This is a marketing ploy designed for authors with a series of books…or if you plan to have one. The idea is to start off with a low-priced eBook to get the interest of some readers…then convince them that the other books in the series are worth more, for both eBook and Print versions. This practice is similar to the Freemium pricing strategy in which a product or service is offered free (or at a low cost), but then additional features, products, or services are made available at increasing costs (a method that has been used with software since the 1980s). This process works well with software (and eBooks!) for the same reason: cost of distribution is minor.
Once you’ve gotten a loyal reader base, they’ll gladly pay more for additional books because they now value your work. (Of course, that assumes that your first books are truly wonderful.) The general idea is to secure as large a collection of customers as possible right up front, and because your low-cost books are so amazing, those first few readers will spread the word and draw in even more readers.
Get New Readers
Many readers out there are constantly looking for something new and interesting to read…but they are hesitant to invest $5, $10, or even $15 (hard copy) just to see if it’s worthwhile. An option is to find book-selling sites that will allow authors to release a portion of an eBook as a ‘sample’ to lure readers, but if the rest of the book still costs too much, then the sample won’t be very effective in getting new readers to buy the whole thing. Until your name is recognisable, you’ll have to tempt readers with a full book at a low enough cost that they are willing to try you out. Dropping the price of your first book to 99¢ is a good way to entice them.
Quantity Over Profit
Initially you’ll have to be satisfied with only a small profit on each sale, but the key is that every sale is a new customer…just waiting for your next book. Growing your readership is the concept here. Remember, every new reader will not only want your next book, but they will also spread the word about how good your books are, so you’ll gain even more customers.
Rankings and Reviews
Gaining all those readers will help you move up the rankings into the best-selling lists (no matter which distribution channel you’re using), giving you more visibility to other readers as they search for new material. (There are whole courses on how to spike your sales, but we haven’t time for that here. If you want more info on that, let us know. If there’s a large enough response, we may do a posting targeted to that subject.)
The idea is that when a reader searches for a book, they will often take just a glance, then head right down to see how many stars it has in its rating…and how many reviews it has. A 5-star average…with 3 reviews (your mother, your spouse, and your best friend don’t count)…doesn’t have as much influence as a 4.2-star average with 100 reviews, so getting more readers to read and review the book increases the odds that other readers searching for your genre will find your book tempting.
Link to Your Next Book
In each of your books, you need to list your other books and mention your next book (in the Front or Back Matter). You should include a short teaser (a first chapter), but putting in links (eBook or otherwise) can be difficult. The snag with links is that if you include a link to Amazon in a Nook book or vice versa, the publishers and distributors may hesitate to carry it. The same thing happens if you have a Kindle book with links to your printed book…same thing with links to any other competitors.
Using Redirect Links can solve a couple of problems. Redirect Links (also Shortened Links) work by sending your readers to a different page than the link shows. For example, if you have a link that shows <mysite.com/books> it could actually lead to <mysite.com/content/monthly/current_listing>. Not only is it shorter, but it is also easier for readers with a printed copy to type in. (Including a QR code helps with that.)
The key is to have the links to Amazon, Nook, or even directly to your printer on your page. It takes an extra click or two for your readers, but keeping all your links together makes it easier for you to update them if needed. (Much easier than trying to change a link printed in a book!) Another advantage is that your readers can find the rest of your books there, too. Tracking your Click Through Rate (CTR) will show how your marketing is influencing your sales.
Problems With Link Shorteners
You might be tempted to use commercial link shorteners, but there is one big caveat: most use some kind of domain name that is short and easy to remember…BUT it forces your data to pass through other countries. Country Code Top Level Domains (ccTLD) such as ‘.ly’ (Libya) or ‘.ws’ (Samoa) or ‘.my’ (Malaysia) are controlled by those countries, so care must be taken as the controlling country could monitor or even restrict traffic they find unacceptable. Libya has shut down sites using their Country Code for a variety of reasons. (That’s why I hesitate to click on links like that.)
The best way is to use your own domain name (you do have your own website, don’t you?) and install redirected links yourself. If we have enough requests, we will post a How To that covers the technical details of Redirected Links, but for now we’ll leave it at that.