SPS-465: Does BookBub Still Work?

This week on The Self-Publishing Show, James Blatch is joined by author Skye McKinnon to dig into the numbers behind BookBub Featured Deals and ask whether they still offer authors the same value they once did.

Skye shares data from 28 BookBub deals, showing how the additional sales generated by her 99-cent promotions have fallen significantly over the years. They discuss whether the cost still stacks up, the results from free promotions, and whether combining several smaller newsletter promotions could offer better value.

The conversation also turns to Skye's recent success with Instagram and Facebook Reels. After experimenting with short-form content using Author Scale, she saw older books that had barely been selling suddenly take off, with some reels reaching hundreds of thousands of views.

James also shares a few thoughts on using AI, including where tools such as Claude can be useful for analysing author business data – and where authors should be more cautious about relying on their answers.

Key Talking Points

• Skye McKinnon's findings from 28 BookBub Featured Deals
• Whether BookBub promotions still offer good value for authors
• Free versus 99-cent promotions and the importance of sell-through
• Stacking smaller newsletter promotions as an alternative to BookBub
• Skye's success using Instagram and Facebook Reels to revive older books
• Using Author Scale to create short-form book content
• Repurposing successful organic content for paid advertising
• Using AI to analyse author business and advertising data

Links & Resources Mentioned

ProWritingAid: https://prowritingaid.com Discount code: IWC15

SPS Patreon / Support: https://learnselfpublishing.com/support

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com

SPS LIVE 2027 tickets are now available: https://www.learnselfpublishing.com/spslive