How to get the most from a Fussy Librarian bargain promotion

Every bargain promotion receives a guaranteed placement on its scheduled promotion date. Many also continue reaching readers for days or even weeks afterward through additional retailer newsletters and bargain placements.

The difference often comes down to a few simple decisions made before the promotion even begins. Here are four easy ways to maximize your promotion.

1. Schedule Your Promotion for the First Day of Your Sale

If your book will be on sale for seven days, schedule your Fussy Librarian promotion on Day 1 — not Day 7.

Why? Because your book can only receive additional bargain placements while it remains eligible.

One recent promotion illustrates the point.

Promotion A

• Seven-day sale

• Scheduled with us on the last day of the sale

• Regular price after the sale: $8.99

Results: Total appearances: 1

The book received its guaranteed promotion, but once the sale ended, it was no longer eligible for additional bargain placements because the regular price was above $5.99.

By scheduling at the beginning of the sale, the author would have given the system an entire week to continue matching the book with readers while it remained an eligible bargain.

2. Enter Accurate Sale Start and End Dates

Our system needs to know when your sale actually begins and ends.

If your sale dates aren't accurate, we have no reliable way to determine whether your book is still discounted.

If no sale dates are entered, our system has no reliable way to know how long the discount will last. To avoid promoting an expired sale, it assumes the discount applies only on the guaranteed promotion date.

Think of your sale dates as defining your promotion window. The more accurately we know that window, the more opportunities your book has to continue reaching readers while it remains on sale.

If you expect your book to remain on sale indefinitely, enter a sale end date about 30 days after your promotion. That gives our system the greatest opportunity to continue recommending your book while it's still discounted.

3. Double-Check Your Regular Price

This is one of the most common issues we see.

One recent promotion listed the book's regular price as $9.99. As a result, the promotion received only its guaranteed placement.

When we checked the retailer several weeks later, however, the book was still selling for 99 cents.

Because our system believed the regular price was $9.99, it assumed the bargain period had ended and stopped considering the book for additional bargain placements.

The lesson is simple: Make sure the regular price you enter reflects what the ebook will actually cost after your sale ends.

4. Understand the $5.99 Threshold

After your sale ends, books priced at $5.99 or less remain eligible for additional bargain placements.

Books priced above $5.99 no longer qualify as bargain titles, so their promotion naturally concludes once the sale ends. That isn't a penalty — it's simply how we ensure readers continue seeing books that meet our bargain criteria.

(One important note: your regular price should be the regular price of the ebook, not the paperback. The discount needs to apply to the same product readers are purchasing.)

If your regular ebook price is already $5.99 or less, be sure to enter that price accurately. Doing so allows your book to remain eligible for additional bargain placements even after your sale ends.

A Real-World Comparison

Here are two actual promotions.

Promotion A

• Seven-day sale

• Scheduled on the last day

• Regular price: $9.99

Total appearances: 1

Promotion B

• Sale began on the guaranteed promotion date

• Accurate sale dates entered

• Regular price: $4.99

• Book remained eligible throughout the promotion

Total appearances: 15

Every promotion is different, and no book is guaranteed additional placements. However, providing accurate information gives our system the greatest opportunity to continue introducing your book to new readers.

The Bottom Line

Our goal isn't simply to promote your bargain book once. It's to continue matching your book with interested readers whenever possible.

You can help us do that by:

• Scheduling your promotion for the first day of your sale.

• Entering accurate sale start and end dates.

• Providing the correct regular price.

• Keeping your book eligible for bargain placements whenever possible.

Those details take only a minute to enter, but they can dramatically increase the opportunities your book has to continue reaching new readers.