Vella Bonus Follow-up

This is a continuation from an earlier post.

Well, bonuses are in, and I can’t say I’m thrilled by the results. Then again, I expected there to be a dip, but my stats were decent enough. Pretty good, really. I had 1646 total reads, 1297 locked. My bonus for June was almost $200 less than May, when my total reads were 1886, locked reads 1355. I noticed a similar bonus with other months with less than 1300 reads. It’s...a very interesting similarity.

I’d be lying if I said I cracked the code, as the bonuses are essentially random, but in my case I’ve noticed patterns. And for me, that means getting 500+ locked reads for $600+.

I haven’t gone beneath that number all year, as I’ve worked to get my reads to a desired level. Seems harder and harder these days and may warrant a change in strategy...such as running Facebook ads, especially now that one series has almost 100 episodes. I’ll reach that number by September or early October.

So here’s the formula that works for me (and others): a minimum of 3 active series, updating twice a week or more for each. I had 6 series going at one point, but trimmed that down to three.

I’m not interested in starting additional series at the moment, but focusing on finishing what I have. The Threads That Weave will be ending soon, during which I’ll switch to more frequent updates. But Last Train Home and Diary of A Stray Cat are here to stay! Honestly, I should release more episodes of Stray Cat, since they are journal entries. I’ve hit my stride for the series too, and have a month’s worth of episodes queued up.

The main takeaway from this is to have a wide selection of Vellas, update regularly, and promote, promote, promote! But don’t overexert yourself, else you risk burnout.