Tomorrow I’m going to be running a little experiment in marketing.
Oak and Mist, the first book in my Ambeth Chronicles, will be free on Amazon Kindle for five days starting tomorrow. The paperback will still be full price, but the e-book – free.
I realise there are differing schools of thought on whether we should offer our work for free, and I’ve done a bit of reading and thinking before coming to this decision. However, on reflection, there were several reasons it seemed like a good idea:
- This is a free promotion that I get from Amazon for being part of their KDP Select programme, so I think it makes sense to take advantage of it at least once.
- Oak and Mist is the first book in a series of six, so by offering it free I hope to reach more readers who, hopefully, will enjoy it enough to purchase the next books in the series. Thinking back to my Marketing classes at school, I believe this is called a ‘loss-leader’.
- The promotion is for a limited period of time – five days only. I have heard that making the first book in a series free permanently is also a good way to attract readers but, as I’ve not yet published any other books in the series, I’m not ready to do that.
- No Quarter, the second book in the Ambeth Chronicles, is very close to being published, so the timing of this promotion will, I hope, generate interest leading to further sales.
- I have positive reviews on Amazon UK, US and Australia, as well as Goodreads. Hopefully this promotion will capitalise on the goodwill in those reviews, leading to more people deciding to download my book.
- I have far fewer e-book sales than paperback sales, so would be interested to see if I can increase that number.
I’ve also submitted to Robin Reads, E-News Reader Today and Freebooksy, all of whom have accepted Oak and Mist for promotion during my free offer period. I’ll also be promoting the free offer on my Facebook page and Twitter.
So I’ll let you all know how it goes. While this may seem quite a businesslike post, and a departure from my usual scribblings and musings, it is also part of the writing process. As independent authors we should be informed and able to make the right decisions for our book – after all, once we self-publish we are essentially running a business based on our own products. I’ve learnt a great deal from many generous bloggers who have shared information about their own promotions and results. Now I hope to be able to do the same.
xx Helen
Helen Glynn Jones 
An interesting experiment, Helen. I look forward to hearing how it goes.
Thanks Mick – I’ll do a follow up post once it’s over, though it will be too depressing if all I have to show for it is a few copies downloaded!
Good luck! I find all your points valid and worth exploring. Plus, I like to think that it’s not so much “giving away for free” but introducing the reader in a… generous manner? 😉
I like your way of thinking, Elissaveta 🙂 Oh, and I looked at your music list – I haven’t had a chance to listen to all of them yet but was thrilled to see Gladiator and LOTR on the list. Many years ago I saw the band Dead Can Dance – their singer, Lisa Gerrard, was the other composer on the Gladiator soundtrack, and her voice is heard singing on a lot of the pieces. (and the DCD concert rates as one of the top live shows I have ever seen – it was amazing)
When it goes free, let me know, and I’ll put a post on my Facebook page.
Thanks Louise, that’s really kind of you! It is free from tomorrow to September 16th, with the promotion starting at midnight PST and ending at the same. I’m intrigued to see how it goes… And your support is very much appreciated xx
Posted it on my Facebook page!
Thank you 🙂
Good luck with it Helen! 😊
Thanks Ali – have you ever run a free promo? I’m interested to see how it works out 🙂
I have Helen, but sadly it didnt work out for me. So many people just want free stuff. I gave away about 700 free books, but never got a review or any sales from it. I dont know if any of those free downloads were ever read. Im willing to try again when I have more books written, but for now Ive decide not to do freebies apart from the odd competition, or short story. Hopefully yours will work out lots better than mine… lots of writers have great success with them. Good luck! 😊
Thanks for sharing, Ali – I’m sorry to hear yours didn’t work out so well. I think this will be a one off for me too – will see how it goes. 🙂
Well it works for a lot of people so no reason why it shouldnt for you. I wtill try again when my whole trilogy is complete. Good luck Helen! 😊
Thanks Ali 🙂
Be interested to see how it works, Helen. I’ve not promoted mine yet but I’m sure the time will come.
Yes – I’m hoping to have some half decent results, but will see how it goes. I’ll definitely do a follow-up post. 🙂
Well done for trying it.
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