I’ve spent over 20 years trying just about every possible way you can think of to sell a book. From PR firms to book signings to social media to email newsletters—if someone has sold a book doing it, I’ve probably tried it.
Over and over again, however, there is one key strategy that has resulted in more sales, readership growth, and overall engagement than any other—giving the book away. For free. You heard right. 🙂
This strategy grew out of an intense need to quickly generate sales. It was 2002, and the author/speaker I manage, Andy Andrews, and I had finally gotten his first fiction manuscript published after being turned down 51 times over a period of three years.
At this point, we had already self-published a series of books called Storms of Perfection and sold over 600,000 copies, mostly from back-of-the-room sales at speaking events. Even with that success, it had still taken us three years to find someone to publish Andy’s manuscript, which was called The Traveler’s Gift. When Thomas Nelson Publishers finally gave us a contract, we were elated.
We’d made it! All we had to do was sit back and watch people flock to the bookstores, right?
As you can probably guess, we were dead wrong. The books sat on shelves for six months before retailers started sending them back to the publisher. With our dream quickly crumbling in front of our faces, we had to do something. So we did the only thing we could—we started sending out copies to every friend, associate, and acquaintance we had.
That’s when something crazy happened.
At this time, Oprah had just stopped doing her book club, which gave Good Morning America the perfect opportunity to start their own. Somehow, one of the people we sent a copy of The Traveler’s Gift to knew Robin Roberts, one of the hosts of Good Morning America. The book was passed along to Robin, she loved it, it became the second selection of GMA’s book club, and promptly hit the New York Times bestseller list for 17 weeks.
Tweetables –
- Learn how Andy Andrews got into a national book club. His strategy can work for you! – Click to tweet.
- Want to get your book into the hands of readers? Give it away. – Click to tweet.
- What do you think? / The Book Marketing Strategy Every Author Must Implement. – Click to tweet.
- If you write a book, people will automatically rush to buy it…right? – Click to tweet.
- How to do a book-giving campaign if you are releasing an ebook. – Click to tweet.
How You Can Do Your Own Book-Giving Campaign
Since the giving strategy went so well with The Traveler’s Gift, we have fine-tuned our giving process for every subsequent release. While it hasn’t always resulted in a New York Times bestseller, it has always resulted in positive things like:
- Bulk orders – You only have to get a copy of your book in one pair of the right hands in order for something great to happen. Footing the bill to send out a few hundred books is always worth it if you can get an order of 1,000 books out of it.
- Legitimate Amazon reviews – Some of the most incredible reviews we’ve ever received have come from people who received a free book.
- New readers – Encourage those to whom you send a free book to pass it along to a friend when they’re done. Word of mouth is still the best form of marketing you could ever hope for.
- Gratitude – At the very least, this gives you a chance to do something kind for your friends, family, and associates. It’s a GREAT alternative to throwing one of those awkward book release parties where someone invites all of their friends to come over and buy the book they just released. I promise that what you get out of giving will be 100 times better than a couple handfuls of sales from the last people you should make pay for your book.
- Media – Don’t hesitate sending a package to bloggers, podcast hosts, radio stations, etc. Most of them love receiving free stuff. If they like your stuff, they’re usually happy to help spread the word any way they can.
Now that you know the good that can come from doing your own giving campaign, here are the steps you need to take in order to make it the best it can be:
1. Personalize every book. Sure, it’s a little time consuming, but this really shows you took some time and consideration to the person on the receiving end. It is always a WOWing experience to receive a surprise package containing a free personalized book.
2. Include a letter in every package. Write a simple letter expressing gratitude to the recipient. Be sure to sign it by hand. You can send the same letter to everyone, but be sure to write the actual name of each person in the salutation.
3. Ask each recipient to take a specific action. Do NOT be afraid of this one! Most people are happy to take a couple minutes and do any of the following examples:
- Ask them to leave an Amazon or any other kind of online review, good or bad.
- Ask them to tweet a picture of the book (or post it to Facebook).
- Tell them where and how they can get additional copies for friends.
Just be sure not to go overboard and ask to do TOO much. It is best to stick with one action.
4. Get creative. Always ask yourself what one more thing you could do to make this an incredible experience for the person on the receiving end.
Is there anything else related to your book that you could include? What “Kickstart-esque” rewards could you throw in the package?
In the past, we’ve done bookmarks, postcards, wristbands, and more.
How to Do a Giving Campaign If You’re Releasing an eBook
All of these ideas can be applied to digital-only releases as well. Instead of sending a package, send a personal email that includes the digital version of your book.
In many ways, it’s actually easier to get people to spread the word online by asking through an email, since they’ll already be at their computer when they receive it. Just be sure to make it simple. If you ask them to leave an Amazon review, include a link to the Amazon page.
If you ask them to tweet about the book, suggest something they can easily copy/paste or use a service like Click to Tweet.
You can still get creative online. Record a quick “thank-you” video to include in every email. Include a second digital copy and tell them it’s theirs to give to a friend (we’ve done this in physical mailouts as well and experienced great results).
What Do You Think?
- Have you tried a giving campaign for any of your releases? How did it go?
- Do you have any questions about how to implement your own giving campaign?
- Are you planning on doing your own giving campaign now? If so, let us know how it goes!
Thanks soooo much to Author Media for the opportunity to guest post! Will be checking in throughout the day to answer any questions. 🙂
Robert, around 2003 my Dr Phil 🙂 reached out to you after Andy’s great success and great PBS Special. You gave us such great advice, then you sent us a boatload of Andy’s books. We’ve never forgotten that and always recommend Andy’s books. We also try to pay it forward because of your great example. We, now one of your cheerleaders, are living proof your generosity principle works.
That’s awesome, Jennifer!! Soooo glad to hear that you have enjoyed Andy’s stuff, and thank-YOU for continuing to help spread the word!
Thanks for the tips! I’ve given out a whole heap of ebooks via KDP select, but since that tactic no longer seems to get the results it used to, it’s great to read about some new approaches. I particularly like the idea of sending out the free ebook, together with an extra copy for them to give to a friend.
Marissa, I’d looove to hear the results you get if you try the two-copy strategy. It is always a HUGE wow factor for the person on the receiving end. Thanks for reading!
Super helpful post! For the ebook giveaway, the thing I struggle with is what format to send in the email. I have image heavy books, so they go direct from .mobi to Amazon…I don’t have them in Word or PDF.
Also, I can’t find a direct answer on whether a public ebook giveway or just a single gift ebook is against KDP guidelines.
Thoughts?
Thanks, Erin! As far as KDP and Amazon go, I am not sure…I’ve never enrolled in KDP. I would send them an email and check.
Would you be able to send the .mobi file in your giveaway and include instructions or a short screen capture video on how to get the file onto their ereader?
I have done a bunch of freebies through iTunes and KDP select. Despite being downloaded hundreds of times, they have not resulted in any reviews.
Recently I had two Goodreads Giveaways for “Online Content Marketing In 30 Minutes” and “Excel Basics In 30 Minutes.” For each paperback that was sent out, I included a handwritten thank-you note and a request for a review on Goodreads or elsewhere. The Excel book (distributed about 10 days ago) has already gotten one Goodreads review, while the Online Content Marketing title (sent out Tuesday) has received several ratings but no reviews. I’ll be checking the results over the next few weeks, as people finish the books (shouldn’t take long; they’re designed to be read in 30 minutes!)
The next giveaway strategy involves contacting the media, especially local television. The anecdote above is encouraging.
Ian Lamont
Founder, In 30 Minutes guides
Awesome, Ian! It’s great that you’re putting the work into trying out so many different angles. Looooove that you did a handwritten thank-you note.
One thing you could add would be a follow-up email to each recipient (if you have their email addresses) with a reminder and a link to the review page.
Thanks for reading!
Absolutely agree! Some of the best comments on my novel (Moe) came from those to whom I sent a copy (with a note). Can’t say that I sent it in a package with a bow, per the picture here.
One thing that puzzles me is how difficult it is to get folks to write a review (unless you’re willing to buy them, as John Locke did). Do you have any suggestions for accomplishing that?
And now that giveaways are pretty common (esp. with e-books), I wonder how many of the free downloads actually get read. People are instinctively drawn to something that’s free–but do they do anything with it? Often, I think not.
Jim, I have found that, most of the time, the key is simply to ask! Usually more than once.
When you send someone a copy, include a short request for a review. After they’ve had a week or two, email them and ask nicely again.
And you hit the nail on the head with giveaways. If you want someone to read what you’re giving them, you MUST communicate the value they will get out of it. Also, if you’re delivering the comment through email, always have a series of emails that follow up and ask them what they thought of the book. Not only do those serve as reminders, but you’ll also get some amaaaaazing feedback from those who have already read!
This resonates with me so deeply. I can’t wait to finish my book on DID, “Divine Identity Divided…” I’m going to send a copy to every mental health professional I know! What a great idea. Thank you!
Hi Allison, I love your book title. I pray that you will have success and favor with your book.
My wife and I work with people struggling with various issues. For some reason the Lord has been sending people to us who struggle with DID. I thought about including a character in my current book with this disorder but it is a western and seemed difficult to work into that time period when it was an undiscovered disorder.
Blessings,
Jim Stow
Thanks for the great ideas. My book, “The Hidden Half of the Gospel: How His Suffering Can Heal Yours” is coming out at the end of July/beginning of August, so this is great timing for me. My book shares how the negative thoughts lead to negative feelings, leading to negative behaviors. And we tend to focus on changing the behaviors, never addressing the belief systems behind the behaviors.
And even more importantly, how Jesus, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Isaiah, Paul, Peter and the writer of Hebrews included suffering as part of the gospel/part of the plan of salvation, even as the disciples rejected Jesus’ message about His suffering before the cross. I share real life stories of people who have been abandoned, betrayed, physically and sexually abused, addicted and rejection…and how Christ suffered in all these ways so He could identify with them. And how that can change hearts as we pray Christ’s story into the person’s story.
When I work with sexual abuse (and I work with it a lot), I can share a Jesus who was stripped naked, physically violated, shamed and humiliated by the men in power of Him, who should have been protecting Him. This creates a powerful connection right away. And that connection gives them an anchor of hope for the journey of healing, freedom and discipleship.
Sharing the e-book as a gift, with a way for them to share 1 copy with someone else is wonderful! I’ll just have to figure out the technology for that… and the comment about not having people buy the book was great as well…no need to have family and friends feeling pressure to buy the book. This article is a real blessing.
Hey Robert,
I really appreciated this post. I’ve got an ebook (with POD option) coming out this fall and I’m going to try some of your strategies.
What’s your opinion on the early 2000s fad of giving away ebooks on day 1 to boost sales? I’ve heard of publishers who are moving away from that because they’re finding it does not significantly increase sales.
One editor of a house I was trying to sell a book to literally said, “When we do that, we end up just giving several thousand books away and getting nothing for them in return.” This was not a small house either–they’re a subsidiary of one of the big NY houses.
I’ve also read that price manipulation (raising and lowering the price to move books up in the rankings) is a good idea as well. Have you done anything with that?
Anyway, just curious as to what you think. Great post.
I went on FB & asked ones who had commented on my book to go review it on Amazon as I needed 15 reviews to do a promotion I wanted to do. Was I surprised! I went from 2 reviews to 17 in a couple days. It works to ask.
I haven’t given away a lot of my paperbacks, but they were appreciated by the family at my book launch, a Christian radio station that did a really nice interview, our local hospital, a few friends, and others.
Wonderful helpful post. My 1st book has been out 2 years now. I was scared to death of giving away a book. I’m just now realizing there’s really benefit in it. Thanks.