Giving your eBook for Free to your list and Selling it on Smashwords!

I wouldn't do that. I would try to come up with a "Quick Start Guide" to go with the ebook. Use the quick start guide as the freebie and the ebook as the upsell

al

If it's a detailed how-to ebook, give them a light version which tells them what to do, but not how to it..

Hey Cowboy,

First, it's certainly OK to treat your list "special" by giving them a free copy of an otherwise paid product, but...

Why did you build that list in the first place? Was it to give away your products... or to make money?

I assume that you already send affiliate offers to your list. Why wouldn't you want to promote your own offers to that same list?

If you intended the product to be used as a lead generator from the outset and you're going to put it up as a free incentive to further build your list, then there is nothing wrong with also giving it to your existing list for free (you don't need them to opt-in twice).

It will help you build a stronger relationship with your existing list, but that doesn't mean that you have to give your list everything you create (i.e. products you create for sale).

If you want to treat your list "special" you can give them a discount price, rather than a totally free offer - or you can "launch" it to your existing list at an introductory price, and then offer it on other platforms afterward at an increased price.

There are many different strategies you can use, so think it through before you act. Just remember that although it is good to occasionally treat your list "special", every offer you send them doesn't have to be free (they are already on your list).

Hi CC,

I'd definitely give it away for free for a while.

Give it a chance to build some buzz before selling it. Let the folks who download it for free and love it market it for you while you promote it, expand the eBook's presence online.

Steve Scott - Kindle publishing legend - makes $30,000 a month selling $2.99 eBooks that he could easily charge $20 for if they were packaged as information products on a different digital storefront. Why does he sell 'em for 3 bucks and give 1 or 2 away for free, when the eBooks are all hyper valuable?

He knows the secret from the Social Network movie, that line Sean Parker told Mark Z: don't sell out, it's not cool yet.

Now charging a small amount for an eBook versus giving it for free is not selling out but if you think abundantly, and give it away for free for a while, you give it a chance to be cool, to be popular, because giving away massive value to an increasing # of folks lets them spread the cool buzz for you.

I had a tough time in this department for years because I had an underlying, dominant fear of losing money or losing everything.

Now I just give away my best stuff for free and then I charge for my best stuff too, and the free content sets the table for the premium stuff.

Just today I decided to give out an eBook of mine for free every Friday to my email and Push subscribers because I have 126 sitting around on Amazon anyway

Think abundance, be generous and folks will gradually create a buzz around you and your brand, bringing you to places you could never reach on your own.

Happy Publishing

Ryan

Try giving away a shortened version for free, like the first 1 or 2 chapters. Give away enough content to build up the hype, that way you give your consumer a taster of whats to come.

These first two chapters should describe the ebook in more depth and explain how the ebook will benefit the reader, and what success they will see etc.

Then link your subscribers to your publishing platform where they can purchase the book.

You can give this ebook for free but you may sell other people stuff by linking in your ebook. And, you will get a lot of subscribers. Buy, my suggestion is you will sell the ebook for at least $1.

Smashwords are okay with that I think, but I have a feeling amazon don't like you giving something away on one platform and charging on theirs.

CC

I would have two versions of the e-book one you give away has say 3/5 chapters in it that one is for the give away and have at the end of the e-book give away if they would like to have all the whole book they can buy for special price $$

This way you get rid of of all the freebie seekers on the list and will only have buyers in most cases, It used to work before and have done a few months ago and work great for me

Jason