Some people believe that eBook sales are on the decline and that print books are coming back. But that couldn’t be further from the truth! Especially for self-publishers, eBooks are a very important source of revenue. So if you notice that your eBooks aren’t selling as well as you’d like, there’s probably something more you can do.
Here are Eight Tips to Improve Your eBook Sales!
If you’ve published an eBook but it isn’t reaching the sales levels you had hoped for, there are some basic actions you can take to help boost sales.
Check out these great tips for increasing the sales of your eBooks.
#1 Get Social!
When you think of a writer, do you think of a cool, distant, misanthropic loner who no one understands?
This idea of the isolated artist might have worked back in the day, but in the age of social media, it just doesn’t cut it.
If you’re an author, you need to sell yourself just as much as you sell your book. Make sure you create an author website and take full advantage of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.
Social media is a great way to promote your eBook to people who have an interest in you. To sell your eBook, you must find your market. And there’s no better place to do this than social media platforms.
#2 Sell on All the Platforms That You Can
Most people know about the Amazon platform and similar markets for eBooks. But did you know that you could be selling on other platforms, too?
In fact, there are many platforms available. These include the following:
- Payhip
- Blurb
- Lulu
- Tradebit
- Smashwords
These are just of the few places that you can try selling your eBook. The main point to remember is this: The more channels you make your book available on, the wider the audience and potential customers you’ll reach.
Take time to research what platforms are right for your offering based on your genre and target audience. That way, you can make sure that your eBook is available to anyone who may want to read it.
#3 Give Readers a Peek
Just like traditional publishers, many eBook sellers let you provide potential readers with a preview of the contents of your book. This could be the first couple of pages or even the first chapter.
This is incredibly important to your eBook sales. In the same way, people want to thumb through the pages of a paper book at the bookstore, they also want a chance to catch a glimpse of your story before they buy it.
Providing a preview is particularly important if you’re a first-time author; people will want to read a bit of your work before they take a chance on you.
If you give would-be readers the opportunity to see if the book is for them, you have a much higher chance of them buying it.
#4 Encourage Reviews
Reviews are a critical component of any marketing strategy. In fact, there’s data to suggest 88% of consumers trust online reviews.
So, how do you get your readers to leave reviews? Encourage them! You could run a contest or reward reviews with exclusive content, like a signed book.
This is where the social media accounts we talked about earlier will come in handy. People who liked your book will try to look you up and will follow you.
You can then use your social media presence to encourage them to leave a review.
#5 Use Discounts and Contests
As we mentioned before, contests are a great way to encourage people to leave reviews. But they’re also a great way to drive eBook sales!
Getting people involved in contests—say, a hashtag contest that requires readers to post a picture of your book—is a great way to drive sales.
Another way is to use discounts. Offer followers or people on your mailing list a special code or a limited-time discount.
#Ebook reading devices are a popular holiday gift, making the #newyear a busy time for ebook sales! Get tips on promoting ebooks: https://t.co/plWWpRBTPe #bookmarketing #ebooks
— Aerio Network (@AerioNetwork) January 7, 2019
This will make them far more likely to buy the book than they would be otherwise. Providing a discount at the right time can greatly improve your eBook sales.
#6 Make Sure the Price Is Right
If your book isn’t selling, it might have something to do with the price.
In general, eBooks should be priced at less than $9.99.
Newer authors should aim towards the lower end of the spectrum. As you gain more of a fan base, people will be willing to spend more cash on your offerings, but not when they hardly know you.
A price of at least $2.99 is a good rule of thumb when you sell e-Books. You can go a little higher, but if you go any lower, you won’t be making enough to justify the costs.
It’s up to you to decide what your book is going to cost, but be careful.
#7 Know Your Audience
Marketing is all about having a target audience in mind.
If your eBook sales are low, it’s probably because you aren’t marketing to the right audience: People who actually want to read your novel.
Knowing who your potential readers represent a big step in the right direction. If you aren’t sure who your target audience is, you probably missed a critical step somewhere along the way.
Start with the expected age range for your book and move on from there. You’ll find that your eBook sales increase when you get a better idea of who you’re selling to.
#8 Judge a Book by Its Cover
This is one of the most important things you can do for your book sales.
As much as we’d like to pretend that we don’t judge books by their covers, we really do. And you need a professional looking cover if you want your eBook sales to improve.
Luckily, things are easier than ever for determined authors.
There are plenty of reasonably priced professionals out there who can use their expertise to create a book cover for you that gets results. Failing that, there are resources available to help you design a book cover yourself.
Here are some awesome covers to help get you started.
Watch This Video On Selling Ebook On Amazon
More Help to Improve your eBook Sales With These Tips
If you still want help improving your eBook sales, you’ve come to the right place.
We’re dedicated to helping authors of all forms to sell their books and pave a way to success in the professional writing world.
Getting sales isn’t easy, especially if you’re going it alone. That’s where we come in. We’ll help you share the book you’re so passionate about with the rest of the world.
We have a lot of free resources to get you started. If you like what you see, stick around! We’re going to continue offering authors great resources to improve their sales.
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