The Power of Promotions: How to Sell More Books Online

The Power of Promotions: How to Sell More Books Online

Aerio Staff

Using promotions to sell books is a great way to encourage book sales.But when does it make sense to use a promo code and what can it do foryou?

The power of promo or discount codes lies in the eventual increased booksales you're going to make. However, if all or most of those sales weremade at a huge discount, how does that affect your bottom line?

Learning how to sell more books means learning how to effectively use book marketing strategies like offering promo codes. You could end up losing money if you don'tunderstand how and when to use promo codes.

When to Use Book Promo Codes

One of the main components of book promotionis the attention your book will get from people who read and review it.Both online and word-of-mouth reviews help to create buzz about your bookthat, in turn, leads to more sales. Here's when to use them.

  • With family and friends. Your friend from college is more likely to read and review your new novel if you provide her with a nice discount. Send your friends and family members a one-time use promo code for a discounted copy as soon as you're ready to start shipping; you don't have to wait for the book launch party!
  • When you launch your book. Whether you have a grand launch party and/or create a strategic online launch event, make your discount codes available during the kick-off. Promo codes are a great way to thank your loyal readers and earn new fans.
  • During trade shows and other events. Generate codes that are specific to the trade show, writing conference, or other event so you can keep track of the events that generate the most sales. This can help you tailor your book marketing strategy for future events.
  • In exchange for book reviews. Readers are usually happy to review your book online if they've gotten a good book at no cost, so consider using codes that discount your book all the way down to "free" for these particular readers. Be strategic about finding the best reviewers by searching for appropriate bloggers, approaching them one at a time, and following up with each one without being rude, anxious, or aggressive. (If you have to beg, it's not worth it!)
  • With contests and giveaways. If you’re hosting an online contest or giveaway, a promo code is a user friendly way to award your winners, while also generating a buzz. Plus, unique codes help you track how many copies you end up giving away.

What Promo Codes Can Do For You

Discount codes work for readers because people who buy your book using apromo code will save money. But what do they do for you?

  • Entice new readers. The more readers you can entice to purchase your book with a code, the more books you sell. People love getting a deal, and you love reaching more readers. When you offer promo codes, everybody wins!
  • Create book buzz. If you limit the duration of your ecommerce website promotions, people will be encouraged to buy during that time. An increased amount of readers at one time gets them talking about it online, creating a buzz of heightened interest in your book that could go viral!
  • Increase online discoverability. Unless you're already a traditional publisher's darling, Hollywood celebrity, or infamous criminal, your book and your name might not be trending keywords on Twitter (yet!) - especially if you've just published your very first book. Offering discount codes gets your book out there, both as an online presence and literally in the hands of readers, ultimately generating more online impressions that push you to the top of online search results.
  • Generate helpful data. Use unique discount codes for each trade show, online bookstore promotion, or other book promotion event to track sales and customer data. Google Analytics and Facebook Audience Insights offer tools to help you track data that can inform your book marketing strategy. Data analytics can show you where to use cross promotion, when to offer promo codes, where to target your marketing, who buys books like yours, and more.

Where to Get Started

Aerio offers tools that can help you designate price, start date, and enddate for each customized promo code you set up. If you want to sell morebooks online, supplement your book marketing with Aerio, and our helpfulbuilt-in promo code feature!