Most book marketing case studies are vague: <em>we 10×'d her sales!</em> — with no baseline, no timeframe, and no way to verify. This one is different. Every number below is pulled directly from Amazon KDP reports and Goodreads, shared with the author's written permission, and verifiable by anyone with a browser.
The book
Rhiannon Hargadon's debut novel Bloody Black. Goodreads page (anyone can verify the rating count): goodreads.com/book/show/214179795-bloody-black.
The starting point (Month 1)
Monthly KDP royalties: $21.74. Monthly orders: 46. KENP pages read / month: 425. Goodreads ratings: 150. Goodreads reviews: 150.
A quiet, well-written debut that wasn't being found by the readers who would love it.
The ending point (Month 3 — 90 days later)
Monthly KDP royalties: $985.25 (45×). Monthly orders: 2,100 (45×). KENP pages read / month: 19,300 (45×). Goodreads ratings: 8,478 (56×). Goodreads reviews: 2,064 (13×).
What we changed
The same four-step framework we run on every self-published fiction author.
1. Listing + A+ Content rebuild. Rewrote the Amazon listing copy, keyword backbone, and A+ Content modules so the book matched what real Bloody Black readers were searching for — not what the cover hinted at.
2. KDP Ads, scaled in disciplined steps. Started with tight, intent-led keyword campaigns at low bids. Once ACOS was profitable, scaled spend in measured steps and layered category and product targeting on competing titles.
3. ARC + Bookstagram + BookTok mobilization. Recruited an ARC team for early reviews, then activated vetted Bookstagram and BookTok creators with content briefed for each platform — not the same caption pasted everywhere.
4. Reader retention engine. Mailing list capture inside the book, lead magnets, and a follow-on engagement sequence so each new reader becomes a returning one.
How to verify these numbers
Goodreads rating count: open the Bloody Black Goodreads page and look at the rating total.
KDP royalty figures: dashboard screenshots are shown on the full case study page (anonymized identifiers per our client confidentiality policy, raw numbers untouched).
Author quote and consent: published with Rhiannon Hargadon's written permission.
The author, in her own words
"I went from refreshing my KDP dashboard hoping for a sale to watching reviews come in every day. Ultimate Growth Agency didn't just market my book — they built a readership around it." — Rhiannon Hargadon, author of Bloody Black.
The takeaway
A repeatable agency framework beat a one-off lucky launch. The same four steps — listing, ads, ARC + creators, retention — are what we run on every fiction author we take on.