If you’re a newly self-published author, is it a good idea to offer your first ebook for free?
You’ve probably noticed on the Kindle Store that there’s always a long list of free ebooks available for readers. But is free a worthwhile marketing and promotional tool that can help your ebook sales?
For authors with a long backlist of titles, it makes more sense because one free ebook could encourage a reader to buy another title.
But if you’re a new author with only one title, will giving away your only ebook rob you of sales?
Reasons to offer your first ebook for free
Free books and ebooks have been a part of book publishing for a very long time.
Well before self-publishing, book publishers sent out copies of a new title to newspapers and book review magazines.
The simple reason was to attract attention or publicity and garner book reviews.
Little has changed, except now it’s much easier to distribute free copies of a new book, and especially ebooks.
The motives haven’t changed, though. It’s still a useful practice to raise awareness and gain book reviews.
If you’re a new author, these are the two things you need for your book to have a chance of succeeding.
A new ebook in the Kindle Store with no reviews can struggle to attract potential buyers.
One of the best ways to get reviews is to get more readers to read your ebook.
But it’s a bit “chicken and egg” because to get more readers you need reviews, and to get more reviews you need more readers.
Giving away a new ebook is one way to try to solve the problem.
Reasons to avoid going free
If you self-published with Amazon KDP, you might have ticked the option to enroll your new ebook in KDP Select.
If you did, your ebook is available to Kindle Unlimited (KU) subscribers. In a way, it’s a bit like free ebooks, but you get paid for page reads.
For KU readers, your ebook is essentially free for them to read.
That’s a much better trade-off, because if you offer your first ebook for free, you won’t earn a cent.
KDP Select enrollment also includes an option to list your ebook for free on the Kindle Store for five selected days during your enrollment period.
You could try using the option, but avid free ebook hunters abound.
While you might get a lot of downloads, your ebook could end up in a pile of a hunter’s unread ebooks.
If you self-published on other platforms or with an aggregator, you might have the option of offering free ebooks.
But it’s a little more complicated because you essentially reduce your price to zero, and hope.
On other ebook platforms, free promotions can work differently, and the results can be much less predictable.
The biggest downside is that by reducing your price to free, you won’t earn any income for all your hard work.
One newer consideration is whether freely available ebooks could be more easily accessed and used in AI training datasets, particularly when they aren’t protected by DRM.
When you combine all this, you can see that offering your ebook for free is not a clear-cut yes or no choice.
But the most obvious downside is that you don’t get paid. That’s why I prefer using KU. It’s a bit like free ebooks, but you can get paid.
How to decide on your best strategy
If this is your first book or ebook, you have no other titles to promote with a free ebook offer, so it’s not going to have much direct financial benefit for you.
The best way to make your decision is to ask yourself this question:
What do you want your free ebook to achieve?
If your answer and only goal is to make sales from this particular ebook, it won’t work. A reader who gets your ebook for free can’t buy it later.
But if your answer is to try to get more reviews, then yes, that’s a worthwhile goal.
For some new authors, hoping that a few people might read their book is enough reward.
However, your strategy may not be for only one book.
If you’re writing fiction and plan to write a series, or have ideas in mind for more books, you might be prepared to sacrifice your earnings from your first title.
That’s a practical strategy, and one where free ebooks can play a productive role in developing your reputation as an author.
For nonfiction writers, the motivations can vary. Self-help ebooks are popular, so using a first book to help build a platform is often worth the effort.
But for other nonfiction authors, the motivation is purely awareness. It might be to promote a thesis or opinion, or to support a political motive.
In cases like these, income is not a consideration at all. It’s only about spreading information or opinions and raising awareness as far and as wide as possible.
For this, free ebooks are a simple and practical way to spread the word.
Every first-time author is different, so your choices will depend on your motivations.
But free means free, so don’t take your decision lightly.
I refuse to give away my hard work.
This is a natural reaction by some new authors after spending months, or even longer, writing a book.
If this is the way you feel, it’s not wrong at all. So don’t offer free ebooks.
But you should take care with setting your ebook price to make it competitive. You could also consider discounting your ebook for a week or two to help gain more book buyers.
Conclusion
There’s no marketing or promotional rule that says you have to offer your first ebook for free.
It’s a choice, so all new authors will make different decisions.
The best way to decide is to understand why you want to make your book free, whether for a limited time or permanently.
For most new authors, though, it will be limited, and with the aim of gaining book reviews.
That’s possibly the best course of action you can take.
Related Reading: Is A Subtitle A Good Idea For Your New Book?
English teacher, writer, and author. Passionate about grammar, creative writing, and self-publishing. Always exploring new tools and tech to help writers succeed.
