Has Anyone Tested This Business Model?

25 replies
I'm curious if anyone has tested this model.

You write a book, but give it away free online as an ebook, but charge for a printed copy of it.

This would change the fact that you are trying to sell the content of the book, What you would be selling is:

1) The convenience of having something tangible to read instead of reading from the screen.
2) The prestige of a real book
3) The benefits a real book has - can take it with you on vacation, can read it in the bed, etc.

There have been some studies done that say bookstore sales of a book increases when this model is used, but what about if you self publish.

Would enough people pay to have a real book sent to them, when they already have the information?
#business #model #tested
  • Profile picture of the author Kris Turner
    If I had an ebook that was free, I don't think I'd pay for a hard copy of it even if there was a gun to my head.

    (Perhaps I could see the point of this if it was a novel. But anything else, no way.)
    Signature

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[586291].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Sam Rodrigo
      Originally Posted by Alex Taylor View Post

      If I had an ebook that was free, I don't think I'd pay for a hard copy of it even if there was a gun to my head.

      (Perhaps I could see the point of this if it was a novel. But anything else, no way.)
      I'll second that...

      The only way I see your model working is IF you made available the first 1, 2 or 3 chapters and made it irresistible that the person had to order to get the rest of the vital info.

      Sam
      Signature
      RICH SAGE BLOG

      LOCAL AFFILIATE GOLD MINE:
      >> CLICK: BiiG NETWORK LAUNCH WSO
      <<
      SIGN UP FREE. LIMITED NICHES/LOCATIONS!
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[586303].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Mike Hill
    How about selling your digital version for $1 and then upselling them a physical DVD version with a ton of extras you'll only be able to get in the physical version.

    Tell them something like:

    "I'll prove my content is worth having on your bookshelf, were you'll be able to find it easily... instead of getting lost somewhere on your computer!... Besides all the extras I include ONLY ON THE DVD's would be a real burden on your computers memory. Don't decide right now... read my digital version to get a good taste of what I can produce for you, but I must warn you... there are only a limited number of these DVD's sitting here on my desk waiting to be mailed out to you right away. There already packaged carefully in bubble wrapped manila envelopes, I just have to write your name and address on them. So it's totally up to you to be quick enough to claim one of these DVD sets delivered straight to your door."

    Try that and see what happens!

    Mike Hill
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[586325].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author jamawebinc
      Let me just point out...This is not something I am trying right now or anything like that...I just read examples of this online and just wanted to see what some others think.

      Some of you have said you would never pay for a printed version of an e-book which you already had.

      However, consider this...say the market is made up of a lot of...older people, who are not very tech savvy, who don't want to spend a lot of time on the computer, who would much rather have a good old fashioned book they are used to, rather than some digital file.

      Sometimes I think people on this forum can get too caught up in the fact that most people on the internet are not tech savvy, are uneasy about downloading a file, etc.

      Remember, most online purchases are done through sites like amazon. For instance, even my 70 year old mother in law will purchase a book on amazon or barnesandnoble.com but she would never pay for a digital book she had to download.

      But if she read some of the book online...she would pay to have a "real book" sent to her so she could read the whole thing.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[586353].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Kris Turner
        Originally Posted by jamawebinc View Post

        However, consider this...say the market is made up of a lot of...older people, who are not very tech savvy, who don't want to spend a lot of time on the computer, who would much rather have a good old fashioned book they are used to, rather than some digital file.

        Sometimes I think people on this forum can get too caught up in the fact that most people on the internet are not tech savvy, are uneasy about downloading a file, etc.

        Remember, most online purchases are done through sites like amazon. For instance, even my 70 year old mother in law will purchase a book on amazon or barnesandnoble.com but she would never pay for a digital book she had to download.

        But if she read some of the book online...she would pay to have a "real book" sent to her so she could read the whole thing.
        If your target customer can't download a PDF, then why give them one in the first place? Just sell them a book.
        Signature

        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[586361].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author jamawebinc
          Originally Posted by Alex Taylor View Post

          If your target customer can't download a PDF, then why give them one in the first place? Just sell them a book.
          Because the entire market is not made up of 70 year old non tech savvy people.

          Some people just prefer an old fashioned book, and they always will.
          I've sold a product that has both options, but either I don't explain that well, or they don't read carefully enough...but I've had plenty of people tell me they want to order what I sell, but they want a real book sent to them, not an e-book
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[586376].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author TommyBussey
      Mike I agree with you and I'm glad you said the word "upsell." Honestly, I think the best way to sell a physical product online is selling it as an upsell. Also, I might add that you have to think about the extra burden of worrying about the fulfillment companies that you will deal with.

      Just a thought, good luck to you.

      Originally Posted by Mike Hill View Post

      How about selling your digital version for $1 and then upselling them a physical DVD version with a ton of extras you'll only be able to get in the physical version.

      Tell them something like:

      "I'll prove my content is worth having on your bookshelf, were you'll be able to find it easily... instead of getting lost somewhere on your computer!... Besides all the extras I include ONLY ON THE DVD's would be a real burden on your computers memory. Don't decide right now... read my digital version to get a good taste of what I can produce for you, but I must warn you... there are only a limited number of these DVD's sitting here on my desk waiting to be mailed out to you right away. There already packaged carefully in bubble wrapped manila envelopes, I just have to write your name and address on them. So it's totally up to you to be quick enough to claim one of these DVD sets delivered straight to your door."

      Try that and see what happens!

      Mike Hill
      Signature

      - Meet Tommy Bussey -

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1300076].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author artwebster
    but I've had plenty of people tell me they want to order what I sell, but they want a real book sent to them, not an e-book

    I'm obviously missing something here. If, as you say, you have plenty of people telling you that they want to buy a real book - why aren't you selling real books?

    You seem to have found a vein of gold but be reluctant to start exploiting it.
    Signature

    You might not like what I say - but I believe it.
    Build it, make money, then build some more
    Some old school smarts would help - and here's to Rob Toth for his help. Bloody good stuff, even the freebies!

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[587501].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Ross Dalangin
    I will pay if there's a real value and addons like some bonuses that is exclusive to the offer. A report that you can get for free like Think and Grow Rich as pdf is a good example because I can sell the ThinkGrowRichAudio version. For me, the real book and ThinkGrowRichAudio version is a great gift.

    Ross
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[587581].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author tonywarrior2
    gut feel says it would take a niche for this to work. Examples would be where the book had a high art content for example. Pure print with a fixed life - very doubtful.

    But you got me thinking and I just checked and I bought my copy of 'TS Eliot Collected Poems 1909 - 1962' in 1981, that's 28 years!!!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[587602].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author archivefive
    OK, Cory Doctorow is going to test this model, and publish the results.

    Cory Doctorow kicks off a unique publishing experiment, Doctorow's Project: With a Little Help - 10/19/2009 - Publishers Weekly

    It sounds like monetization on steroids!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1299436].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Bev Clement
    No it isn't a model which works, I mean one well known person gave away his book, and then made over a million in sales of the same book.

    Give people the option

    Buy a physical book at cost A

    Buy a ebook at cost B

    Buy both with a discount

    Guess which gets between 80% - 90% of sales
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1299465].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author KristieDean
    Would you be able to print out the ebook? If so, I would not pay for a hard copy for any reason...I'd just print out the ebook.
    Signature

    Ready for a change? Need a transformation? Read Reformat Your Life Today!

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1299971].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author ppcpimp
    why not give a chapter away for free and it point to your physical book?
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1300040].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author archivefive
    Printing out the ebook can be more expensive (not to mention bulky, unbound and unattractive) than just ponying up for a printed book. Even if you ship it off to Kinko's and have them print and bind it.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1300046].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author butters
    You can download music from places like itunes but people still buy dvd's... Some people like ebooks, downloaded music etc... some prefer physical things. Personally I never tried this but this is has been around for a long time.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1300050].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author nobodyreal
    This is the model that Vox Day used with his very popular The Irrational Atheist. He started out offering the book as a free e-book, and then after seeing the sales shoot up, he got a publishing deal. The hardcover book made it to 30 on the Amazon Bestseller list.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1300066].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Kevin Barnes
    Sell it on the kendal Marketplace! I have made good money doing this.. Most poeple don't even know about this opportunity. So, this would be one way you could take your book and sell it in another market.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1300080].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author BradCarroll
    Jama, I don't know how this works for anybody whose main income source is IM, but it's worked very well for science fiction author Cory Doctorow ( Cory Doctorow’s craphound.com News ) and, I would imagine, for a few others.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1300102].message }}

Trending Topics