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Hi Groovy and Alan:
I used the pay-what-you like feature at Smashwords for about forty titles we put up for the last Read an Ebook week. Income to the Red Cross. Very few paid anything, some a few cents, some regular price and some generous souls -- beacause of the charitable intent -- paid over and above regular cover price. On average each download brought in about 20 cents.
So I was interested to read a play on the 'Pay What You Like' system mentioned in a non-book-related blog last week (actually, it was about rock concerts). The writer suggested simply changing the line from 'Pay What You LIKE' to 'Pay What You CAN'.
The subtle change of wording and meaning goes unnoticed by most users, but it registers subconsciously and implies -- rather than 'have this for nothing' -- 'pay for this, but only what you can honestly afford.' It doesn't mean 'Pay IF you like', it says 'Pay because this work has value. But pay according to your pocket and/or satisfaction'.
It seems the changed wording has already made a significant difference in revenue to concert organisers and musicians who leave the fiscal value of their work to the customer.
Cheers. Neil
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