Y’all know from other articles how much I love Carolyn Howard-Johnson’s marketing advice. You also know how I love re-discovering blog articles that are as valuable today as they were the day they published.
In October 2013, Carolyn wrote an article about having fallen in love with what was then a new Kindle Select feature, called Kindle MatchBook. In fact, she classified it as a “pay it forward” feature.
Continue on to read the article (lightly edited).
I Think I’m in Love with Kindle Select’s New Program … because it’s a real service for people who love a real book but may also want to read your book as an e-book when they travel or on their screen as they work. Here’s what Amazon says about it in their newsletter:
Introducing Kindle MatchBook: A New Program to Help you Sell More Books Kindle MatchBook is an innovative new program which enables you to offer a Kindle book at a discount when readers purchase your print book. It is a great opportunity for you to sell more books. Here’s how to get started:
1. Select “Publish on Kindle” in your CreateSpace member dashboard and follow the easy steps to create your digital book with Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) or simply sign in to your KDP account.
2. Select your title on the KDP Bookshelf and check the enroll box for Kindle MatchBook on the “Rights & Pricing” page.
3. Set the discount for your Kindle book by choosing a promotional list price of $2.99 or less and “Save” your Kindle MatchBook preference.
By enrolling your book, you will be among the first to be able to take advantage of this new program. The Kindle MatchBook discount you select will not appear on Amazon.com until the program is fully launched in the coming weeks. KDP will notify you by e-mail as soon as your Kindle MatchBook discount is live. Your readers will soon have an easy and affordable way to read your book in both print and digital formats.
Visit KDP today to enroll your books in Kindle MatchBook.
So, why do I love Kindle Matchbook?
I have five reasons why I love the Kindle MatchBook.
- It rewards people who want to buy your paperback book.
- It encourages people to buy your paperback book.
- It gives you choices for your e-book (Kindle) offer—from free to $2.99.
- When you choose to set a 99 cent or $2.99 price on the e-book edition of your book, it can mean more profit (royalties) for you the author, not fewer.
- [And certainly not least] the MatchBook widget or link Amazon will place on participating authors’ buy pages means additional exposure and additional interest for your book.
Here’s an example of the power of Reason #3. Magdalena Ball and I love to have people buy our chapter books in our celebration series (http://howtodoitfrugally.com/poetry_books.htm) in paperback because the artists who have contributed to our covers and some internal photos make them into keepable little treasures that can be used as greeting cards.
BUT we also know poetry isn’t the bestselling genre on the block. Our Matchbook program for those booklets makes them all free to consumers when a paperback has been purchased.
Win-win-win, don’t you think?
About Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapter book of poetry; and how to books for writers including the award-winning second edition of The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers.
The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques.
Some of her other blogs areTheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor .