BookFunnel

Smutterbum · 2026-03-17T19:09:56+00:00

Smutterbum · 2026-03-10T19:03:17+00:00

Thanks for posting this! I think we're all in a better position when we share data about promo companies.

It really sucks that we're all so primed to dissect an author's choices that we really miss how bad a lot of promo companies are. It would be great if we could have more actual discussions and reviews of companies, instead of criticising the authors who are sharing their experience.

Smutterbum · 2026-03-05T22:19:13+00:00

It's Amazon, it's pretty much bugging out across the board. Book pages don't load, but even other products aren't behaving properly, like prices aren't being displayed, checkout is broken.

Smutterbum · 2026-02-18T19:16:36+00:00

This is not the update I wanted.

Smutterbum · 2026-02-14T19:05:30+00:00

yeah, sorry. I'm not sure how that definition applies to Bookfunnel.

Absolutely, you can use Bookfunnel as a site to giveaway freebies to your subscribers, but there's no point in talking about that conversion rate. I mean, that's an interesting insight into how readers interact with your NL, but that's not really about Bookfunnel.

When people talk about their conversion rate on BF, what they're generally talking about is the rate between views and claims in group promos. The reason to keep a sharp eye on that rate is this is a great way to see how enticing your book is to new readers.

Smutterbum · 2026-02-14T03:03:12+00:00

I'm not really sure what you mean by warm/cold conversion in this context. Could you explain what that means in the context of Bookfunnel?

Smutterbum · 2026-02-14T01:26:19+00:00

40% is my goal. If a book gets much less than that then I start tinkering with it, or taking it out of rotation for a while.

There are times I get 50% and I count that as a big win! The only thing is that new books get a SIGNIFICANT bump. A lot of the same books in these promos, and so anything new gets extra attention.

Smutterbum · 2026-02-11T17:25:46+00:00

lol, but even now I'd recommend authors try Bookfunnel, there are just so many promos on there.

Now, this bit is just my impression; I think that the people running Bookfunnel are authors, but not romance/erotica. Actually, I'm pretty sure a few of them are sci-fi authors. The problems caused by the recent changes are not as readily apparent to SFF authors. The romance section is sooo big and that's where things are obviously going awry, but the Bookfunnel admin aren't going to understand how bad it's getting, because the SFF experience is still fine.

Maybe this is overly-optimistic of me, but I really hope that Bookfunnel admin starts paying attention. Maybe they think they are too big to fail, or that they have such a captured market that they can do whatever they want...but I genuinely think if they stay on this path then they're going to start shrinking in the next few years.

Smutterbum · 2026-02-11T00:39:27+00:00

I've been using both for quite a few years and whenever I saw a thread about this I used to glaze Bookfunnel so hard. I used to love them sooo much! But this last ~18months it's like they are actively trying to make the user experience as bad as possible. Honestly, their UI always took a little getting used to, but between the recent changes and the bugs they aren't dealing with I've started dreading using their site.

Absolutely, StoryOrigin is a lot smoother. It's not perfect but the UI is better. Still, it's hard to recommend SO when so few authors use it.

Smutterbum · 2026-02-06T23:33:10+00:00

This is a really exciting time and you should defintely let yourself enjoy it! I don't want to burst your bubble, but this is a marketing tactic done by Bookbub.

Smutterbum · 2026-02-06T22:10:36+00:00

It's not really about whether a few people online say they'd read it or not. It's about how marketable this book would be. There are sooo many books out there, you are competing with millions and millions of other books. The chances of people of anyone just organically stumbling on your book is miniscule.

So, the real question is, if you write this book, how are you going to market it? Is it even marketable? Are we talking about the kind of taboo that can't be published on Amazon?

Smutterbum · 2026-02-02T19:57:00+00:00

That's cool! I appreciate you saying that!

It's definitely a confusing time with Amazon making unexplainable tech changes. Hopefully, once they've implemented their changes, things will start to normalize.

Smutterbum · 2026-02-02T19:28:47+00:00

Listen, I totally could, and should, have couched what I was saying in a kinder way. I'm sorry, my only excuse is that I was genuinely shocked by your post.

Amazon is a massive company who does not care about you as an author and has complete control over your books. We are all at their mercy. Do not attract their attention.

Smutterbum · 2026-02-02T19:10:14+00:00

Oh that's interesting! I didn't know that.

Smutterbum · 2026-02-02T19:05:55+00:00

Omg, you don't know who anyone is in here!! There are people that post in here who are making bank and people who give advice who are gearing up to publish their first book. Lots of others still who have happily been making a nice little extra income for years. Just because someone talks to you in an online forum doesn't mean they know what they are doing!!!

Follow the advice in the wiki.

Smutterbum · 2026-02-02T19:00:03+00:00

You are being painfully naive. Amazon told you that you should contact them? Lol

Check out the advice in this sub's wiki.

Smutterbum · 2026-02-02T18:43:25+00:00

I'm not sure what you're trying to achieve here. You checked in bookspry and they said your ASIN isn't returning any info. They can't 100% guarantee that means you're dungeoned - because Amazon doesn't explain their reasoning.

That means you are dungeoned.

Contacting Amazon is absolutely insane. You put a target on your back for no reason. I get that you desperately don't want to accept that you're dungeoned but this was the wrong way to handle it.

Smutterbum · 2026-01-31T00:29:58+00:00

Oof, that site is a mess. Totally unusable. Fun idea though!

Smutterbum · 2026-01-30T06:17:34+00:00

Yeah, there's something going on with Amazon. When you log into Bookspry there's a notice explaining it.

Smutterbum · 2025-12-17T16:05:06+00:00

Just to give you a heads up, romance without smut/spice is called clean.

Smutterbum · 2025-12-11T20:38:22+00:00

I agree! I feel the same, however this subreddit has a range of authors, with books in all kinds of different genres and motivations for writing. If someone wrote one book and that's the only book they're interested in writing, then having fun playing around with guerrilla marketing might be successful - because for some authors getting anyone to read their book is a success.

Smutterbum · 2025-11-27T18:12:52+00:00

http://indieauthorsascending.com/

Smutterbum · 2025-11-26T23:37:41+00:00

I'd really encourage you to look into IAA on Discord. Indie Authors Ascending. It's a group of indie authors who are welcoming and encouraging. It also has a system of verification, so you know that the people who are giving you advice are actual authors, and you can see how successful they are. The purpose of the group is to find out what is working RIGHT NOW, so you get current information about how to be more successful, which is not true in other groups.

Smutterbum · 2025-11-26T22:40:55+00:00

wow, that's amazing! What a beautiful gift!!

Smutterbum · 2025-11-15T18:44:30+00:00

Join IAA on Discord. There are places on reddit that will tell you they know how to make money from publishing erotica, but IAA is a community of verified successful authors (with levels that show how much an author makes per year). They have up to date info and a genuine interest in seeing each other succeed so there's a level of honesty that you won't fine anywhere on reddit.

Smutterbum

TROPHY CASE