Sunday, May 20, 2012

FREE eBooks! Erotica eBooks for free! Why? Read on…


Yes, I give away free eBook erotica.  Free porn, free smut—a rose by any other name...  Click here to get your free eBook erotica from me for the Nook.  OR, click here to get your free eBook erotica from me at Smashwords.


WHY GIVE THEM AWAY?
   A writer wants to be read, above all else.  When eBooks are free, more people read them.  The more people who read my books, the better I feel.  So, I give free eBook erotica away because I’m selfish and like feeling good.
   An un-established writer wants her name to be more widely known.  Why should readers take a blind risk on you?  Would you?  Well, that’s complicated.  I certainly purchase the works of many authors I haven’t read before, but only after perusing the cover, the blurb, and having a peek inside.  However, I am far more willing to take a risk with an author who is new to me when the first eBook is free.
   A reader who enjoys the free read is far more likely to purchase an author’s other eBooks. 
   Free eBooks help build an author’s audience and consumer awareness.  Ever try to meet someone at an airport or a crowded party?  How do you stand out from the mass of bodies?  You raise your hand and call out “Yoo-Hoo!”  That’s what your free eBook erotica is, a Yoo-Hoo directed at book readers and book buyers.
   Another reason: good karma.

BUT WON’T I CANNIBALIZE MY SALES?
   Actually, no.  First off, if you never plan to put a price on that particular eBook, then you have nothing to cannibalize.  But why throw away potential sales?  It’s been my experience that books once offered for free will continue to sell well after a price is put on them.  Yep, it’s true.  How’s that, you ask?
   Truth be told, many who take advantage of your free offer will never pay for a book.  Therefore, their downloads don’t cost you sales.  HOWEVER, some of them might be converted from freebie-jeebies to paying, loyal customers—bonus!  Even if they don’t become born-again eBook buyers, their free downloads will lift your rankings with the major booksellers, and that is always good for sales.  I won’t pretend to know the booksellers’ ranking algorithms, but I’ve observed them in action, and that’s what happens.  The freebie-jeebies help raise your “hand” and give a virtual Yoo-Hoo to those who will pay for your eBook once you put a price on it.

SHOULD I GIVE MY FIRST EBOOK AWAY?
   Probably not.  As Mark Coker, founder of Smashwords, advises in his free eBooks on marketing, this strategy works best when you have somewhat of a backlist.  This way, your satisfied readers can jump right back to your author’s page and check out your other works.  It doesn’t do much good if the next book doesn’t come out for another month.  The marketplace has a short memory for those who aren’t eBook gorillas yet.
   That said, I did offer my first eBook for free for a period, and after I subsequently put a price on it, that eBook has remained my biggest money seller.  So, it didn’t hurt me too badly, but I can’t help but think that I squandered a major opportunity by not having a backlist available.  Oh well, live and learn!  No use crying over spilt downloads.  Benefit from my mistake!
   “But I want to get my first eBook out there!”  An understandable sentiment.  You’ve worked very hard, and you are eager to get the positive feedback of readers enjoying your handiwork.   However, it is important to keep in mind that when one chooses to self-publish, one has foregone the counsel and assistance of a publisher, and that means that one has to wear the publisher hat in steering their handiworks to the marketplace.  The publisher would tell you that you need a backlist. 
   This next bit of advice has come from many quarters, and that’s because it is valuable and true—the best course of action after completing your first book is to start working on the second.  Patience is key.  And patience is sometimes the most difficult coin to mint.

WHAT THE HECK DO YOU KNOW, CHASTITY?
   Truth be told, not a whole heck of a lot, but what I do know, I share.  Feel free to email me at ChastityFoelds@gmail.com to discuss this further, or leave a comment below and start a dialog.

Ta-ta and Mwah!
Chastity.

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