Some insist that you have to give your first book away. Others claim that free means “worthless” and they won’t do it.
Free is good. If I’m talking to a prospective client, and I can impress them with my expertise and enthusiasm by mailing them a copy of one of my books that’s pertinent to our conversation, I’ve spent $7 on marketing to get what could be a $2,000 client. If I email them the Kindle version, I’ve spent zero.
What’s important to remember is that free isn’t a price. It’s a strategy.
Just posting a copy online with a price of zero is not strategic.
Authors who learn to love marketing will win in the long run. Marketing can feel like a slog through wet clay —wet clay flowing downhill, taking you with it. No matter what you do, how much time you spend in a million different social networks, nothing happens.
Start your marketing program the minute you decide to write a book. It can take a year or two to build a platform, your tribe of fans. Start now.
