Stats for Prelude to Freedom giveaway

Back in July, I posted about my first attempt at a viral multiauthor giveaway using KingSumo. That post generated enough interest that I thought some other authors here might find it helpful to see the stats from two months later.

To recap: I ran a two-week giveaway via KingSumo for four signed Christian historical novels. The giveaway was promoted through each participating author’s email list and social media platforms. All entrants were added to the authors’ email lists and could also follow each author’s chosen social media (one platform per author) for bonus entries. All entrants received historical fiction recommendations from the participating authors, delivered as graphics designed in BookBrush, as a “consolation prize.”

I compiled the data in a spreadsheet and compared it with one of the more successful BookSweeps email list builder promos I did. I wanted to see how the cost stacked up per subscriber and how the engagement rates compared. Short answer: The self-run multiauthor giveaway wins, hands down.

Long answer: I’ve attached my spreadsheet in PDF form so you can see the numbers for yourself. But here are a few of the most relevant ones (10 weeks from start of giveaway):

Total new subscribers minus unsubscribers: 445 KingSumo vs. 133 BookSweeps

Open rate: 65.18% KingSumo vs. 45.19% BookSweeps

Click rate: 6.91% KingSumo vs. 3.17% BookSweeps

Total unsubscribe/disengagement rate: 32.27% KingSumo vs. 44.35% BookSweeps

Final cost per subscriber: $0.19 KingSumo vs. $0.38 BookSweeps

I also had 142 reader magnet downloads from this giveaway, 15 copies sold, 23 new Goodreads followers, several new Amazon and Goodreads reviews, and 34 email conversations or direct replies to my welcome sequence. One new reader has already agreed to help out with my next launch.

There are some variables in here that are a little hard to measure, such as how the open and click rates will compare once these new subscribers have been in my system as long as the BookSweeps subscribers have (the BookSweeps promo was in December 2022). I’ve also updated my welcome sequence since the BookSweeps promo and am really happy with how that has boosted engagement and, as far as I can tell, led to some sales.

I expect my next giveaway of this type to cost even less per subscriber because the KingSumo software was a one-time expense and my MailerLite account will probably be permanently upgraded to a paid tier by that point.

Some notes:

• I suspect much of this giveaway’s reach was due to the participation of two longtime traditional authors who have large followings. My numbers indicated that about 100 of the entrants came from my existing email list. We had 754 entrants total, so I know the other three participating authors contributed a lot of entrants from their followings. I had had brief email contact with the two trad authors who participated, so that may have influenced their decision to join the party, but that’s hard to say. My guess is that all authors are looking for promotion opportunities, and it never hurts to ask.

• After some input from authors on this forum, I switched my approach from asking authors for permission to include their book to notifying them that I planned to include their book and would they be willing to contribute a signed copy or help promote the giveaway. This way I was not limited from including their book if I never received a response.

• This type of giveaway was much more targeted than a BookSweeps promo. When I did the BookSweeps promo listed in the comparison, it was an “Inspirational Fiction & Nonfiction” genre. That’s pretty broad, and it’s really the only BookSweeps promo genre I fit in if I want to attract Christian readers. In contrast, I built this giveaway around four titles in the Christian historical fiction genre set in the mid 1700s with an emphasis on real history and strong faith themes. So the new subscribers came to my list primed for the type of book I write. I think there was also a good element of name recognition because the participating authors’ names were all over the giveaway rather than just a name in tiny print on a book cover in a promo graphic. I assume that brought subscribers into the fold already knowing who I was and what to expect.

• Entrants were dumped into a MailerLite automation that delivered the winner announcement. That automation then dumped the new subscribers into my welcome sequence. I had to upgrade to a paid tier for two months to handle the new subscriber load, which I was not expecting! A few entrants subscribed to my email list manually instead of waiting for the giveaway to end, so I ended up building an extra step into the automation to avoid sending these subscribers through my welcome sequence twice.

• I’d still like to see higher sales trickle down as a result of this type of giveaway. Yes, the sales were higher than with BookSweeps, as far as I know, but moving 15 copies (20 if you include Kindle Unlimited page reads) is still a little short of my hopes. There were no sales or discounts involved, though, and based on some of the stats I’ve seen, a 4% sales conversion rate is at least better than Facebook (though that’s a pretty low bar). I plan to do a price pulse soon, so we’ll see what results that gets.

I’m happy to answer any questions I can about how I ran this giveaway or how specific results have played out. I’ve been so grateful for the input of other authors on this forum.