Nate’s Big List of Free & Paid Book Promotion Websites
As everyone knows, an ebook is an author’s best marketing tool. You can trade a free ebook for a mailing list signup, or drop the price and rack up a lot of sales.
But in order to do that, you’ll need to get your ebook in front of potential readers, and that is where paid and free ebook sites come in.
The following lists are a compilation of promotion sites, both free and paid. I have not used them all, but I have filtered out the more disreputable companies (Inkitt, for example) as well as any site that couldn’t pass the smell test. I also skipped sites that offered no info on how you could join and promote your work (you would be surprised how often that happened).
Update: The list was updated on 10 December 2018, 29 February 2020, and on 9 May 2020. Dead sites were removed at that time, and new links were added.
The sites vary from forums where you can mention an ebook deal to services you can use to trade an ebook for emails. Each site has their own requirements, and so to help you out I did a little digging on each site, wrote a quick description, and then sorted the site into the appropriate list(s).
I initially started with just two lists, much like what Kindlepreneur published several years ago, but once I started classifying the sites I found had at least four different categories:
- sites for building a mailing list
- sites for building/managing an audience, and
- free & paid book promotion sites
I have 80 sites listed in this post, but I would love to add more – especially for the first two categories. So if you have a site you’d like me to add to this list, please fill out the form at the end of this post.
Let’s start with the services that can grow your mailing list. This is a short list, but these sites can be incredibly valuable in the long run because they give you a chance not to just give away an ebook but to connect with readers.
Mailing Lists, Ho!
| Site | Cost | Erotica allowed? | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| author’s website | free | yes | An author’s website should be your first choice for giving away a free ebook in exchange for signing up for your mailing list. |
| Book Funnel | $20 to $250 a year | yes | BookFunnel is a little pricy but on the upside it makes it incredibly easy for a reader to download your ebook. |
| InstaFreebie (aka Prolific Works) | free to $50 a year | yes | InstaFreebie is a slightly cheaper alternative to BookFunnel. There’s an ongoing debate as to which is better. |
| StoryOrigin | free | unknown | This site is explicitly designed to help authors grow their mailing list. |
Those sites are great if you want to build your mailing list long-term, but what if you want to promote your career and build an audience?
Author Promotion Sites
| Site | Cost | Erotica allowed? | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| eReader Girl | $100 | unknown | "Author of the Week" featured post |
| Indie Author News | unknown | unknown | Site promises author interviews and banner ads but does not give specifics. |
| Book Praiser | free to $180 | unknown | Not a deals site so much as an author and book promotion service. |
Do you just want to give away an ebook today?
There are hundreds of sites that can help in a wide variety of ways. Some just list your ebook deal on their site, while others have an email newsletter. Some are free, while others charge fees.
Let’s start with the free sites (in no particular order).
Free Book Promotion Sites
| Site | Cost | Erotica allowed? | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free Books and More | free | yes | The ebooks can be either free or paid, but they must have at least 10 reviews, a minimum 3.5 star rating, and be at least 100 pages long. |
| MobileRead Forums | free | yes | This is less a book promotion site than an online community that keeps a section just for ebook deals |
| Awesome Gang | free or $10 | yes | AG promotes ebook deals to its 55,200 FB and its 14,500 Twitter followers. It also has a newsletter, and for $10 you can be featured for two days. |
| Reading Deals | free or $29 | no | Content quality standards, and at least 5 reviews with a 4 star average. |
| The Book Circle | free to $19 | no | At the free tier, you might get your ebook listed on their deals page and promoted on social media. The paid tiers guarantee promotion. |
| eBook Stage | free to $50 | unknown | Must have a quality book cover, and a an average review of 0.0 stars or higher. |
| Ask David | free to $10 | unknown | Newsletter promotion is free, but if you want Tweets that will cost $10. |
| Free Today on Kindle & Beyond | free | unknown | Facebook group only |
| Book Hippo | free | unknown | UK-focused service, free account is required |
| Free Kindle Books | free* | unknown | No restrictions on price or free book, but placement is only guaranteed with a donation. |
| Totally Free Stuff | free | unknown | A site with links to lots of free stuff, including ebooks. |
| Zwoodle Books | free | no | Hate, religious, and sexual books discouraged. 4+ star ratings preferred |
| I Crave Freebies | free (paid?) | unknown | Free books only. There may be a paid tier but you will have to inquire. |
| eReaderIQ | free to $40 | yes | This site scrapes the Kindle Store, and will find your ebook when it goes on sale. You can also pay for extra promotion. |
| New Free Kindle Books | free, $5 | unknown | Free and discounted ebooks. Placement is a crap shoot. The $5 guarantees the book will be listed. |
| Deal Seeking Mom | free | unknown | A site with links to lots of free stuff and great deals, including ebooks. |
| eBook Korner Kafe | free | yes | appears to be FB only |
| Book Angel | free | no | Free or cheap books. Must be PG13. Appears to be UK-only. |
| Free Books | free | yes | There’s a section for permafree. |
| Frugal Tips and Freebies | free | no | free ebooks only |
| The eReader Cafe | free, or $40 | no | Three review, 4+ star rating minimum. |
| Armadillo eBooks | free, or $20 | unknown | No restrictions stated |
| Indie Book of the Day | free | unknown | eBooks reviews for quality and ratings. |
| One Hundred Free Books | free | unknown | acceptance not guaranteed |
| Content Mo | free to $30 | yes* | Initial listings are free. Paid tiers include social media shares, featured blog post. |
| It’s Write Now | free to $20 | no | Must cost under $1. |
| Topless Cowboy | free | yes | Focused on cowboy romance. |
| Lovely Books | free to $10 | yes | Five day lead time required. $10 gets your ebook shared in 60 FB groups. |
| eBooks Habit | free to $15 | no | Acceptance not guaranteed on free tier |
| Kindle Book Review | free to $20 | unknown | see above |
| eReader Girl | free to $20 | unknown | free listings only for free ebooks. Acceptance not guaranteed. |
| Kindle Book Promos | free to $40 | unknown | No restrictions stated |
| Book Bongo | free to $50 | unknown | Acceptance not guaranteed on free tier |
| Discount Book Man | free to $15 | yes | No restrictions stated |
| Pretty Hot Books | free, $25 | yes | $25 guarantees social media promotion as well as a featured spot on the site’s home page for 7 days. |
| DigitalBookToday.com | free to $20 | no | The ebooks at least 18 reviews and a minimum 4.0 star rating. Will list for up to 4 consecutive days if free that long. |
| AllAuthor | Free to $59 | yes | AllAuthor provides various marketing tools and promotions to author on their website. Most popular tools provided by allauthor are a magic tool, review gif maker, instant mockup, tweet scheduler and many more. they also conduct cover of the month contest every month which helps the author in their book promotion and. allauthor provides both free and paid membership with memebrship author can list upto 4 books. Pro memebrs can utilize all the marketing tools provided by allauthors. |
| Indies Today | $free to $9 | no | Free books are promoted for free. Discounted books are promoted for $9. Books are promoted on website, email newsletter blast, and social media. |
| your site here | $?? | ?? | ??? |
Paid Book Promotion Sites
The following sites don’t offer a free tier.
| Site | Cost | Erotica allowed? | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Book Raid | up to $10 | yes | BR has quality standards ad charges per click to promote your book on its site and newsletter. |
| Planet eBooks | $20 to $60 | unknown | eBooks will be promoted in the newsletter and on social media. |
| The Fussy Librarian | $9 to $18 | yes | Ten reviews, 4-star rating. TFL tailors its newsletter to a reader’s preferences, and only recommends books in genres a reader expresses interest in. |
| BookBub | varies | yes | Selective on what they will accept. Good track record. |
| eReader News Today | $35 to $120 | no | Free or cheap ebooks accepted. Checks books for quality. |
| Free Kindle Books and Tips | $25 to $60 | no | 4-star average, and 8 reviews minimum. |
| Hot Zippy | $23 to $337 | unknown | Free, discounted, and regularly priced ebooks accepted. |
| Many Books | $29 | unknown | Ten reviews required. eBook must be free or deeply discounted. |
| Good Kindles | $25 to $45 | yes | No restrictions stated |
| Kindle Nation Daily | $30 to $120 | unknown | Free or deeply discounted books recommended but not required |
| Book Goodies | $7.50 tp $40 | yes | Only free ebooks accepted |
| FreeBooksy | $40 to $150 | yes | Targeted genre mailing lists. Only free ebooks accepted. |
| Book Gorilla | $50 to $100 | yes* | eBooks must have 5 reviews and a 4 stars average. 100 pages plus length required. |
| Book Lemur | $25 to $35 | unknown | More expensive books will cost more to promote. |
| Book Barbarian | $30 to $50 | no | SF&F only. Discounted or free books. Minimum 3.5 star rating. Cost varies by cover price. |
| Red Roses Romance | $15 to $30 | yes | Erotica and Romance only. Discounted or free books. Minimum 3.5 star rating. Cost varies by cover price. |
| Book Adrenaline | $10 to $20 | no | Thriller only. Discounted or free books. Minimum 3.5 star rating. Cost varies by cover price. |
| eBook Hounds | $10 to $45 | yes | Cost varies by genre |
| Whizbuzz Books | $49 | no explicit cover images | na |
| Bargain Booksy | $25 and up | yes | Books priced $3.99 and below, no minimum review requirements, |
| Red Feather Romance | $100 and up | no | Free and discounted steamy contemporary romance. Must be rated 3.5 or higher. |
| NewInBooks | $299 and up | no | For new releases in Mystery, Romance, Literary Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy and Biography |
| Early Bird Books/Open Road Media | $75 to $300 | no | Reach consumers looking for ebook deals via Early Bird Books, or genre readers via one of other sites: The Lineup for readers of true crime and horror; The Portalist for fans of science fiction and fantasy; Murder & Mayhem for lovers of crime fiction and thrillers; A Love So True covering romance and relationships; and The Archive for readers of history and non-fiction. |
| BookDeal.io | $70 to $250 | no | Bookdealio is an ebook deals newsletter designed with authors in mind. Along with an ebook deal promotion, authors may add a link to their website or email newsletter sign-up form. The cost to run a 1-day ebook deal promotion is $70, weeklong promotion or full-price book promotion costs $250. |
| WordLikes | $15 to $250 | yes | Book promotion through LinkedIn recommendations and Email marketing. |
| BooksShelf | Free / Paid | yes | Bookshelf is also a place where authors can promote their work for Free. We also have Paid options for extra promotion which start from $5.99. We offer a variety of services as well (design, marketing, etc.). |
| HumanMade | Free to $4.99 | no | humanmade.net offers a variety of free and paid book promotion services. We offer: Regular Listing (Free), Powered Listing ($4.99), Free Books & Deals (for free and discounted books) ($3.99) in addition to Advertise with Us (open for authors) ($5 – $50). We accept most of fiction and non fiction genres. We don’t require reviews, ratings or proven sales record on Amazon or other vendors as a condition for accepting books. Services are available for published, self published and indie authors. All book formats are accepted. |
| BookDoggy | $18 | yes (some) | We link free books to Amazon, Kobo, Apple, and Barnes and Noble, or Bookfunnel, Story Origin and Prolific Works. For Amazon submissions, your book must be available on the Amazon US site. If your goal is to gain subscribers submit Bookfunnel, Story Origin, and/or Prolific Works links only. If you’re trying to improve your rankings submit Amazon, Kobo, Apple, and Barnes and Noble links. |
| Social Reads | $29.99 – 39.99 | yes | My website encourages organic sharing of discounted books by holding a weekly social media sharing contest. Authors benefit by having their books shared organically through social media. Readers benefit from access to a growing section and a chance to win prizes for sharing content.
Special note: As I’m still building content, all book submissions prior to 01 October 2020 will be absolutely free! |
| Unlimited Readers | $9 | yes | Kindle Unlimited books only. Books are promoted specifically to Kindle Unlimited subscribers. Pricing is $9 for one genre or $15 for two. |
Disclaimer
One problem with this type of post is that sites like the ones listed above are changing every day. New ones open every so often while (thanks to Amazon) existing sites sometimes go out of business or just disappear. The links listed above were valid when I published this post, but I can’t guarantee that the sites will still be there when you click on the link.
Please do let me know if any of these sites go dark (or if a new one launches), and I will be sure to update this list.
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