given where I’m positioned on the interment on LinkedIn where I Own three groups and Moderate three more, Twitter, etc
I’m also being interviewed next week by someone who has a very sizeable following, and where I’m one of the MOST FREQUENT commenter.
Fabulous, Robin – sounds like you’re positioned perfectly to take full advantage of this promotional opportunity!
My award-winning book, “There’s Jews in Texas?” has been enrolled in the KDP Select program for about a year. I signed up for this promotion the instant it hit my mailbox.
Because you have to schedule your promotion 30 days in advance and because Chanukah comes “early” this year, I was able to schedule the promotion for the last 3 days of Chanukah, to help folks with those last-minute gift items. I’ll be interested to see how sales increase as a result!
Absolutely and will you be trying the countdown deal part then?