How to Move 2,000 Books in 3 Days (Even Without a List)
For the past few months, I’ve moved books the slow way.
BookBub ads.
Steady content.
A few sales a day.
Mini Book Writing was doing fine.
Staying an Amazon Best Seller in its category.
Then I flipped the switch.
In 3 days, I moved over 2,000 copies, with the Book Promotions chapter from Mini Book Marketing & $150 in ad spend.
You can read that same chapter below.
Look at that chart.
That spike?
That’s not luck.
That’s belief.
That’s action.
That’s Mini Book Marketing.
That spike wasn’t a fluke. It was a play. From the book you’re about to read.
Most authors think they need a big list, a viral launch, or a full-time job in content creation to sell their book.
They don’t.
They just need to believe in the book enough to move it and to spend one of the four life currencies:
Time
Energy
Relationships
Money
I chose to spend $150 and follow the Book Promotions play inside Mini Book Marketing.
It worked because I believed and invested in my mini book.
No matter what life currency you are rich in, you can move your book.
That’s what I teach in Mini Book Marketing.
Now I want to show you what’s possible if you believe in yours.
Today, I’m giving you that exact chapter: Book Promotions.
The simple play that helped me sell 2,000+ books in 72 hours.
Because this book isn’t about funnels, hacks, or volume.
It’s about belief backed by practical motion.
Because that is the practical publishing way.
That’s how Revenue Writers write their check while living their life.
Mini Book Marketing launches today.
Here’s one of the 10 plays.
Run it.
Use it.
See what happens.
If you want the other 9 chapters (plus a killer bonus one!) grab Mini Book Marketing.
— Chris
P.S. Yes, there is a paperback.
Book Promotions: Press Go and Watch the Downloads Pour In
(Chapter from the Amazon #1 Best Selling Book, Mini Book Marketing)
When you’re invisible on Amazon, book promo sites are your emergency escape plan.
They don’t fix your whole business, but they put you on the map fast.
Book promo sites are the matchmakers of the publishing world.
They connect your book with readers who are actively searching for their next great read. These platforms curate email lists filled with genre-specific fans who are ready to take action. Offer them a deal, and many will download, review, and, if your book delivers, stick around as long-term fans.
These sites exist to get your book into the hands of readers who want it.
Here’s how it works.
Readers sign up to receive daily or weekly emails with free or discounted books. Authors pay to feature their books in these promos. The sites segment by genre and price preferences, putting your book in front of the right audience at the right time.
It's a seamless way to turn curiosity into downloads.
And it works. Your book reaches real readers that click, read, and leave reviews.
Promo sites aren’t cheap, but they’re often worth it. Prices range from $20 for smaller lists to $400+ for big players like BookBub. In return, you get visibility, reviews, and a surge of downloads. A single BookBub Featured Deal can move tens of thousands of copies in one day.
It’s one of the best ROI plays in the book world, a small investment that can deliver a huge payoff.
List of Book Promo Sites
Book promo sites are the easiest way I've found to move books.
I've used dozens of different sites. I looked through my data for past promotional periods, and put the cost and number of downloads next to their name to give you an idea of how effective they are. Keep in mind this is for my Christian nonfiction God is Like book series, results may be different for your genre.
The download numbers and cost are for context and comparison only, results for you will be different.
If you want to move 100+ copies in a week, these are the tools that can make it happen, even with no platform.
(These numbers are for giving away a book.)
Bookbub Featured Promo – $400 (12,000+ downloads)
Freebooksy/Bargainbooksy $75 (500+ downloads)
Robin Reads $60 (700+ downloads)
Fussy Librarian $85 (500+ downloads)
Book Knight $12 (350+ downloads) (Bargain promo!)
EReaderIQ $25 (400+ downloads)
ENT $45 (500+ downloads)
Hello Books $36 (200+ downloads)
Free Kindle Books $25 (250+ downloads)
Book Raid $40 (200+ downloads)
Book Bassett $9 (100+ downloads)
My favorites are in bold above, or the top 5.
Avoiding Pitfalls of Book Promo Sites
Not all book promos are created equal.
Find ones that work good for you and stick with them. Make sure in the beginning you schedule each promo on its own day. Don't schedule Freebooksy and Fussy Librarian on the same day.
You want to be able to tell which site moved the most books.
Also, realize there is a lot of crossover.
Just because Fussy Librarian didn't move as many books as Freebooksy the day before, doesn't mean Freebooksy is better. Switch which order the promos go int he next time and you might see the numbers reversed.
Context is important.
Don't think because you used a site once, you got all the juice.
I've run promos in back to back months and got similar download numbers. Readers don't always check their emails each day. Next month will be different readers checking. Continue to use them to get more juice.
You will probably keep finding new readers.
Know what you are willing to spend.
You can pour hundreds of dollars a week into book promo sites. Set your budgets and if restricted, choose one of the ones in bold above. Those tend to give you the most consistent bang for your buck.
This isn't a cure all for your marketing, but a boost to skyrocket you to the top of your category. (Assuming you followed my advice in Mini Book Publishing and selected good categories)
Free Vs Paid
The two main types of book promos are free books and discounted books.
Typically your discounted book will need to be $0.99 on the day of the promo to qualify. If you are exclusive to Amazon as a part of their KDP Select program you can use your discounting countdown deal to give a cheaper price and retain 70% of your royalties.
Otherwise, you'll have to manually set your price down and only earn 35%.
Free books find more readers than discounted ones.
Surprise! For me personally I've found I'd rather give away hundreds of free books than a couple dozen at $0.99. If I'm trying to reach an Amazon best seller list, then discounted books is the way to go. You can't make a best seller list and get the orange best seller badge with a free book. (technically there is a list but it doesn't "count.")
So if you are trying to find new readers and get more review I recommend giving your book away!
How to Make Your Book Free on Amazon
Making your book free on Amazon is a game-changer for reaching new readers.
There are only two ways to get your book free on Amazon.
Enroll in the KDP Select Program (which gives you 5 free days per 90 day enrollment)
Publish Wide (I'll detail how below)
The process involves publishing your book on a wide self-publishing platform, like Draft2Digital, and then leveraging Amazon’s price-matching policy. This strategy allows you to bypass Amazon’s limitations on free pricing and ensures your book reaches a broader audience without costing readers a dime.
Here’s how to do it step by step.
Step 1: Publish Wide with Draft2Digital
The first step is to publish your book on a platform like Draft2Digital that supports free pricing.
Draft2Digital is a self-publishing service that allows you to distribute your book to multiple online retailers, including Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo. During the publishing process, you can set your book’s price to zero. Once your book is live on these platforms, Amazon will notice that it’s free elsewhere.
This establishes the groundwork for getting Amazon to match the free price.
Step 2: Submit a Price Match Request
After your book is available for free on other platforms, it’s time to notify Amazon.
Go to your book’s detail page on Amazon and scroll down to the "Feedback" section. Click "Tell us about a lower price," and provide the URL of your book listing on another retailer where it’s free. You can also email Amazon’s support team to request a price match. Be polite and precise, and include the relevant links to make it easy for them to verify.
Within a few days, Amazon typically adjusts your book’s price to match the free listing.
Just know, they can deny you.
Amazon can't explain to me why, but they refuse to price match my book and let the Mini Book Model be free. At this point you have two options. Either unpublish your book from all platforms other than Amazon and enroll your book in KDP Select. This gives you 5 days per 90 day enrollment period to be free.
Or only do discounted promos.
Expand Your Reach With Free Promos
This simple strategy lets you take advantage of Amazon’s massive audience while offering your book for free and allows you to qualify and be compliant with the free book promos.
You can leave your book free for an extended period of time or just do it a few day before your promos begin. When you are ready to get your book price back to normal just change the price on Draft2Digital. Then submit a price match request again through Amazon.
Within a few days it'll be back to being a paid book again.
Book Promo Site Action Plan (sell 100 books)
You don’t need a viral moment to sell 100 books, you need four smart promos and a $0.99 price tag.
Choose 3–4 promo sites from the list and run them across a 5–7 day window. Use your KDP Select Countdown Deal to price your book at $0.99 and keep 70% royalties. Space out each promo by a day or two to track performance and extend momentum. You’ll likely move 20–30 copies per promo.
Do the math, that’s your first 100 books sold, and the start of a real engine.
I cover 9 other ways, channels you can move your mini books in Mini Book Marketing: Sell Your First 1000 Books.
It’s sitting at #1 on Amazon in the Global Marketing category for the past few weeks and is officially out now.
I can’t wait to see your book at the top of the charts while you keep on living your life.
If I can move 2,000 books in 3 days with $150, a chapter, and belief…
What could you do with your book, if you moved like it mattered?
- Chris Stanley
P.S. Price is going up at any point now, but it’s still $0.99 right now.
Well done, my order was just fulfilled! Reading now.