The Phenomenon of Not Downloading Free Ebooks
Captain's Log, Stardate 02.01.2012
So here's a weird phenomenon. There are a bunch of free thriller books available today on Kindle but I'm not a huge fan of secular thriller because many of them tend to get a little more gristly than I like. I looked at the book blurbs, but they were mostly serial killer type of thrillers, which do tend to get bloody.
So I am actually not downloading free ebooks! I can't believe it!
But it also got me to thinking. These days there are so many free ebooks that people can start to pick and choose which free ebooks to download.
Isn't that a strange thing? Before, I'd be snatching up almost any free ebook available because, well, it's free.
Now, I'm like, "Thrillers, eh. I read them but not my favorite genre. I'll pass."
I probably should have had this mentality for some of the other free ebooks I downloaded in the past, because I wouldn't have so many ebooks that I probably won't ever read.
Then again, they don't take up space in my house because the ebook files are stored on my Amazon digital bookshelf or my Barnes and Noble Nook shelf, not on my computer. So I suppose it doesn't matter if I download books I'll never read since I don't have to store the files.
I wonder, does this glut of free ebooks defeat the marketing purpose of a free ebook? I'm sure it works sometimes--a reader will pick up a free ebook from an author he/she hasn't read before, and suddenly the reader is a new fan of the author.
But with so many free ebooks these days, does it make it less likely that reader will get around to reading the author's book since there are so many other free (and paid) ebooks the reader has gotten?
So would I utilize free ebooks as a marketing tool? I'm not sure. Maybe. I might offer a novella for free if it was the first of a series. Or I might offer a full-length ebook for a really cheap price, like $0.50. The reason is because I'm wondering if the people who would pay those few cents for my ebook would be more likely to read it than those who got it for free.
What do you think?
Update: I also started this discussion on Goodreads if you want to participate there!
So here's a weird phenomenon. There are a bunch of free thriller books available today on Kindle but I'm not a huge fan of secular thriller because many of them tend to get a little more gristly than I like. I looked at the book blurbs, but they were mostly serial killer type of thrillers, which do tend to get bloody.So I am actually not downloading free ebooks! I can't believe it!
But it also got me to thinking. These days there are so many free ebooks that people can start to pick and choose which free ebooks to download.
Isn't that a strange thing? Before, I'd be snatching up almost any free ebook available because, well, it's free.
Now, I'm like, "Thrillers, eh. I read them but not my favorite genre. I'll pass."
I probably should have had this mentality for some of the other free ebooks I downloaded in the past, because I wouldn't have so many ebooks that I probably won't ever read.
Then again, they don't take up space in my house because the ebook files are stored on my Amazon digital bookshelf or my Barnes and Noble Nook shelf, not on my computer. So I suppose it doesn't matter if I download books I'll never read since I don't have to store the files.
I wonder, does this glut of free ebooks defeat the marketing purpose of a free ebook? I'm sure it works sometimes--a reader will pick up a free ebook from an author he/she hasn't read before, and suddenly the reader is a new fan of the author.
But with so many free ebooks these days, does it make it less likely that reader will get around to reading the author's book since there are so many other free (and paid) ebooks the reader has gotten?
So would I utilize free ebooks as a marketing tool? I'm not sure. Maybe. I might offer a novella for free if it was the first of a series. Or I might offer a full-length ebook for a really cheap price, like $0.50. The reason is because I'm wondering if the people who would pay those few cents for my ebook would be more likely to read it than those who got it for free.
What do you think?
Update: I also started this discussion on Goodreads if you want to participate there!
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I really like how you can download a sample before you buy a book! I've bought several based on the sample chapters, and avoided buying a few other books I discovered weren't what I was hoping for.I don't have a Kindle, but I get the free Kindle ebooks because I have a Kindle app on my iPhone and iPad, plus the Kindle app on my computer. There are some books I really wanted to read that were only on Kindle, so sometimes I'll read them on my iPad or computer.
In some cases it works... I recently downloaded a free e-book that was the first book in a series. I decided I liked the first book so much I paid for the next two books in the series. Then again I do also have several free e-books I downloaded but haven't read yet (although I have every intention of doing so eventually).
I have a TON of free ebooks I haven't read yet! Most of them are books I'd actually like to read eventually, but I just haven't had time!
I have a Kindle and I recently discovered and downloaded a bunch of books, just 2 weeks ago. I was super excited about these free books and have every intention of reading them. These were books I can't get in the library or my local bookstore so I am thrilled. My problem is that I must be technologically challenged because I have a tough time liking the Kindle and am trying to figure it out. For some reason I have a tough time reading on the thing, I just prefer old school books. But I'm going to master it. I definitely think that having a free book on the Kindle, especially one of a series would lead me to buy more books. But, I'm a bonafide book lover so it doesn't take much to encourage me to get more books.
LOL I'm with you, it really doesn't take much to get me to buy more books! I'm not familiar with the Kindle so I don't know how easy it is to use it. However, I think there are also videos online to teach you how to use it if you wanted to watch those.
I was wondering... You mentioned at the start of this post about Kindle free e-books. Do you also have a Kindle? I always ignore those offers because I didn't think you could read the Kindle ones on the Nook.