Monday's Links to Writing & Marketing Blog Posts

WHAT READERS SAY ABOUT EBOOK PRICES

By: The Fussy Librarian

www.thefussylibrarian.com

Let's look at the one area that every author agonizes over -- pricing. Also known as: Are ebook readers cheap moochers who don't care if I eat ramen noodles for the rest of my life or are they willing to pay a reasonable price for this book that consumed two years and caused my children to resent me?

Question: What do you think is a fair price for a full novel in ebook format, that pays an author well, but remains affordable?

• All ebooks should be free: 6 percent
• 99 cents: 8.7 percent
• $1.99: 11.8 percent
• $2.99: 16.5 percent
• $3.99:  20.6 percent
• $4.99: 18 percent
• $5.99: 11.6 percent
• More than $5.99: 6.4 percent

Now, I think it's a mistake to look at this data and conclude, "Great, there are people willing to pay $4.99 and $5.99 for my book." You've written off 64% of readers if you do that. And that's not counting people who are turned off by the book synopsis or the cover...or maybe they see one of the "also-boughts" on your book's page and buy that book instead. (It happens. I see it every day.)

You must maximize the potential pool of buyers for your book and that means 99 cents - $1.99 - $2.99. You also need to create urgency by discounting the book, preferably 50% or more. If you sell at regular price, many readers will think, "I can buy this anytime at this price." And they defer the purchase and, then, forget about it altogether.

I also asked the question, "What's the most you ever paid for an ebook for an author new to you?" More than 36% answered $5.99 or more. But don't get seduced by the Sirens! Again, there's two-thirds of the market you've kissed goodbye. Also, "an author new to you" likely means that New York Times Bestseller that was adapted for a movie that starred Reese Witherspoon. Once you've sold a million copies, go ahead and sell at $5.99. Until then, be smart and sell at price points that appeal to the vast majority of readers.

Question: What's the most you have ever paid for an ebook for an author new to you?

. . . 

Read the full article HERE!

~*~

If you missed my writing & marketing tweets and retweets yesterday, here they are again:

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Happy writing and running, Kathy