Guest Blog — Cherish D’Angelo

Cherish D'Angelo

Why Every Author Should Give Away Their Books

I believe that a great marketing strategy for authors is giving away books. For free! Hold on, now before you get your panties or boxers or thong in a bunch, let me explain and clarify my statement. I believe that a great marketing strategy for authors is giving away one or more of their books during special promotions throughout the year as a way to attract new readers.

I don’t believe writers should give away all of their books all of the time―unless they can afford to do so and really want to. It’s really their choice. But I do see the promotional strategy and opportunities that can arise from giving away a book or ebook here or there.

Let’s face it; the bottom line for all writers is that we want readers. With the rapidly expanding ebook and independent publishing markets in today’s industry, there is a huge amount of competition. New ebook retailers are springing up like dandelions. Prices for ebooks are dropping; many are below $5 and some are free. So how does an author compete in order to gain a piece of the pie?

When an author gives away a book, they’re gaining a potential fan. There’s a good chance that this fan may go one to buy one or more books from that author. They may even buy books as gifts. Perhaps they’ll even write and post a rave review of the book on Amazon, Chapters etc. Word of mouth SELLS books and by giving away books, the author will get more word of mouth.

How much does it cost the author? That will depend on how many you give away and whether they’re print books or ebooks. For print, authors must consider the cost of the book plus shipping costs. For ebooks, giving them away for free doesn’t cost the author anything, so this is the best marketing strategy.

You can spend a lot of money advertising your books in magazines, newspapers, online etc, or you can attract readers by offering them a free read.

The bottom line: do you want your books to sit on a shelf in your office waiting for people to buy them or do you want to get them into the hands of readers?

Lancelot’s Lady ~ A Bahamas holiday from dying billionaire JT Lance, a man with a dark secret, leads palliative nurse Rhianna McLeod to Jonathan, a man with his own troubled past, and Rhianna finds herself drawn to the handsome recluse, while unbeknownst to her, someone with a horrific plan is hunting her down.

Lancelot’s Lady is available in ebook edition at KoboBooks, Amazon’s Kindle Store, Smashwords and other ebook retailers. Help me celebrate by picking up a copy today and “Cherish the romance…”

You can learn more about Lancelot’s Lady and Cherish D’Angelo (aka Cheryl Kaye Tardif) at http://www.cherishdangelo.com and http://www.cherylktardif.blogspot.com. Follow Cherish from September 27 to October 10 on her Cherish the Romance Virtual Book Tour and win prizes.

Have you ever received a book for free? Did you tell your friends or family about that author?

Leave a comment here, with email address, to be entered into the prize draws. You’re guaranteed to receive at least 1 free ebook just for doing so. Plus you’ll be entered to win a Kobo ereader. Winners will be announced after October 10th.