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KINDLE EBOOK GIVEAWAYS AT AMAZON—GONE?

You can run an Amazon Giveaway for many new products at Amazon.com.

Note: As of October, 2019, the Amazon Giveaway program has been canceled. However, Goodreads Giveaways are still available.

Basically, if you scroll down to the bottom of a product page and see an offer to run an Amazon Giveaway for that product, then that product is eligible.

Amazon Giveaways used to apply to Kindle eBooks.

However, for the past couple of days, I haven’t seen the option to run an Amazon Giveaway for a Kindle eBook at the bottom of product pages for Kindle eBooks.

I still see the option available for print books and other new products.

I checked the giveaway FAQ’s yesterday, and it still stated that you can run giveaways for Kindle eBooks. Yet I didn’t see the option to do so.

Well, I was able to host a giveaway for unclaimed prizes for a previous giveaway. I just couldn’t create a new giveaway for any Kindle eBooks.

UPDATE: There is a trick you can use to run a giveaway for a Kindle eBook, if you’ve ever run a giveaway for that same book in the past: https://chrismcmullen.com/2018/06/13/how-to-run-an-amazon-kindle-giveaway/.

Has anyone else had a similar problem in the past couple of days?

There are a few alternatives:

• Run an Amazon Giveaway for the print edition, if you have one.
• Run an Amazon Giveaway for any eligible product. A gift card or popular product can help you generate interest or gain followers.
• Run a Goodreads Giveaway for the Kindle eBook.

The Goodreads Giveaway option is interesting. At first it seems expensive, but if you give away 100 copies, the cost per book is reasonable.

Plus, you don’t have to pay for the Kindle eBooks: You just have to pay the setup fee. (However, if you choose a print book giveaway instead, then you do have to pay for author copies, shipping, and packaging in addition to the setup fee.)

With an Amazon Giveaway, you can give away just one book, which is an inexpensive way to help generate some interest. You can still do this with a paperback copy, even if the Kindle eBook option isn’t showing.

But if you want to give away a large number of copies, like 100 copies, as some authors do, then Goodreads is reasonably priced (especially if your list price is $2.99 or higher).

Maybe the option for Kindle eBooks will return soon. Or maybe there is a simple explanation for why it’s not showing to me presently. It’s too soon to jump to conclusions. But it’s always wise to pay attention and make plans for “just in case.”

Copyright 2018

Write Happy, Be Happy

Chris McMullen

Author of the Improve Your Math Fluency series of math workbooks and self-publishing guides