Bad Reviews And Free

A book has very few reviews
so the writer/publisher
reduces the price
to free
with the hope
readers will review it.

I see writers do this
all the time
…usually only once.

Why only once?

Because the book
DOES receive a flurry
of reviews.
That DOES happen.

But
most of those reviews
are bad.

Why are they bad?

Because a significant number
of the readers
who grab free books,
don’t value books.

They will tell you
it is because
they don’t have money
for books.
And they’ll tell you
this
while sipping a $7 cup of coffee.

Of course, they have money
for books.
They merely don’t value
books
enough to spend
their money on them.

Another significant portion
of freebie readers
will forget the book
was free
a couple minutes
after they download it.

They’ll hold that book
up to the same standard
as any other book
they read.

Except that book
ISN’T exactly the kind of book
they normally read
or they would have bought
and read it
prior to it being free.

That means it is more likely
to disappoint those readers.

Free can still be a great strategy.
Approximately 10%
of the readers who try
one of my books for free
read a paid book.
That’s a high enough number
to make the strategy
worth it for me.

But I expect my review ratings
to decrease,
not increase for a free book.

Don’t expect glowing reviews
from the prospects
who try your product or service
for free.

Published
Categorized as Marketing