Why a Free Promotion?
Happy Tuesday, everyone! Today I'm gonna talk with you all about giving your book away for free and why people do it. There are some pros and cons and I'll be going over all of it. So, if you're ready, grab your pens and notebooks and let's get going!
First, let's discuss the stigma surrounding free.
You've just spent six to twelve months writing and editing a novel. Your blood, sweat, and tears have gone into this story on the page, and you're frustrated about giving it away for nothing. Understandable. Believe me, I get it. Anything you spend that much time developing might sting when someone downloads it for nothing. There's also the fear that people will think you can't sell a book and have to give them away (not true, but you can see where they might jump to that conclusion). However, maybe it's time to change the way we look at free and try to see where it begins to behoove us when we give a book away.
We're gonna have a moment discussing free print books.
Now, everyone is probably familiar with the giveaways on Goodreads. Why do we bother giving away print copies of our books (on that site, and in other giveaways)? Because they're signed, and we want people to sort of covet what we take the time to write our names in. Most of all, we want readers to add our books to their TBR list. That's where the key is. We want to be remembered.
Why does that make a difference? Well, sometimes, when a reader is excited about winning a certain book, they'll go on to buy it if they don't win it. Make sense?
Okay, let's move on to giveaways of e-books.
These work a little bit differently. When you give away an e-book, it's more about what's inside besides the story or what else is coming that matters.
For example:
A snippet or two of other books you've writtenThis is the first of a series (to be released)Your social media contact informationGiving a sample of your writing to potential fans
If you're running a free promotion, there should be some reason behind it. Either you're trying to build a fan base, you want your rank on Amazon to jump up really high (some hit the top 100 in their genre), or you're hyping up another book that's A. Just been released or B. Will be coming soon.
There are many reasons behind free. Make sure you're deciding what yours are before you jump on the bandwagon. That way, you can have some way to measure your success. After all, you need something to snag a new fan, right? Rafflecopter giveaways can't carry everything. But, like anything, there are cons.
The cons of free:
Many people download a free book and never read itIf no protection, your book could end up on a pirate site perma-freeYour book isn't put in front of those who would enjoy it; rather, it's sent to everyoneYou make no money off this publication while it's freeYou may end up with a troll review or two If you're willing to brave these cons, and put your hope in readers who will get hold of your book and read the heck out of it, you're ready to do free. Like I said above, be sure you know what your ultimate goal is.
Speaking of free and giveaways, come on back to the blog tomorrow for your chance to win a couple of books and some Amazon cash!
How about you? Have you done free promotions? What did you get out of it?
Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!
Jo
First, let's discuss the stigma surrounding free.
You've just spent six to twelve months writing and editing a novel. Your blood, sweat, and tears have gone into this story on the page, and you're frustrated about giving it away for nothing. Understandable. Believe me, I get it. Anything you spend that much time developing might sting when someone downloads it for nothing. There's also the fear that people will think you can't sell a book and have to give them away (not true, but you can see where they might jump to that conclusion). However, maybe it's time to change the way we look at free and try to see where it begins to behoove us when we give a book away.
We're gonna have a moment discussing free print books.
Now, everyone is probably familiar with the giveaways on Goodreads. Why do we bother giving away print copies of our books (on that site, and in other giveaways)? Because they're signed, and we want people to sort of covet what we take the time to write our names in. Most of all, we want readers to add our books to their TBR list. That's where the key is. We want to be remembered.
Why does that make a difference? Well, sometimes, when a reader is excited about winning a certain book, they'll go on to buy it if they don't win it. Make sense?
Okay, let's move on to giveaways of e-books.
These work a little bit differently. When you give away an e-book, it's more about what's inside besides the story or what else is coming that matters.
For example:
A snippet or two of other books you've writtenThis is the first of a series (to be released)Your social media contact informationGiving a sample of your writing to potential fans
If you're running a free promotion, there should be some reason behind it. Either you're trying to build a fan base, you want your rank on Amazon to jump up really high (some hit the top 100 in their genre), or you're hyping up another book that's A. Just been released or B. Will be coming soon.There are many reasons behind free. Make sure you're deciding what yours are before you jump on the bandwagon. That way, you can have some way to measure your success. After all, you need something to snag a new fan, right? Rafflecopter giveaways can't carry everything. But, like anything, there are cons.
The cons of free:
Many people download a free book and never read itIf no protection, your book could end up on a pirate site perma-freeYour book isn't put in front of those who would enjoy it; rather, it's sent to everyoneYou make no money off this publication while it's freeYou may end up with a troll review or two If you're willing to brave these cons, and put your hope in readers who will get hold of your book and read the heck out of it, you're ready to do free. Like I said above, be sure you know what your ultimate goal is.
Speaking of free and giveaways, come on back to the blog tomorrow for your chance to win a couple of books and some Amazon cash!
How about you? Have you done free promotions? What did you get out of it?
Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!
Jo
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