BookBub Featured Deals: The Nuclear Option

First, what are BookBub Featured Deals?

They’re editorially selected, curated promotions where BookBub highlights a discounted or free ebook in its daily newsletter to its more than 15 million subscribers, giving authors massive short term visibility.

The Featured Deal is distinct from BookBub Ads, which are paid, self-serve placements that authors run on demand without editorial selection.

Getting a Featured Deal is tough. BookBub themselves state the vast majority (80% plus) of all applications are turned down.

Why do so many authors try?

Because a single Featured Deal can generate tens of thousands of downloads or sales in a very short window which pushes your book up the charts. It can introduce your work to readers who would never have found you through ads or organic discovery.

For many self published authors, a Featured Deal is the biggest visibility event of their career.

BookBub has spent years building trust with its audience. Readers open BookBub emails because they consistently deliver books worth their time and money. When BookBub recommends a title, readers take this seriously.

BookBub is by far the largest of the providers in this space, utterly dwarfing competitors like Robin Reads, Fussy Librarian, and so on - a BB Featured Deal also costs considerably more.

Books that get chosen almost always share certain traits:

• Professional covers that instantly signal genre

• Strong social proof (reviews and ratings)

• Demonstrated sales history

The long tail effect of a Featured Deal is also of value:

• Read through (if first in a series)

• Email lists growth

• Reviews

As amazing as a Featured Deal could be for your business a Featured Deal alone shouldn’t the only tactic. Instead the Deal is ideally layered on top of email marketing and paid ads.

In other words, it’s best to think of a Featured Deal as a multiplier.

That’s not to say if you never get a Featured Deal you can’t build a successful career. Many authors do. Likewise, getting a Featured Deal doesn’t mean you’ve made it.

The practical takeaway is this.

Featured Deals belong at the top of the funnel, not at the centre of your strategy.

They’re high impact rocket fuel yet impossible to schedule.

Keep building your business and if you land a Featured Deal, treat it as a bonus. Run ads, collect emails, keep reaching out to your readers, write more books.