Kindle is an amazing way to get your story out to the world. Self-publishing means that you don’t have to wait for your story to be picked up by a publisher, and with a lot of hard work and dedication, your stories can become pretty popular. 

And when you enroll your book into the Kindle Direct Publishing Select program, you’ll also get a series of great perks and exclusive marketing opportunities that can help skyrocket the popularity of the novel you’ve worked so hard on. 

One marketing opportunity in particular that you might want to take advantage of is the Kindle Countdown Deal.

What is it?Well, it’s an opportunity to temporarily discount your book, which will always entice new readership, while also keeping the 70% royalty rate from Amazon. And if all that wasn’t enough, you’ll even receive some extra promotion from Amazon too. 

Of course, there are a few more details you’ll need to know before you opt for this marketing strategy. But that’s what we’re here for. If you’d like to learn more about Kindle Countdown Deals…keep reading! 

The Rules 

As you’d probably expect, there are a few rules and guidelines to follow throughout the deal in terms of eligibility, duration, and pricing. So, let’s take a more in-depth look at these rules and requirements. 

Eligibility

If you want to take advantage of this amazing deal you must meet the following criteria:

1. 30-Days Prior – Your title must have been enrolled in the KDP Select for a minimum of 30 days before the countdown begins. 
2. Renewal – If your enrollment in the KPD is not going to be automatically renewed, then you won’t be able to run the countdown deal in the final two weeks of your enrollment. However, if you do choose to renew you will be able to run promotions until one or two days before the end of the enrollment period. 
3. No Price Change – The price of your title must not have changed in the 30 days prior to using the Kindle Countdown Deal. 

Duration

So, we’ve mentioned above how Kindle Countdown Deals (KCD) allow you to temporarily discount your books while keeping the 70% Royalty Fees. But there are set rules to just how long the duration of this discount will apply. 

Usually, you’ll be able to take advantage of the KCD for a maximum of 7 days, though you can opt for a shorter duration if you’d prefer. Keep in mind though, that you’ll only be able to take advantage of the deal once per each enrollment period.

Therefore, it’s often a good idea to make the most of the opportunity and run the deal for at least a couple of days, if not the whole week. 

Pricing 

Another thing to consider is that to be eligible for the KCD you’ll need your book to be regularly priced at a minimum of $2.99. And since during the promotional period, you’ll be slashing the prices of the book, this makes plenty of sense. 

You see, the way that this promotion works is that you discount the book and bump up the price systematically until the promotion ends when the book goes back to its original price.

You can set a maximum of five tiers for these increases in price. So, for example, you may choose to set a book originally priced at $4.99 as 99 cents and then increase the price by $1 for each of the additional tiers. 

Why Are KCDs Beneficial? 

You may be wondering how Kindle Countdown Deals are even beneficial to an author if they involve slashing the prices of the book so much. 

Well, firstly, it’s a great way to entice a new readership. Those who may not have been willing to take a chance on a new author for $5 may be much more likely to try a new book priced at $1. And if they like what they read, there’s a good chance you’ll get returning sales from them in the future. 

Secondly, the royalty rate rules make it all worth it. So, typically, you can expect to receive around 35% royalties from your book that is published through Kindle. However, during the KCD, you can earn up to a whopping 70% in royalty fees. 

So, not only will you entice more readers your way, but you’ll also earn basically double the amount of royalties from any purchases during this time period. A win all around, really. 

And what’s best is that these deals can be easily set up so that you can plan the promotions well in advance. Therefore authors have more control over their marketing activity that runs alongside the deal. 

How Do You Set Up Kindle Countdown Deals? 

Another great bit of news to hear is that these deals are pretty easy to set up. Nevertheless, we’ll still walk you through the whole process so you know exactly what you’re doing. 

1. Log In – The first thing you’ll need to do is log into your KDP account. 
2. Promote & Advertise – Next, locate the ‘Promote & Advertise’ on the KDP dashboard. 
3. Kindle Countdown Deal – Next, look to the left side of the screen and locate the ‘Kindle Countdown Deal and Free Book Promotion’ option. Remember that you can only pick one of these per enrollment period. 
4.  Market – You’ll then be taken to the next page where you can select which ‘Market’ or country you would like to use for the promotion. Currently, there are only two options; the United States and the United Kingdom. 
5. Select Dates – Then, it’s time to decide the dates that you want the promotion to run through. You will also decide the time that those promotions begin. 
6. Price Increments – Finally, you’ll need to decide on the number of tiers and pricing for the increments of time moving toward the end of your deal. 

Kindle Countdown Deals & Discoverability

And if all this wasn’t already enough, you’ll be happy to know that Amazon has also created a dedicated webpage to help readers actually see the deal that you are offering.

On this website, readers are able to browse selected deals, search books by price point, and even sign up for email alerts too. All of which will massively increase your discoverability and thus your sales. 

Plus, Amazon will show what the book’s original price was and also showcase the current price with the countdown clock present, showing readers how long they can take advantage of the deal. Therefore, there’s a sense of urgency to the purchase, which makes the reader more likely to commit to it. 

Final Thoughts

As you can see, if you are enrolled in Kindle Direct Publishing, opting for the Kindle Countdown Deals marketing strategy is always a great move. There are so many advantages and benefits to opting for this tactic with very little downside. 

You’ll entice new readers and customers since you’re offering your books at a discounted rate, the countdown timer creates a sense of urgency which makes readers more likely to commit to the purchase, and you’ll get almost double the royalty rates that you would normally receive. Plus, it’s easy and effortless to set up. 

So, there’s literally no reason not to. If you are eligible to take part of this discount deal, be sure to give it a go!