How to use FREE to sell books

I've had lots of experience giving away my books for FREE: both with amazing and horrible results.  When I gave away one book of my Pearseus Series for free, it pushed my other books to the #1 slot on Amazon.  (To see a more detailed description of how I did this, click here.)     On the other hand, I’ve been giving away my Greek translation of the Tao Te Ching for 4 years. I set up a virtual tip jar and 7,000 downloads later, only one person had tipped – 10 bucks.

Giving away your book for free does work as part of an overall strategy, and it can do wonders to put a new author on the map. However, it can be ineffective or even counterproductive if not used properly.

Penny Sansevieri teaches us that unless you’re a charity, free content should be offered to make sales down the line.  

So how exactly do I do that?

First of all:

• Make sure it’s really free and worthwhile: A lot of people have content that is purported to be free when it’s not really free. For example, they will give away only a portion of their book, but you have to pay to read the juicy parts. If you give something away, make sure it’s something really valuable. Virtually any electronic product is easy to create and deliver, so put your best foot forward. After all, this is what you will judged by.
• Make it easy to download: Don’t make free difficult. It should be easy to get your free stuff. If people have to jump through hoops, they won’t do it and the free stuff won’t matter. For example – put your free stuff on your home page. Add links to it on the sidebar. Remind people at the end of your posts. Accordingly, when you ask for people’s email, make it easy. A simple click or two is all it should take. Don’t ask for too much information. If you ask me for my address, birthday, and whatnot I doubt I will want your free stuff that badly. Shorten the staircase. If you make it complicated, it’s not really free, it’s bait. And people will call you out for it.

THEN...

1. Take names: One thing I learned from my Tao Te Ching experience: You should never give free away without asking for something in return, even if it’s just a review or an email address. I see people do this all the time; they have a ton of free stuff but never collect emails. If that’s the case, the freebies you are offering may be of great value to your end user, but they won’t matter to your marketing. Get emails. Ask for reviews. It’s called an ethical bribe. You get something (a review or their email) and give them something (the free stuff).   Plus, if you ask them for something in return first, you'll less likely attract trolls.
   After 4 years of giving away my book for free, I decided to ask for people’s emails before they could download my book. The book is still free, but I also link to a print version on Createspace. Downloads have plummeted from thirty a day to just a couple, but last month I made more from selling the print copy that I had from tips during the past four years. I also have collected hundreds of emails from people who are genuinely interested in my message. In my book (pun intended), that’s a win. :)
2. Make the free stuff work for you: If you give away something, make sure that it works for you. Add links to your other books. Ask for a review at the end. Encourage people to follow your blog, Facebook or twitterfeed. Every giveaway should include a call to action. You are collecting names and email addresses and building your list, and that’s great. But what do you really want people to do? Define what you want them to do, and then include your call to action in the free stuff. You can also offer specials and change these periodically in the giveaway.
3. Follow up! The best kind of free stuff is, as Penny points out, the gift that keeps giving. If you are collecting names and then never contacting your prospects again, what’s the point? People need to be reminded, and reminded again.The real key here is that free stuff can work well for you in so many ways, but free stuff without a goal is just free. Great to get free stuff, right? But then how is all of this hard work going to pay off for you?

The most common question I’m asked on the subject is, "Will it slow down my sales?"  On my blog, I link to the free copy of Pearseus: Schism on Goodreads. Surprisingly enough, sales of the book on Amazon have increased since doing this. So, in my experience, free does not necessarily slow down sales.  If you still aren’t a believer of free, try it for 90 days and see what happens. If you do it right, free can monetize your audience like nothing else will. 

Speaking of free, read my children’s book, Runaway Smile, online for free!

Read more about Nicholas Rossis here.

Six Things That Will Sell Your Book

I had the opportunity to work with Tara Sparling, who interviewed readers and writers and asked them what makes them buy a self-published book.  These interviews gave us invaluable insight into how to better market and promote ourselves.  Here are the top 6 things that can make or break your book:

1. Cover, blurb and sample: I will not go into the known cliché, since we DO judge a book by its cover. From my day job as web developer / web promoter, I know for example that certain colours work better than others (blues, oranges) and that people like seeing faces in ads, for instance.  The sample is a good way for a to-be reader to see the writing style of the author; it’s also an easy method to detect if there are any spelling or other off-putting mistakes, hence revealing the author as a rookie, whose writing is still unpolished.
2. Reviews matter, but not as we expect them: Negative reviews are what prospective readers want to read.  They want to see what annoyed people or what was wrong and made them give it a one or two stars.  I can identify with this point.  Be it for hotels on Tripadvisor or reviews of a car, I want to read what’s wrong with it.  A hotel might be perfect for some, but I want to see what irritated others.  A car can be very sexy, but I want to read about what exasperated a professional driver.  Same goes for a book:  unless a negative review is completely off and written out of spite from someone who has a grudge against you (aka a troll), you should study what people didn’t like about your book and see whether their points make sense.
3. Having the right platform can work: (if in an unexpected way)  Readers might hear of a book first. Then, they will check out the author and see his/her presence on Twitter, Facebook, blogs and how he/she presents him/her self.  People like to feel a connection with the author, therefore being engaging on Twitter will work much better than bombarding people with ads to buy your book.  A point that I have already realized: Facebook doesn’t work if you want to introduce a new book of yours to readers.  Prospective readers will go into Facebook once they already know the author –which obviously misses the point of introducing a new book on Facebook alone.  As I have said in the past, Facebook has not really worked for me, but it’s a good way to discuss and share book-oriented info (and a few funny cat pictures and dog videos). Also, it means that “buy my book” ads won’t work, but “free book” ones may do much better.
4. Genre: People know what they like and they generally stick with it. Preaching to your choir is a good way to sell your book.  I have found that out the hard way: doing promotions on non-fantasy oriented blogs and book-reading clubs simply brought no results.  People who like historic or romantic novels will probably not take a look at my book.  Advertising to them simply means spending money on the wrong type of audience (think of advertising Pampers to an under-20 clientele, pretty much misses the point.).  So, learn who your readers are and focus on them. If in the process you sell to a few other readers that are not part of your standard audience, it’s bonus points for you (or cookie points, as my wife calls them!)
5. Recommended: Potential readers will read your book if it has been recommended to them (either by friends or, for instance, by Amazon through its recommended list of books based on your preferences and wish list). Again, this means that going up on Amazon’s list is good because you will eventually climb up to reach the coveted ‘recommended’ status.  A cousin of mine –who had already read my book- called me one day and said that she was browsing through Amazon and my book was recommended to her, based on her wish list.  Needless to say, I was thrilled!  Also, selling books (or giving them away during give away promotional days) means that some of the people who read them will hopefully recommend them to friends and relatives.
6. Price: People are divided in 2 categories: ones that will not buy a book over a price or who have a specific price range within which they want to stay; and ones that will not buy a book below a price. The second category thinks that books that are too cheap are bound to disappoint them (I guess in terms of mistakes, lack of editing, lack of plot or generally work that seems amateur rather than professional).  The first category has set a price and will buy even out of impulse books that are within that range.  A few years ago, I had a conversation (which had absolutely nothing to do with books, by the way) regarding wine with a friend, who is a food engineer.  He said that there is no real point in buying wine that is extremely expensive, because wine is basically wine.  At the same time, he would not shop below a certain price either –considering cheap wines unpalatable.  I guess that many people think the same way when it comes to books.

  To read more about this, you can visit the original blog here. 

Read more about Nicholas Rossis here.

Do you hate that Amazon doesn't let you track your marketing?

I'm hoping that one day (in Fairyland) Amazon will let us track where our sales come from.  It seems like a logical step for everyone, don't you think?  The only disadvantage would be that it puts zombie marketing out of business.  Oh wait…
Anyhow, I've come up with a little work-around in the meantime.  It still isn't a perfect solution, but at least it's something.
Become an Amazon affiliate for your own books.

When you provide links to buy your book with XXX blogger, marketer, etc, provide your affiliate link and then you can track how many sales you obtain.  Of course, this works only if they allow you to provide your own link.  And if you're using more than one company at a time then give the link to the one you want to experiment with the most.

It's completely legit from Amazon's POV, which is always a bonus that you don't have Amazon working against you.  Plus you are paid a little extra for your book, which is just frosting on the cake.

Does Amazon's Hot List help out?

So, as many of you may know, I released the pre-order of my (amazing!) debut novel, The Last Seeker.  That is the day I became a pusher.  I pushed my friends, I pushed my family, I pushed the people who read this blog, I pushed any one and everyone to purchase my book.  I priced it low ($1) so I wouldn't feel bad about asking them ("even if you don't like my genre - just buy it!!") so that I could get on one of Amazon's list.  This is supposed to be the magic list that, once you're on it, it will bring you book to height-dom and everyone will see it and will be compelled to buy it because it's on that list.

Well, guess what?? I made the list.  I mean, I couldn't believe it.  I didn't think I would, honestly, and didn't check until a few days after I released it, and to my surprise, there it was.  (Did I mention that everyone else on the list has more than one book out, i.e. an already established fan base)

See, there I am at #7

Isn't that soo cool!!?? I'm way excited.

However, the question begs, is it helping me sell more books.  And the answer is
… it's hard to tell.

My numbers have not gone up exponentially.  And Amazon doesn't tell you who  bought your book (I'm sure that's a huge privacy issue) so I don't know if it's just my friends, etc buying it, or if I've made some sales from being on the list.

So here are some things to think about.  This list is: Hot New Releases in new and future Teen & YA Historical Fiction.  Why haven't my sales jumped by being on the list:

1. No one actually looks at this list.  

2.  No one scans through the 'historical fiction'.  They're all too busy looking at the romance, paranormal or lit sections.

3.  My book cover isn't good enough compared to all the others.  (I wish there was a way I could see how many people click on my book vs how many buy it)

4.  My blurb isn't interesting enough to get people to buy it.

5. People are impulsive.  They want to read now, not in the future.  If they've never heard of me before, they don't want to pre-order and wait.  They think, they'll remember to come back later.  

It could be any one of these things or a combination of these things, who knows.  I'd have to experiment to actually find out, any many of these things I can't experiment with (don't think Amazon would release any numbers based on my simple, "I would like some more, please." :D).

One point that I'm trying to say is that, if you don't make it to the 'list' then it's okay.  We don't always need to have everything off the "I'm doing a perfect job promoting my book" list in order to be successful.   

In any rate, I'm just happy to be on it.  I am thankful for what I have right now and that's good enough for me.

This is Tristen.  Hero in my novel.

Should you use a newsletter to reach your fans?

Newsletters can be tricky. As a rule, people avoid subscribing to a mailing list because it eats up their time, and they don’t know how frequently you will email them. A second but equally big concern is that you will share their addresses with spammers.

Correspondingly, starting a newsletter is a potential minefield. Which addresses should you use? Are you allowed to contact people who have contacted you first? Or should you make people jump through hoops to prove that they wish to enroll to your newsletter?

How can one get around these problems? For me, the best answers have proved to be a two-step process. First of all, I decided that I do have a right to contact people who have already contacted me, but will never email people first: I only email people who have interacted with me in some way. Second, I am very careful as to what I send out. In effect, I use my mailing list to send out freebies and holiday wishes. My main aim is to build loyalty, not make a quick sale.

How I do it:

I send out up to half a dozen emails annually. Most of the recipients are people who have commented on my blog. My emails contain freebies, and are meant to thank people for engaging with me. That’s probably why they seem to be quite popular. Engagement rate is around 60%, or twice the average, and usually no more than one person unsubscribes each time – if any at all.

Another group of people I engage is those who have friended me on Goodreads. When you get a request to connect, the member’s email is shown. This is the only time you have access to it, so be sure to copy it into your mailing list, as you don’t get another chance!

In the future, I plan to run a Rafflecopter campaign. People use these all the time to gain followers and readers, but a side-benefit that often gets ignored is the ability to extract the email addresses of all participants.

Are you sure I won't annoy anyone?

Well, to be honest, no. All I have is the positive feedback I’ve received so far from recipients of my mail, and the fact that only three people have unsubscribed so far, out of over some 1,500 emails sent. 

I do try my best to avoid annoying people, though. First of all, I use Mailchimp for the emails. That way, anyone not wishing to receive my emails for whatever reason finds it easy to unsubscribe.

Second, I only send the kind of information I would enjoy reading myself. No hard sales are allowed on my emails. I struggle to give people information that is either of interest to them, or just plain entertaining.

Do you think a newsletter is worth the effort?

Yes. I believe a newsletter is a valuable tool in one’s marketing toolbox, but one that has been abused so much in the past, that it should be used sparingly and with special care. Don’t ask people to buy something – remember, the “Show, don’t Tell” rule applies in marketing as well. Show them why they’d be entertained by your work. Give them reasons to love it.

Remember the cardinal rule of marketing; if people like what you’re saying, they’ll buy what you’re selling. And above anything else, use newsletters to interact with people in a genuine way and to make new friends!

To read 10 things that Nicholas learned when he hit the top seller list, click here.

Read more about Nicholas Rossis here.

10 Things I Learned on my journey From Hitting 'Publish' to Making #1 on Amazon

Our guest post, Nicholas Rossis, has published 8 books and reached #1 on Amazon in his category within the first 3 months.  Today, he graciously shares his marketing experience with us:

I’ve been reading contradictory opinions about book marketing and what does and doesn’t work, so I thought I’d share some things I've learned, warts and all.  In a short three-month period, I’ve become a best-selling published author and climbed one of the steepest learning curves I’ve encountered in my life. 

So, what ten conclusions have I drawn from my first 3 months of marketing efforts? 

1. Have more than one book out there.  One book’s free days led to the sales of the second book picking up substantially.  The effect seems to grow exponentially, from what I’ve heard.
2.  Don’t let marketing distract you from your writing.  My marketing efforts distracted me from my writing for a while, but also allowed me to make new friends who have offered to beta-read and help out with my next book.
3. Use your free days on KDP.  Because of the free days, 5,000 people will now influence where Amazon displays my book.  That, to me, is the most important thing I’ve gained; the “people who bought this also bought Pearseus” recommendation is a huge asset.
4. The fact that both books have reached #1 at some point is a great selling point.  Buying a book from an author you’ve never heard before is a risk.  We all have limited time, and too many books to read.  “Author of the international best-selling series Pearseus” sounds much more convincing, than “new author”.  It doesn’t sound too bad as an answer to the dreaded question, “So, how’s your book doing?”, either.
5. Get involved with Goodreads, Reddit and KBoards.  But as Rayne Hall said, you can only manage one social medium properly at a time (she’s considered somewhat of a Twitter guru, so be sure to follow her).
6. Place some (mostly free) ads on websites.  A problem can be that they get lost among the hundreds of other ads there.  So it's better to focus on sites and newsletters that feature no more than a couple of books at a time.
7. Have the right expectations when using your free days on Amazon.  If your expectation is
   that you’ll publish a book, give away a million copies and sell hundreds of thousands because of that, you should probably prepare for disappointment.  Free days are part of a greater strategy – it’s a marathon, not a sprint, as I’m fond of saying.
8. Make sure you have some reviews from your friends and beta-readers ready as soon as you publish – and certainly before you start your giveaways.  Readers these days an inundated with free books, so now they won't download something just because it’s free.  They also need to feel there’s at least a chance of reading it eventually.  Also, it’s a good idea to ask for a review at the end of the book (Kindle now does it automatically).

   

   One of my dignified and tasteful promotional posts

9. Do something everyday to promote your book – be it a tweet, asking for a review or telling someone about your book.  But don’t forget you’re a writer, not a marketer (I know I’ve said this already, but it bears repeating.  Too many Indie authors publish one book and market it ad nauseum, losing their focus).  From what I’ve read, most authors need at least ten books before being able to live off their books.
10. My number one conclusion?  Before starting any marketing, be sure you have the best possible book you can.  I had a dozen people read it, to make sure we had weeded out as many typos as possible.  I’m not saying you should wait until your writing is perfect to publish – for there is always room for improvement – but that you should confident it’s the best possible book you can write.  Just because it’s so easy to get published nowadays, you shouldn’t rush to do so without checking thoroughly.  Typos may be inevitable, but make sure they’re as few as possible before you publish.  

Self publishing has been a roller coaster experience, but I’ve loved every minute of it.  Along the way, I’ve met some great people, people who share the same passion as me, either as readers, reviewers, editors, proofreaders or authors, and this may well be the best part of this journey.  It is these and the many friends I’ve made online that prompted me into writing this post, in the hope of helping others who wish to publish and are worried about making it, and it is to them that my final words are addressed: Take the plunge, and I promise; there’s a lot of people waiting to help you.

To read the full article, where he gives a much more detailed account, click here.
Read more about Nicholas Rossis here.