Is Smashwords July Sale A Good Idea? - Page 2

Steven Lake · 07-03-2012, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VydorScope

How much did you mark it down?

I made 4 of my books free, including book 1 of my sci-fi series, and then marked the others down 25%.

Quote:

Originally Posted by WatchAdam

Did you promote the fact your book was on sale or did people just find your book on their own?

A little bit of both. Actually, it was more like 5% sales from my personal marketing, and 95% from people just browsing the catalogue of participating books that Smashwords has. I say that because as soon as the catalogue went live, sales started flying in.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ficbot

I noticed you have a good bundle deal on your website. I am going to try and read the freebie book 1 this week so I can see if I'll enjoy it.

I hope you enjoy it. If you do, please recommend it to others.

VydorScope · 07-04-2012, 08:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steven Lake

I made 4 of my books free, including book 1 of my sci-fi series, and then marked the others down 25%.

Since the first book in my series is already free I did not jump on this, but might toss the rest in 25% off just as an experiment.

Steven Lake · 07-04-2012, 10:17 PM

Yeah, I'd do it. The sale goes off automatically at the end of July and the discount only works if they enter the coupon code. So if they forget to like a few of my buyers did, you'll still get it at full price.

SerenaFairfax · 07-07-2012, 03:05 AM

I've reduced the price of my ebooks to nil for the duration on the sale and no, I don't think they're worthless!

tonymcfadden · 07-07-2012, 06:47 AM

I can't call the Smashword promo's "sales", since they don't generate and coin in my bank. But that doesn't make them worthless.

Smashwords is one of the lowest contributors to my bottom line. I get very few real sales from Smashwords. Their distribution to Sony Apple, B&N, etc is where the value is. I did put a couple of mine at $0 for the promo and see it for what it is - a way to get eyes on my books. Amazon's kdp Select does much the same thing...

Christinaggaudet · 07-08-2012, 10:40 PM

I decided to join this sale today. Obviously it's too soon to tell if it will work for me, however I was curious about something. Will my book get added to the catalog even though I added my book well after the start date? Good luck to other authors and I'm glad to hear about some success already.

Echase · 07-09-2012, 02:38 AM

I decided to get in on it, using the 25% option. I'm curious to see how being involved in the promotion will effect sales. I'm pretty new to Smashwords, so I figured what the hey. I'm glad there was a post about this as well, I was wondering if it had been a good idea or not. It's nice to see some other indie-author's views.

VydorScope · 07-09-2012, 06:27 AM

I added my at the 50% level and got a small uptick in sales... not much though.

Steven Lake · 07-09-2012, 09:54 AM

Christinaggaudet: You should get added. If your book is already approved for premium catalogue status, as soon as you enroll it the book should show up in the list automatically.

Echase: I picked up more sales in one day than I'd had the entire previous month, so yeah, it's been a great promotional tool for me. I also combined it with some personal PR on Facebook and Twitter, so that helped too, but it's definitely been a boon for me.

Samantha Cain · 07-14-2012, 02:12 AM

I added my book to the list in hopes that it'll get into the hands of readers, which it did. Since the first of July, my downloads have nearly tripled so I'm hoping that by the power of the spoken word, people will come back to download and hopefully purchase after the sale is over

eskimo49 · 07-20-2012, 04:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samantha Cain

I added my book to the list in hopes that it'll get into the hands of readers, which it did. Since the first of July, my downloads have nearly tripled so I'm hoping that by the power of the spoken word, people will come back to download and hopefully purchase after the sale is over

I've had a few more people downloading the excerpts from my book, but not seen any increase in people buying it.

Steven Lake · 07-20-2012, 11:34 PM

Oddly enough, while the first two weeks of the sale were like a firehose in the mouth in terms of book sales, this past week has returned to normal buying levels quite abruptly. What I'm wondering is if this is normal, and if so, will there be one final push at the end of the month for those going after my other books. I say that because I've had gobloads of people downloading my free books, but a limited number getting the paid ones. So I figure it's a lot of window shoppers out looking for a good book/series to get into, and may come back later to buy the others. Or at least I hope that's the case. I'd hate to see this turn into a two week long bang and then fizzle.

rhadin · 07-21-2012, 06:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VydorScope

I added my at the 50% level and got a small uptick in sales... not much though.

I suspect that most people who look at the sale look at only the 100% and 75% discount books. I know that I always start with the 100% discount books and depending on how many I "buy", move on to the 75%. From past experience, I have learned that it makes little sense to go beyond the 75% discount because I end up with more books than I can read in several years, so why buy them.

In addition, I found in past sales that many of the 25% and 50% discount books have original prices of $4.99 and up. I have to admit that I am unwilling to spend that kind of money on an unknown author. In your case, I recall getting the first book free and lioking it enough that I immediately bought the 2 other books you had available. However, I would not have bought them without the first book being a free introduction to your writing.

rhadin · 07-21-2012, 06:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steven Lake

So I figure it's a lot of window shoppers out looking for a good book/series to get into, and may come back later to buy the others. Or at least I hope that's the case. I'd hate to see this turn into a two week long bang and then fizzle.

I think this is exactly what will happen EXCEPT that you should not expect it to happen in the immediate future. Based on my own experience, it sometimes takes me months to get to a book I've downloaded from a Smashwords sale because I "buy" all thosw whose synopsis interests me.

Steven Lake · 07-21-2012, 08:43 AM

Rhadin, that's not a problem. I know people don't read a book a day or anything crazy like that, but if the sale gets more of my books in people's hands, I'm happy. I also price the books down at $2.99 as I know I'm not a big, famous, well known author. I also know that because ebooks require no time, money or other things on my part, I can afford to take a lower income because A) I have a wider possible audience, and B) no expenses such as shipping and the like.

07-07-2012, 03:05 AM	#19
SerenaFairfax Book Author Posts: 22 Karma: 577620 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: UK Device: Kindle, Ipad	Smashwords sale I've reduced the price of my ebooks to nil for the duration on the sale and no, I don't think they're worthless!

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07-04-2012, 10:17 PM	#18
Steven Lake Sci-Fi Author Posts: 1,157 Karma: 14743509 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Michigan Device: PC (Calibre)	Yeah, I'd do it. The sale goes off automatically at the end of July and the discount only works if they enter the coupon code. So if they forget to like a few of my buyers did, you'll still get it at full price.

07-07-2012, 06:47 AM	#20
tonymcfadden Writer guy Posts: 38 Karma: 725824 Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Northern Beaches, Sydney, Australia Device: iPad	I can't call the Smashword promo's "sales", since they don't generate and coin in my bank. But that doesn't make them worthless. Smashwords is one of the lowest contributors to my bottom line. I get very few real sales from Smashwords. Their distribution to Sony Apple, B&N, etc is where the value is. I did put a couple of mine at $0 for the promo and see it for what it is - a way to get eyes on my books. Amazon's kdp Select does much the same thing...

07-08-2012, 10:40 PM	#21
Christinaggaudet Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2012 Device: Kobo	I decided to join this sale today. Obviously it's too soon to tell if it will work for me, however I was curious about something. Will my book get added to the catalog even though I added my book well after the start date? Good luck to other authors and I'm glad to hear about some success already.

07-09-2012, 02:38 AM	#22
Echase Connoisseur Posts: 85 Karma: 738414 Join Date: Jul 2012 Device: kindle	I decided to get in on it, using the 25% option. I'm curious to see how being involved in the promotion will effect sales. I'm pretty new to Smashwords, so I figured what the hey. I'm glad there was a post about this as well, I was wondering if it had been a good idea or not. It's nice to see some other indie-author's views.

07-09-2012, 06:27 AM	#23
VydorScope Wizard Posts: 3,418 Karma: 35207650 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: iPad	I added my at the 50% level and got a small uptick in sales... not much though.

07-09-2012, 09:54 AM	#24
Steven Lake Sci-Fi Author Posts: 1,157 Karma: 14743509 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Michigan Device: PC (Calibre)	Christinaggaudet: You should get added. If your book is already approved for premium catalogue status, as soon as you enroll it the book should show up in the list automatically. Echase: I picked up more sales in one day than I'd had the entire previous month, so yeah, it's been a great promotional tool for me. I also combined it with some personal PR on Facebook and Twitter, so that helped too, but it's definitely been a boon for me.

07-14-2012, 02:12 AM	#25
Samantha Cain Reader, Writer, Aquarius Posts: 12 Karma: 527856 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Nashville, TN Device: Nook Color	I added my book to the list in hopes that it'll get into the hands of readers, which it did. Since the first of July, my downloads have nearly tripled so I'm hoping that by the power of the spoken word, people will come back to download and hopefully purchase after the sale is over

07-20-2012, 11:34 PM	#27
Steven Lake Sci-Fi Author Posts: 1,157 Karma: 14743509 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Michigan Device: PC (Calibre)	Oddly enough, while the first two weeks of the sale were like a firehose in the mouth in terms of book sales, this past week has returned to normal buying levels quite abruptly. What I'm wondering is if this is normal, and if so, will there be one final push at the end of the month for those going after my other books. I say that because I've had gobloads of people downloading my free books, but a limited number getting the paid ones. So I figure it's a lot of window shoppers out looking for a good book/series to get into, and may come back later to buy the others. Or at least I hope that's the case. I'd hate to see this turn into a two week long bang and then fizzle.

07-21-2012, 08:43 AM	#30
Steven Lake Sci-Fi Author Posts: 1,157 Karma: 14743509 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Michigan Device: PC (Calibre)	Rhadin, that's not a problem. I know people don't read a book a day or anything crazy like that, but if the sale gets more of my books in people's hands, I'm happy. I also price the books down at $2.99 as I know I'm not a big, famous, well known author. I also know that because ebooks require no time, money or other things on my part, I can afford to take a lower income because A) I have a wider possible audience, and B) no expenses such as shipping and the like.