You can’t just write an eBook and expect people to buy it or download it.
Distribution and promotion are key to your publication’s success.
Why? Because if your consumers/buyers/readers/audience can’t access your book, they’re never going to read it. Different people choose different media to consume content. You have the guy on the train reading his Kindle during his morning commute, the gal on her iPhone waiting for the bus, and the hundreds of people sitting on their computers using various web browsers.
Most people publish eBooks in a simple .pdf file that can be used online or in print. And that’s not quite…enough.
But not all people are stuck in the days of downloadable .pdfs and print.
Brad Feld, managing director at Foundry Group, a venture capital firm focused on investing in early-stage information technology companies, thought ahead when he published his 2012 eBook, Burning Entrepreneur: How to Launch, Fund, and Set Your Startup on Fire.
The Innovative Tactics Brad Feld (Notorious for “Hating Marketing”) Used to Promote His Book
- His book is available digitally in .pdf, on Barnes & Noble Nooks, on Amazon and the Kindle, and displays on iPhones, iPads, Android phones, and 100+ other sites.
- It’s promoted internationally with publishing partners in Korea and China. (Talk about global content strategy!)
- And, after purchasing his $4.99 eBook, readers have the opportunity to send a free digital replica to up to three friends or family members. User-generated promotion, boom.
That’s impressive.
We’ve named Feld our Master of Promotion for his brilliant tactics in publishing his eBook to various platforms.
“It’s one thing to publish an ebook, it’s another thing to promote and sell it,” Feld says. “Don’t lose sight of that.”
This Wasn’t Feld’s First eBook Rodeo
“It’s one thing to publish an ebook, it’s another thing to promote and sell it.” @bfeld
Feld isn’t a newcomer to eBook publishing. He actually has several books under his belt, and (with his partners at Foundry Group) has also recently started his own publishing company, FG press.
He says the secret to eBook success (whether it’s his own or his company’s) is wide publicity.
“Being available on a broad number of platforms, including all digital ones we can find, is a key part of what we are doing,” Feld said in an email to Kapost.
And it’s working.
Burning Entrepreneur has been purchased at least 8,000 times, with 10,000 unique page views stemming from the HyperInk site, a fraction of the total page views on “Amazon and the 100+ other channels that we distribute to,” said Kevin Gao, co-founder of HyperInk which published Burning Entrepreneur.
What else are the best of the best doing when it comes to publishing eBooks? Learn their secrets in Masters of the eBook. It breaks down exceptional examples of data illustration, the table of contents, psychographic targeting, and more into actionable steps that will make your eBook better.