Success in digital self-publishing depends on the perceived value of your acim and the strength of your marketing plan. It’s no good having a brilliant piece of work and expecting Amazon and the like to promote it for you. Remember, these e-book platforms are carrying over a million books and new titles are added every day. If you leave your book on there with no input to get it known it will get lost in the crowd. You need to do some work and spend some cash promoting it. Again, the internet makes this so much easier and cheaper for the author on a budget.
Create A Customer Ascension Model
With your first book you should use it as a teaser to building your author rating and popularity. Clever players here would price their book very low or even make it free for a limited time. The idea is to encourage interest and recommendation and let readers know there is more to come. It also significantly helps you move up through the download charts. Make your book good value for money. Share links to where your book is sold in emails to family and friends, or wherever you can place it. An ascension model is a way to adjust prices upward in line with your author rating. There are instances where an author’s first book was retailed as an introductory £1.50, and the second book £8.99. The higher-priced second book sold three times more in volume.
Get Reviews
A recommendation from your readers can be a great catalyst for future sales – especially when they are linked to social networks. Reviews with Facebook pictures and Twitter links are seen as more authentic as they are not likely to be fake reviews. Sales on Amazon add credit to your sales potential. The higher the number, the greater your chances. It’s especially helpful if you can get a known name to enjoy and review your book. There are online outfits that act as agents to source reader reviews by offering a free read on your behalf.
The readers access your book on all mobile platforms as well as desktops. They are the ones you usually come across on free Android and iPhone apps as standard on your smart phone. The publishing portals have the readers, you have the book. Reviews and comments are gold dust; gather as much of them as possible. They can also be a bit of a headache if the reviews are negative or questionable. You are still better off than not having any at all as feedback good or bad shows engagement. Some books have done quite well on Barnes & Noble due to the high number of reviews wrapped in controversial opinion. It stokes the fires of engagement as comments grow into debate and prompt curiosity.
Free Offers
We mentioned the importance of reviews earlier. This is the fast way to harvest them. As explained with the Reader’s Coupon below, with the free offer promotion it’s all about whetting the appetite. The important thing here is to make sure the perceived value of your book is intact. Freebies are sometimes seen as substandard items, so it’s best to be watchful how you present your offers. Carry your free offer with something the reader can give back. Things such as reviews, email capture, or ‘tell a friend’ in return for the free offer or a share/like to go with your free download offer, promoted with weblinks, are good ways to do this. Free offers from print or e-books are great with non-fiction titles. You can link the free offer to a related book that is priced for profit. It’s all set up in the landing page of your website. There you have the freedom to deliver effective marketing messages to those that choose to redeem your offer.
The Reader’s Coupon
This is quite a unique idea that has been tried with magazines and produced significant results whilst promoting readership and subscription. It’s the vehicle to also carry your free or discounted offer. It works best with books of leisure and reading enjoyment only. It is designed to work on downloadable e-books and magazines, especially taking cost into consideration.