Thread: Advertising in eBooks
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Old 08-28-2010, 10:59 PM   #42
jhempel24
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It's not a 10sec video add or anything, it's like a print ad, every time you open the file to read.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Elfwreck View Post
How is that "10 second" ad going to show in my Sony Reader? It doesn't have vid capability. It doesn't have a way to force-lock a page for viewing.

Is that ad going to be included in all formats of the ebook, or only some of them? Or will the book only be released in one format, which is only readable on computers/devices that have the software to show the ad?

The *big* reason ads-in-ebooks, other than "preview of similar content," aren't going to work, is that the seller can't control the way the content is viewed. Even with DRM'd ebooks, they could be read on a computer, a tiny netbook, a dedicated ebook reader, or a cellphone; it's almost impossible to design an ad that (1) works and (2) isn't horrifically invasive & software-crashing on all of those.

And then there's the option of "strip the DRM & remove the ad." Publishers are carefully ignoring how common DRM-stripping is (once they've sold the book, they're not actually concerned with how you read it), but advertisers who are paying to have their content included are going to be sharply aware of tools that remove that content.

There's no problem with "how do you include ads in ebooks?" You can add them as in-line text, with varying degrees of annoyance; as images in those formats that support images; at the beginning as mandatory "must read this" pages; at the end as "further attractions," and probably several other options.

There's not even much problem with "will people pay for ebooks with ads?" Sure they will. Make it obvious that ads lower the price of ebooks, and some people will go for that. Make those ebooks free, and more will go for it.

What you can't do, is make them cost-effective for advertisers. Can't guarantee a number of views per sale. Advertisers in comic books *counted* on comics being shared among friends, given away & resold; every new reader was a new potential customer. Advertisers in pulp books could expect the book to be handed off or resold used. But ebooks are hyped as "no resale/gifts possible"--how much would an advertiser pay, per book, to reach *one* person? Who may-or-may-not be interested in the product being advertised?
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