How to Use eBooks to Promote Your Next Book

How to Use eBooks to Promote Your Next Book

Aerio Staff

There are a lot of books out there. How do you stand out from the rest?

How can authors and publishers promote their books in a simple way that won’t annihilate their budget?

Give away ebooks.

Now this isn’t to say just start handing out full ebooks like candy. eBooks are an excellent format that many people enjoy, but when it comes to marketing and promoting books, ebooks can also be an excellent means to more sales. The idea here is to harness the flexibility of this digital medium, to find unique ways to promote:

  1. A completed book
  2. A series of books
  3. A book your about to publish
  4. A book you haven’t started

eBook Giveaway Ideas

Digital mediums, like ebooks, offer an added element of flexibility. You are open to multiple approaches because the content is presented in such a malleable way.

Book promotion with ebooks can take shape in a variety of ways. Here are a few of the most useful ones you may want to consider:

Give away an ebook with teaser chapters from a current or upcoming book. This method of book promotion gives your readers a preview of what’s inside the full book and should generate interest and increase exposure. This could also prompt an actual purchase.

Give away an ebook as a supplement to a current or upcoming book. Here you have the chance to be a bit more creative with your content or subject matter. Provide an in-depth background on a secondary character. Pick a specific point to elaborate on. Think of this as a behind-the-scenes look.

Give away an ebook to give readers an idea of your style. This is a great option for authors, but can also work for publishers trying to market books from a debut author or a series they’d like to promote.

Give away an ebook to gauge an audience’s interests. Use giveaways as an opportunity to do a bit of market research. Gather data and demographics on who downloads the books you give away and adjust your own sales strategies accordingly.

Why ebook Giveaways?

We know. You’re thinking “Why would I give away my content? Isn’t that the opposite of what I am trying to accomplish?”

Not necessarily. Two reasons.

  1. eBooks are a low investment.
  2. People like free stuff.

Like we stated, ebooks are flexible. They give you more formatting options, they are easier to create than a print book, and distribution is much easier.

Aside from outright book promotion, ebook giveaways can also do some pretty great things for your branding and bottom line:

  • Customers will remember your generosity and come back
  • eBook giveaways increase your social traffic and word-of-mouth
  • Giveaways have actually shown to help increase sales

Still don’t believe us? According to an article from Business Insider, a free ebook does have viability as a smart book marketing tactic, especially in the case of Andy Weir’s The Martian.

Andy Weir’s The Martian

Did you know The Martian was a book before it was a Matt Damon blockbuster? Of course you did. What you may not have known was author Andy Weir originally published his story in a serial format on his website—for free.

As the book’s popularity grew, fans asked him to make the entire book available online. Weir uploaded the book to Amazon and set the price at 99 cents. 35,000 sales later he sold printing rights for $100,000. And as they say . . . the rest is history.

In this example we see the power of free, coupled with a pricing adjustment tantamount to free. All online. All in an ebook.

So yes, free works. If you are looking for a way to promote your next book, give this simple and creative marketing tactic a try.