The Book Bomb on Amazon: Does It Work?

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© 2009 Julie Ferwerda

Recently I had the exciting opportunity to try out the amazing publicity move, book bombing on Amazon.

How it works: Pick a bomb date a couple weeks before your Amazon release date. This is because the bomb date is like a preorder, and you can then figure out how many books need to be shipped to Amazon. If you try to guess, you could overstock. Then you have to pay to have books returned to your warehouse, so this could get expensive.

Send out a nicely crafted email a couple weeks ahead of the bomb date asking everyone you know to buy a book on that day. Tell your contacts why they need this book and how it will change their lives. If necessary, bribe them. Then ask them to forward the email to all their friends and relatives, hoping they actually do it. They probably will unless your book is about snail reproduction or how to learn to enjoy living in Antarctica. Also, post on all resources available—Facebook, Twitter, etc.—and ask your FB friends to post on their walls as well.

The day of the bomb, send another letter reminding everybody to get bombing. Hopefully you round up enough people to buy your book that day, catapulting you all the way from #1,467,893 to #83 or even #47. Amazon takes note of the surge, and Amazon readers learn that your book is hot right now.

The results: As your book soars up the charts on the book bombing day, you get onto the revered “bestsellers list” (for that day). If you stay up for a few days, you may get into the “movers and shakers” category. These lists breed momentum because many shoppers use them when looking for a good read. You may even get a shot at an interview in The New York Times. This happened to brothers, Alex and Brett Harris. They catapulted their book, Do Hard Things, to #5 overall on March 25, 2008!

As for my book, One Million Arrows, I sold about 250 books during the bomb, moving it up to #6 on Christian Living, #22 on Christian Books, and #476 for overall Amazon rankings for the day! I was thrilled since I don’t even know that many people.

Happy bombing. But I do suggest you refrain from mentioning your Amazon plans while moving through airport security.

Julie Ferwerda writes for many prominent magazines and websites from her home in Wyoming. Her book, One Million Arrows casts an inspiring vision for families, and all proceeds are being donated to the care and discipling of international orphans. Learn more: www.OneMillionArrows.com.