Wouldn’t you like to skip the middleman, reap all the profit from your book sales for yourself, and get the names and emails of your readers so you can keep in touch with them and build them into raving fans?
Well you can. But it does take more work than just putting your book on KDP.
Direct-to-Reader sales allow you to keep more profit and build closer customer relationships. You can sell e-books and paper books directly, as well as other “merch” such as cups, keychains, stickers, and anything else you think your fans might enjoy.
You don’t have to put everything you’ve written into your new store, all at once. Start small and as you become more familiar with the platforms and approaches increase your product offerings.
The easiest and least expensive thing to sell online is an e-book.
E-Book Advantages
Along with zero inventory cost, there are several advantages to starting your online store with e-books.
- Higher profit margin than with paper books
- Instant delivery
- No running to the post office or setting up a distributor to send books
- Easy to bundle, offer series discounts, and create exclusive editions
- Easy to include bonus materials not available in your KDP or Ingram Spark editions
- Lower price barriers for customer experimentation
- Selling Techniques Overview
- Bundle your print and e-book to increase the perceived value. Some people enjoy having both, or want to give one away as a gift. And you get to charge more for adding that e-book while it doesn’t cost extra. The reader gets to start reading right away.
- Special signed editions or exclusive covers cost more to print, but offering them exclusively can justify the reader making a direct purchase
- Pre-orders help gauge demand before print runs
- Consider offering free shipping thresholds to increase order value
- Offer exclusives – content, prices, or formats only available direct from you.
- Create a reader magnet – a free first book, prequel, or short story to build your email list
- Use social media strategically to drive traffic to your sales page
- Advertise your reader magnet at the back of your print and e-books as well as on your website and social media. Put a link to your store also. Consider a QR code for print books.