Is giving away free books good marketing? It is a popular one among indie authors, the thinking is that readers don't want to pay money for a book by an unknown author.
Fair enough. But many indie books are also priced at $0.99 as incentive to purchase and not risk too much money. Kindle Unlimited also provides a plethora of titles for a small monthly fee ($9.99 but just say $10.00, you're not tricking anyone). If you can read over ten 99 cent books, five $1.99 books, four $2.99...okay you get the picture. It can be worth it.
Back to free. I've always been hesitant to give my books away. It's my hard work and it is worth something to me, but I have done it. My short story collection, my sample poetry book, and chapter one of my newest book are all free offerings to incentivize readers to give my books a chance.
Giving away one chapter is, in my mind, a reasonable amount to give to readers. If someone isn't interested after that, they probably won't want to finish the book, so no risk there.
But there is a problem with free books: they often sit on eReaders with all the other free books, just waiting for their chance to shine.
Giving away book one of a series is what most authors do, hoping that the reader will purchase the other books. After releasing the final book of my sci-fi trilogy in April, I ran a free giveaway of book one in May.
77 books is pretty good but unfortunately the readthroughs didn't transpire. If half those readers purchased the rest of the trilogy, I would have made $150 in royalties.
So the question is, is giving away books a good marketing tactic? A better question might be: Maybe my books are not as good as I think they are?
Whatever. I like them.
-Leon
The story behind Free Book Friday:
I've met many authors and readers during my time marketing, cross-promoting, and blogging. I think writers have a responsibility to inform readers about all the indie authors out there in the very crowded world of book publishing. You can't do it alone, and why would you when you have a supportive group available?
Readers don't just read one author - they stick with their favorite genres. Therein lies the power in cross-promotion. If one of my readers buys a book from an author I promote, then chances are there will be a reciprocal effect, or so is the hope. Do I want to boost sales? Of course I do. Do I want to boost other's sales? Why not. It's called karma.
Some free book offers require a newsletter sign-up, which is a small non-monetary price to pay to try out a new indie author.
Reads From StoryOrigin
StoryOrigin allows authors to advertise their books to each other's audience. I hope you have been able to discover a new favorite!
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Ends Sept 13th
Aug 14 - Sept 13
Review Copies (These are free!)
Review copies: Like reviewing books? Try my two poetry collections: Lines by Leon and A Wonder of Words
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Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
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