Lesson in eBook marketing
Saturday, November 24, 2012 at 3:52PM 
When I published the five-volumes of The Emily Updates about a year ago, I made them $2.99 each. Not smart.
They sold at a slow clip and, at one point, they all got in the middle of the top 100 for Caregiving within Physician and Patient within Medicine within NonFiction. They never scored in the 100 within Medical within Professionals & Academics within Biographies and Memoirs within NonFiction.
So my brother Andrew, he the librarian and self-publisher of several eBooks (but also an upcoming version of General George Barnett's memoirs for the Naval Institute Press), finally advises me to cut the price down to 99 cents for vols 2-5 and make vol. 1 free (to do this on Amazon you need to sell it for free somewhere else so they price match and I did this on SmashWords).
Suddenly we're seeing a lot move movement and our first review!
Which I have to say, is the perfect review for the endeavor.
The proof:
- Vol I is now the #1 free book in Caregiving (out of only 2, so let's say the competition is limited), but III is now #2 on the paying list, II is #3, V is #9 and IV is #10.
- Going up a level to Physician and Patient (all first time hits), vol. I is #10 (of 11 on Free), but III is #14 on paying, II is #15, V is #44 and IV is #46.
- Going up to Medicine (nose bleed territory for us), vol. I is 44th on the Free Top 100.
Alternately, the volumes appear for the first time in the Biographies and Memoirs track:
- Vol I is #2 in Medical Top 100 Free, III is #44 on the paying list, II is #45, V is #82 and IV is #85.
- Going up to Professionals and Academics, vol. I is #10 on the Free Top 100.
- Going up to Biographies & Memoirs, vol. I is #73 on the Free Top 100.
Admittedly, a "hill of beans," but fun stuff to the three of us: my spouse Vonne, daughter Em (now studying in Japan), and me.
Reader Comments (1)
I see this as an example of heroin marketing technique, the first taste is free, and the value of information in the digital marketplace. Alot less than is currently being charged. I'm expecting this to affect the ivory tower of academia in unexpected ways. Expect the credential ing to become independent of the instruction. No reason you shouldn't spend a year at the public library and on youtube then pass the Harvard exams.