[nikkie]

For those of you who publish via Smashwords, we have a new feature ready for public beta: book preorders!

Here's some of the perks of setting up preorders, according to the Smashwords blog by Mark Coker:

1. Advantageous placement in genre and store-wide bestseller lists - All preorders credit on day one of the release, the onsale date. This can cause the book to spike in the charts. The advantageous placement in the bestseller lists increases visibility and discoverability, which builds buzz and sales.
2. Increased odds of hitting national bestseller lists? - Preorders can potentially increase an author's odds of hitting one or more of the major bestseller lists such the New York Times or USA Today because the preorder concentrates a greater number of sales into a shorter period of time. Lest you find yourself salivating uncontrolably, stop! Keep in mind that most authors will never hit these lists, preorder or not. Preorders are simply a tool that give you merchandising advantage. It's up to your book, your fans and your savvy marketing to catapult you onto these lists.
3. Advance marketing - Authors can execute more strategic advance marketing campaigns to build buzz and accumulate orders leading up to their official release date. Do chapter reveals on your blog or Facebook page. Hold contests. Run promotions on your other titles to build readership in advance of your big release. Encourage your fans to mark their calendars so they can be the first to read your book.
4. Your existing titles help market your preorder - The retailer will display your preorder title alongside your other books in their store. If you have multiple titles on the market already, update your back-of-the-book "Other titles by" listings to advertise your upcoming release.
5. Increased on-store merchandising - Your advance preorder also makes it easier for retailers to slot your book into special preorder promotions or genre-related merchandising promotions. If a retailer sees that your book is experiencing a high rate of preorders, they're more likely to select the book for increased merchandising love.

I'm not speaking in any official capacity here, but I thought the community might like to know! Bugs for preorders are best addressed to http://smashwords.com/preorder.