Since BookBub launched in the UK in September, a number of authors and publishers have come to us with questions about discounting their books across the pond. While setting up a promotion comes with logistical challenges no matter the country, factors like different time zones and currencies add an extra layer of complexity to multi-region discounts. Below are some tips to help you master your next international promotion.
Step 1: Ensure that you have the territorial rights to promote your book in the UK
While many authors and publishers hold worldwide rights to their books, it’s worth confirming the status of your title before scheduling a promotion outside the US.
If you do hold the rights, most major retailers and distributors make it easy to publish in the UK and other international markets. For example, services like Ingram Spark, Smashwords, and Amazon’s KDP program support dozens of countries worldwide. If you have specific questions about using any of these services, we recommend contacting them directly (links to the largest distributors can be found on our publishing resources page). For additional information on finding links to your book on UK retailers, click here.
Since many of our partners distribute directly to Amazon, we’ve outlined how to select territorial rights in the example KDP Dashboard below:
On your KDP Dashboard, click Edit Rights, Royalty and Pricing.
Confirm that you have Wordwide rights, and if you don’t, confirm that UK is one of the selected countries.
Step 2: Schedule your discount
You can discount a book in the UK using a variety of methods:
Option 1: Run a multi-region Kindle Countdown Deal. If you choose this method, you need to set up your promotion separately in the US and the UK. To schedule one in the UK, first select Amazon.co.uk as the marketplace on the first step of the edit page. From there, enter the pricing and timing information for your discount just as you would for any other Countdown Deal.
Note: Because the time zone on UK Countdown Deals is set to Greenwich Mean Time, partners featuring a promotion with BookBub should ensure their discount begins no later than 8 a.m. GMT (midnight Pacific).
Option 2: Run a KDP Select free promotion. These automatically include all markets where the author or publisher holds territorial rights, so there’s no need to take additional steps to make a book free in the UK if you’re using this method.
Option 3: Manually adjust the price of your book. While exact processes vary based on the retailer or distributor, booksellers including Apple, Kobo, and Google offer additional information on their websites, as do many third-party distributors. General advice can also be found on writers’ forums such as KBoards.
Amazon makes it possible to adjust a book’s price on the Edit Rights, Royalty and Pricing page of the KDP Dashboard. From there, you can choose to either automatically set the price in each international territory using current exchange rates, or manually change it to a value of your choosing (e.g. £1.99).
While the automatic option is generally easiest, we recommend making sure the deal price aligns with your marketing goals in each region. For example, an author might choose to set a standard price of £1.99 even if the automatic conversion for a $1.99 deal is lower (£1.28 at current exchange rates).
If you’re running a BookBub Featured Deal, please remember that all discounts must begin no later than midnight Pacific Time on the day of the deal.
Step 3: Double check the details
You should now be ready to promote your book in the UK! But before the big day, we recommend confirming information like the timing and price of your discount to ensure everything runs smoothly. And if you have questions or concerns about a deal you’re featuring with BookBub, we encourage you to reach out or visit our support page so we can help!
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