How To Sell E-Books

Ok, we’ve covered a LOT of author and writing related topics here, but the big one I always get is, what i call the bottom line. How do I sell my e-books?

There are a million ways to market your books and just as many ways to get your book in front of readers. But I’m about to drop my no BS best tips here for you. Uh, yeah. You’re welcome.

Also, you might want to take notes.

 

Firstly, this bit is for those of you who are about to, or who recently have, released your first book. (or, the first of a new series). And, congrats on that, BTW. I’m super happy for you. (FYI you still have to do your own laundry. No one told me that and it was hella disappointing, just sayin)

My best tip for you is this: Before you can really sell an e-book, you need to find your audience. Which is really hard when only a tiny pool of readers have ever heard of you. So my suggestion is to take the time to write a few short stories in the same world as your novel. They should be compelling, but not give anything away. If they leave off on some kind of cliffhanger leading into your novel, all the better, IMHO.

Then take those short stories and post them as free reads on Wattpad, Tumblr, or any other online reading site you can find. At the end of each story, put a call to action, something like, “Read more in the debut novel” and add a direct buy link to your book. Or “Sign up for my newsletter for more amazing reads”. You get the idea. Basically, its a way to start gaining fans, and getting your work and name recognized by readers.

Why do I suggest Wattpad and not making them Amazon freebies? Statistics. Of the people who pick up freebies (or even .99 books) on Amazon, only around 30% ever actually read them. I know, right? And when talking about short fiction, that number is even smaller. And then, those that do read tend to leave nasty reviews because of the length. Let me be clear, Amazon readers of free fiction are looking for free novel-length work and can get testy when that expectation isn’t met. (Even if you say in the listing novella or short story. Trust me on this.)

Ok, that’s great for first books, but what about you authors releasing your third or fifth novel?

Well, if you have a series that still isn’t selling, I highly suggest either making the first book in the series perma-free, or at least running a free promotion (like Amazon’s KDP Select free week.)

Now, I have heard many authors talk about devaluing their work, and there is something to be said for perceived value. That’s why I will NEVER suggest you price a book for .99. It’s a terrible plan and you still fall into that Amazon pit of people who will one-click it and then never read it. (which is especially bad now that Amazon is paying per page read).

But, having a first book free, or running a free promotion on the first book in a series is an excellent way to help boost both sales on the rest of the books in the series and to help build your overall fan base. Wait, didn’t I just say only 30% or people who grab free books on Amazon will read them? Yes, but if the number of people downloading the book free is around the 20K-30K, then even 30% of that is a hulluva boost. And if that 30% then goes and buys the next three books, well then it’s worth it.

But just making it free isn’t enough. You make it free, then run a series of ads to expose the book to readers.That’s how you go from getting a handful of downloads a day to getting a couple hundred downloads a day. It’s easy, you click the link, add your book info, and BAM. They send that info to their big fat lists of readers looking for free or discounted books. It’s like freaking magic. AND you can re-list your book like every 3 months, so if you have something perma free, you can list more than once to hit those new subscribers and anyone who missed it before!

Here are some of my favorite totally free book promotion sites:

Author Marketing Club
eBooks Habit
Free e-Books
EBook Lister
FreeBooksy
Book Deal Hunter

Ok, so what if you don’t want to give away a promotional short or a free intro novel? There are still lots of ways to promote your book, but you are looking at a bit of an investment now. Google Adwords, Facebook and Twitter ads, and buying space on review blogs, in digital magazines, and/or taking out a BookBub ad or Netgalley listing are the ones who have worked best for me. They aren’t cheap, but they are all great ways to expose readers to your books!

Good luck, and if you have any favorite tips or sites to share, please feel free to drop them in the comments!

And *shameless plug* if you haven’t picked up one of my books yet, I have two fantastic novels currently free on Amazon. Check them out!