#277: KDP Select Free Promotions

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One way to launch a new book is by using Amazon’s KDP Select program.  This program launched in December 2011 and I first enrolled one of our books in the program in early January 2012.   The program is no longer as effective as it was in 2012, but we have still seen success with our books as well as the books of other authors.</span></p> <p><strong>Why Free?</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When you are a new author it can give you exposure to new readers. We consider it a ministry and have given away over half a million eBooks on Kindle alone.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For books that are part of a series, it may be beneficial to keep the first book in the KDP select program to gain exposure and interest in the rest of the books in your series.  Also, make sure you put an excerpt of the next book in the back of your book as well as links to the books from the entire series. Many authors find this is an effective way to promote the next book in the series.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I also recommend having a call to action within your book for readers to join your email list so that those that do read your book could continue to connect with you on an ongoing basis. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You can also use your free days to get verified reviews from your reviewers. You send them a PDF copy and let them know the dates it will be free. When the book is free you ask them to download it on Kindle and post their review.</span></p> <p><strong>Another Option</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One option is to use the KDP Select program to launch your new books and then remove them after your 90-day contract.  This allows you to publish them to other eBook platforms.  Draft2Digital is one option you can use to do this.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Please note, that you have to go in and choose to remove your book from the KDP Select program or else it will automatically renew.  You