If you feel like you are competing with free books on Kindle Unlimited or $.99 books on Amazon, I am about to let you in on the best kept secret no one wants you to know… Are you ready?
You are NOT competing with free or $.99 books. Actually, no one is competing with anyone. It’s all about the market. Romance writers are not competing for science fiction readers. Full priced books are in a completely different target audience than free books. Readers who devour free books will only read free books, and that is okay. That is not your target audience.
Creating a book and offering it for free is a marketing tactic used to build a readership. Traditional authors put out one story (it could be full length but most often it’s a novella or short story) to introduce their work to readers without the risk of commitment. When an author publishes this story themselves, they have the opportunity to adjust the price to appeal to a new audience willing to take a risk and read without spending money. The size of this sample is solely up to the author, because they are producing it themselves. In many cases, a publisher might even help with the editing and cover art as a marketing expense while allowing you to retain the rights and control the pricing of the story.
Many people feel this tactic diminishes the value of their work and authors should be paid for every word they write. That is okay! Again, this is a tool for marketing. You do not have to adopt every marketing suggestion given, but I hope this discussion changes the stigma behind free books.
There are three pillars to marketing. The first is discovery. How are your readers finding you? Many authors use social media as a tool to boost their discoverability. The second pillar is a sample. That’s where these free books are helping authors build an audience. Other types of samples are your cover art and back blurb as well as content you write on your website or social media. Samples are all free. The last pillar, which is the ultimate goal of marketing, is continued contact. After the reader discovers you, then determines they enjoy your content, they will buy your book, sign up for your newsletter, follow your social media, and read every other book you put out. I hope this perspective opens your eyes to ways you can incorporate tools to grow your audience, even if it does not involve free books.
I will leave you with this. Authors have no competition. The business of books is not a one-and-done deal. Entire organizations are built around shared genres because if people love my books, they will devour others in the science fiction and dystopian genre. I am not competing with Veronica Roth because once someone is finished with Divergent, they will move onto another story. It is impossible for books to dilute the market of books. We’re all in this together. We can support each other and share our knowledge of what is working to attract readers. That is the entire goal of RMFW.
I LOVE sharing marketing tips with everyone! From the moment I signed my first contract, I knew it was up to me to attract readers. Building a platform is hard, but we love writing books and we love our stories finding the right readers. Never hesitate to ask for help!
I am also happy to announce that I will be teaching Instagram 101 for Authors on January 11th as a part of the Denver free programming. In this class, we will build your Instagram platform from the ground up AND walk you through the mobile app. You will leave this class with hands on experience and understanding of how you can use this social media platform to promote your work. Zero social media experience required. I hope to see you then!!!
Dacia M Arnold
I’ve been offering first in series free for 3 of my series, and have had excellent carryover sales. Also, by having those books free, I don’t feel “obligated” to run price drop on the other books. You’re right about finding your audience, and I’m not interested in those who say, “I never pay for a book.” They can read 3 of mine for free, but I’m not losing their sales on the rest because they wouldn’t buy them anyway.
My caveat, based on a batch of free books I downloaded as part of a promotion–they have to be just as good as any other book, which means have them edited. PLEASE. Don’t kill your career with a free book that is unprofessional.
Terry-
Thank you for this insight! I completely agree that all books should be of the highest quality. You live. You learn and hopefully you grow. I love playing around with marketing tactics. Some work while others dont. So glad this is working great for you!
Dacia
Love Dacia’s post and Terry’s comment . This is great!