08-28-2012, 09:29 PM | #1 |
Spits infinitives
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Smashwords preview vs purchase
Hi
I recently published to Smashwords, among a few others. Smashwords has yet to send my book to anyone but iBooks but they also have a certain readership on the site itself. What I like about Smashwords is that they show how many people viewed the preview as well as those who purchased. After about a week there, I show 26 previews viewed and only one sold. Does anyone know what the ratio would be of the number of people checking out previews to buyers? I'm starting to think my preview REALLY sucks and that's not very encouraging. Would be nice if Amazon counted preview lookers, too. |
08-29-2012, 12:22 AM | #2 |
Defender of Consciousness
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I have sold 27 book on smashwords (*most given away) and 48 previews, in threeish months. So about 55% sales* to samples. I'm certian at least 7 of the people read the book. And I'm still sure it's the best book ever!
It will take some day to get the people from the preview to the sale. I'm begining to learn the selling is the biggest part of this gig. But I'm also learning I love writing more for the art than the adulation. Have fun, Jan |
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08-29-2012, 06:45 AM | #3 |
Wizard
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Just looked at mine... they are about 4:1. Not sure if that is good/bad though.
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08-29-2012, 01:07 PM | #4 |
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08-29-2012, 01:37 PM | #5 |
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08-29-2012, 01:53 PM | #6 | |
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Quote:
I just started this whole indie-thing and it's very hard not to get discouraged. Doing a LOT of research and as much marketing as I can, but Kindle sales are sluggish, Smashword STILL hasn't sent the book to B&N, iBook hasn't replied yet, Kobo just posted it yesterday and their search engine pretty much assures that no one can find anything there. All of this should tell me that it's too soon to start worrying, but it's hard. I've had 79 views on Best Indie Books, I guess because it's still on their front page, but I have no idea what their click-through ratio is. So I appreciate your words |
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08-29-2012, 02:01 PM | #7 |
Wizard
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The biggest lesson I had to learn (I am working on my forth self-pub novel) is that EVERYTHING in this industry goes slowly. For ADHD types like me it is EXTREMELY frustrating.
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08-31-2012, 05:53 AM | #8 |
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My free story has gotten steady attention. No sales, obviously, but 200 downloads and it's in 11 "libraries" at Smashwords. No feedback from any other sites, but I wasn't expecting any from a free story.
My $.99 story has gotten one sale (but a nice review!). I'm not too worried. It's a short story, and I suppose people have to think before spending on a quick read. I'm going with the theory that the ball will start rolling when I have a critical mass of work available. I hope. Both of my stories appeared at Itunes in about 2 weeks after getting into the Premium Catalog, and were at Barnes & Noble within about 10 days of showing up on Itunes. Good luck, BTW! Last edited by cromag; 08-31-2012 at 06:03 AM. |
09-04-2012, 09:43 PM | #9 |
Groupie
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Give it time. Once your work gets out to the other distributors, sales will increase. I've gotten 100x my Smashwords sales at B&N, Kobo, and Apple.
To answer your original question, my sales to previews ratio is about 10:1 for most of my books, but I have one that has 60 previews and 2 sales, so I've got you beat. |
09-04-2012, 09:44 PM | #10 |
Groupie
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Yeah, I had to limit myself to checking my accounts at Smashwords and Amazon to once a week only. Some of my Smashwords affiliate reports are 3 months behind.
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