Complete, No BS Guide to Book Launch - Mastering Amazon KDP

About this video

A recording of Dollwet’s weekly Q&A in his free Facebook group (he says over 4,000 members) devoted to book launch. He explains Amazon gives a roughly 30-day new-release boost/trial: early sales and reviews signal Amazon to rank the book, while inactivity drops it deep in search — but a failed launch is not fatal, since ongoing marketing or a relaunch can revive a book. Pre-launch, about two weeks before publication, recruit ARC (advance review copy) readers via an email list, social media or, easiest for beginners, relevant Facebook groups, offering a free PDF for honest feedback — wording it as a ‘consideration’ because requiring a review violates KDP guidelines. At launch: price low (Kindle $0.99; paperbacks discounted, e.g. low-content $5.99-$6.99, high-content from $9.99 in his examples), run a 5-day free promotion as a buffer to collect ARC reviews (aim for 10-15, minimum 5 before ads), then a 1-2 week $0.99 paid period using Amazon ads plus book-promotion sites that blast discounted books to niche lists, emailing your own list multiple times. Afterward raise to normal price (Kindle $2.99-$4.99 by competition; paperback $12.99-$14.99, low-content $7.99-$9.99) and keep advertising profitably. He also covers audiobooks: no direct Audible ads (BookBub can target audiobooks, expensively), so distribute the 50 ACX promo codes — redemptions count as sales — via email/Facebook groups or Booksprout automation; paperback/low-content launches rely mainly on Amazon ads. He warns against VA/black-hat promo-code review schemes, and describes reviving a book by unpublishing/republishing as a new edition to regain the boost and transfer reviews, or simply re-running a $0.99/countdown promotion.

Key takeaways

• Exploit the ~30-day new-release boost: concentrate sales and reviews in the first month so Amazon ranks the book, but keep marketing afterward or competitors will displace it.
• Build the launch before publishing: recruit ARC readers ~2 weeks ahead via email list or targeted Facebook groups, offering a free copy for honest feedback without demanding a review.
• Sequence pricing: 5-day free promo to gather reviews (target 10-15, at least 5), then 1-2 weeks at $0.99 with ads and book-promo sites, then raise to full price — expect little/no profit during launch.
• Audiobook launch is promo-code driven: Audible gives 50 codes, each redemption counts as a sale; distribute via your list, Facebook groups or Booksprout, and pick low-competition keywords since page-one Audible books are hard to displace.
• Avoid black-hat VA review/code schemes: they work only until Amazon/Audible closes the loophole — use early tactics only to build a durable email-list audience.

Episode details: published August 26, 2022 · 43:19 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Sean Dollwet’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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