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What % of free downloads are read?
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R.A.
(last edited Jun 02, 2014 03:22PM)
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Jun 02, 2014 03:22PM
Any body have an estimate of what percentage of free downloads are actually read? If you download free books, what percentage of them do YOU read? I figure I read about 30% of the ones I give a try, but my guess is a lot of people download everything they see and then pick and choose later. If, for example, a book was downloaded 1,000 times, how many people will have read it?
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I give all of them a shot. I might only end up finishing 10% though...
R.A. wrote: "Any body have an estimate of what percentage of free downloads are actually read? If you download free books, what percentage of them do YOU read? I figure I read about 30% of the ones I give a try..."I've been trying to find an article I read on this, but can't seem to be able to dig it up. But I read that the number is very small, like 1% to 2%. However, that number was likely based on the number of reviews that showed up on Amazon compared to the number of free downloads, which are probably the only numbers you can go off of. I'd say that's about right, based on a short story I've had available for free on Amazon for a little while now.
I'm more likely to read a free book by an author whose name I recognize over a complete unknown.
Heck it doesn't have to be free...how many 99 cent books are read? I really only download something I think I'm going to read..but sometimes when you hear someone gave away thousands...exactly...do any of them actually get read?It looks good numbers wise...but if none of those give always return as reviews...it sort of becomes a great deal of sound and fury signifying....nothing.
For authors I know, I read 100%. For authors I don't know, I'm a little picky about what I choose to begin with but I'll eventually start them all. It can be several months before I get to it. I only finish ~ 50%. On the DNFs, I don't both with a review. Maybe if I'd paid for it, I might feel more motivated.
I download very few, but I do read everything I download or I'm given.
I read an article just recently that stated 60% of all downloaded books are never read. That included free and paid-for books. I'm still looking for that article and will get a link here shortly...
I'll at least begin to read all of the free books I download, but too many times I find that it's worth exactly what I paid for it, and I can't finish the first chapter--barely the first page.
60% sounds really high to me, but I guess if that includes paid-for books it makes more sense. I thought that hoping for 10% was pretty optimistic on free downloads, but of course I have no idea, which is why I asked for input. In this case, my thought is to get fans, not reviews. So if 1% of people actually read a book with 1,000 downloads, that would be ten potential fans. If all ten of them bought the second book at $2 profit each, then it would pay for a $20 advertisement for the giveaway...maybe I'm overthinking this :).
I check the book out before I download (via GD or Amazon) and if the genre is to my taste and the comments are more positive than negative then I download and do my best to finish the book before passing comment. Most free-bees are only free for a short time before reverting back to charging, but it does give one the chance to sample a new author.
I don't read the Amazon forums. I guess that's a good thing...Entitlement issues are among my least favorite kind.
I don't know why they would feel entitled to reviews unless they're going through some kind of program like Story Cartel, and even then it's clear that reviews aren't guaranteed. Heck, I realize I'm not even entitled to readers if I give it away!
Well, I understand that writers HOPE for reviews, but expecting them is just silly. And that's all I got to say about that.
I did a free promo of my first novel when I released the sequel. I'm judging the success by the sales of the second volume. It's been 2 months since the promo and sales of volume 2 are starting to trickle in. That's the best review I could ever hope for. I may even be able to back into a 'read the free' book number by the sales of volume 2.I think more interesting information would be the conversion rate of 'look inside/free sample' to 'download purchase.' But it would need to be specific to my titles. If 5 out of 10 readers who check out my novels download it, then the books are ok, I need to do better marketing. If I'm getting 1 download in 20, I need to look at my books.
I lurk around the edges of certain Amazon author forums, and the one maintained on Kboards. There are a lot of self-published authors out there who have rationalized a number of odd expectations. Not only do they expect reviews, they often go insane when they get a poor reviews. They accuse such reviewers of "trolling." I'm grateful when someone takes the trouble to review one of my books, and delighted when the review is positive, but I don't ever expect reviews. If you buy one of my books, I owe you a good read. You don't owe me anything.I hope those of you searching for links to articles are successful. Such information would be both interesting an useful to a lot of people! (If I come across one, I'll bring it back here.)
R.A. wrote: "Any body have an estimate of what percentage of free downloads are actually read? If you download free books, what percentage of them do YOU read? I figure I read about 30% of the ones I give a try..."There's no way to know; only about 10 percent of freebies are ever reviewed, from what I can tell.
I think 1-2 % is near the mark. Let's say 5%. Trying a book may entail literally reading only the first line or a paragraph at most before moving on to the next free download.
It is the action of an entirely rational consumer to download everything going for free and to sample the minimum of each to find things likely to appeal to their taste. This is what authors have set up for themselves by trying to be competitively priced.
I don't think there's any way to get a handle on this. I have a friend who reads at least one book a day (often more) and doesn't review or use social media at all. She reads many freebies and is always recommending things to me. She's never written a review and has no passion to do so. She tells me she'd rather be reading. She may be the smart one considering the flack many of us get for stating our opinion when it's not glowing.
Marc wrote: "It is the action of an entirely rational consumer to download everything going for free and to sample the minimum of each to find things likely to appeal to their taste. This is what authors have set up for themselves by trying to be competitively priced...."Yes.
This is such a simple concept to understand, and yet there are so many who seem to have failed to do so.
From the looks of the market today, I'd go so far as to say most have failed to understand. For these, it wasn't/isn't even about competitive pricing - that only takes being a buck or two below the average for traditional publishers. It's more about the need for immediate gratification and validation. It's been more than a little alarming to be on the author side of this, watching it happen.
Linda wrote: "Thomas wrote: " It's been more than a little alarming to be on the author side of this, watching it happen...."As my late husband often said, "No shit, Sherlock."
Alarming, frightening, discour..."
All of the above...
Barks & Bites wrote: "I don't think there's any way to get a handle on this. I have a friend who reads at least one book a day (often more) and doesn't review or use social media at all. She reads many freebies and is a..."I review for myself and my reading friends. It helps me to have that on hand 2-3 years later to refresh my memory about a book.
RE: books I've downloaded. I troll the freebies all the time. I have more sitting in my kindle black hole than I could ever possibly read in my lifetime. I have piles of books I've picked up at the UBS or library sales. There are days when I'm shuffling all the TBR books to find just the right one for my mood. I might buy a freebie and start it right away if the mood fits it, or it might languish for two years until I get to it.
I could be wrong, but I don't think I've seen anywhere on any Amazon purchase page that says by clicking to buy this free book you are required to give a review.
When i see a book i can get for free...everything goes in a frenzy for a mad dash to get all i can lay my hands on at the moment and i know for a fact that i will read them for i am a speedy reader which fuels my thirst for more adventure in my books.i just plain hate to see a book looking new with not even the tiniest rip which was made in haste to get to the next page so there's no chance that my books will be a shelf-sitter. No chance.
Misfit wrote: "Barks & Bites wrote: "I could be wrong, but I don't think I've seen anywhere on any Amazon purchase page that says by clicking to buy this free book you are required to give a review. ..."or even read it at all! :-)
I try to read the majority of what I download for free, even if it takes me a few months to get around to it. I also try to write a review - positive or otherwise. I find that this is time better spent than reviewing something like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or Great Expectations, which are going to be read regardless of what my opinion is. At least for freebies/indies, my review might actually make an impact.
Marc wrote: "Misfit wrote: "Barks & Bites wrote: "I could be wrong, but I don't think I've seen anywhere on any Amazon purchase page that says by clicking to buy this free book you are required to give a review..."Exactly. I do the same with my dead tree books. Two years later and I unbury it in a pile and ask myself why did I buy this in the first place?
This is a question I would dearly like to know, because by the end of the year my free book will have been downloaded almost 200,000 times. I wonder how many of those are sitting in an ereader like a forgotten photo in a digital camera.Personally I don't download a lot of free books, but I do maintain a folder on my computer with the urls of books I am considering. If I download the book, I will definitely take a look at it, even if only for a dozen pages.
Stan wrote: "This is a question I would dearly like to know, because by the end of the year my free book will have been downloaded almost 200,000 times. I wonder how many of those are sitting in an ereader lik..."You only have to look at the number of TBR on your books - they rarely go down unless people delete them!
