We’ve been talking about the incredibly useful freebie you can offer to your audience from your website. This is, perhaps, a free ebooklet of 10 to 50 pages or so that provides information, resources, ideas, tips, techniques, etc. related to the theme/topic of your nonfiction book.
Today, we’ll cover how to promote that freebie—how to entice people to download it from your website. And why do you want to promote something that is free—what will you get out of it anyway?
First, let me say that anything that will put your name before your particular audience is a good marketing move, don’t you think? People are more apt to buy a book by someone they have at least heard of. If they are interested in your topic and they find your free ebooklet informative or, in some other way, of benefit to them, they are more apt to buy one or more books that you have written. They are more inclined to consider any services you offer.
People LOVE getting something for free. Here’s an illustration of that point—I’ve been able to attract somewhere between 300 and 500 people to my site over the past year or so to download my free ebooklets. And most of these people had never heard of Patricia Fry. Sure, I go out and speak to hundreds of people throughout the US every year. I personally meet another hundred or two at book festivals each year. I also get exposure as the director of SPAWN and through the articles I write for a variety of writing/publishing publications. I have several books for authors and they are everywhere. But, still, many of the people who learn about my free offer of an ebooklet have not heard of me or my books.
They come to my website for the freebie and learn something about me and my work in the process. Not only does my website give them a peek into who I am and what I do—depending on how long they stay there—but the freebie, while it is highly informational, also promotes me and my work.
Okay, so how do you promote the freebie? Pretty much the same way you promote your books and/or your services. You go where your audience is. I promote my freebie through some of the articles I write for various publications they read. I promote it in this blog and when I am guest blogger. I tell folks about it when I speak. I announce it in the discussion groups I belong to and my member organization newsletters. I mention it in materials I hand out at book festivals and so forth. I talk about it when I do a podcast or webinar. I promote it through my social media pages. Some of my friends are promoting it, too. Even those who have downloaded my freebies sometimes promote it. I had someone stand up during a talk I was giving at a conference earlier this year and say, “You must go to Patricia’s site and download this free ebooklet. It is fabulous.” She had a copy of it right there with her. This was my freebie, “50 Reasons Why You Should Write That Book.” It’s now for sale at my website for $3.95.
You could also mention it on your business card. Business cards are so inexpensive to produce these days, you might create one just to hand out to those folks you think might be interested in your freebie. Leave a few of them at your local business center, print shop, library, bookstores, art center, and so forth.
Would love to hear from those of you with additional promotional ideas I haven’t mentioned here. PLFry620@yahoo.com
Have you visited my amazon.com page to see my latest book? What do you think of the cover design? Why not be among the first to order this unique and highly useful book—well, highly useful to anyone who is promoting or will soon be promoting a book. Type in the title of the book AND my name: Talk Up Your Book—Patricia Fry.
Here’s access to my current freebie—50 Ways to Promote Your Ebook.
http://www.patriciafry.com