Preorders #ebooks

Recently, I read an article on The Huffington Post that was shared with me by an author friend.  The article written by Mark Coker, founder of Smashwords, discussed how preorders have helped push indie authors to bestseller lists.

He cited a few, including: Chanda Hahn's new Fable: An Unfortunate Fairy Tale, J. S. Scott's The Billionaire's Salvation, and Quinn Loftis' Sacrifice of Love.

With preorders, customers can read excerpts and place orders.  On the day of "official" sale, the customers' orders are charged against their credit cards, and the book is released to them.

Mark Coker believes that preorders will be the next big thing for indie authors.  And he believes there are several reasons why:

-higher placement on bestseller lists
-simultaneous availability
-advance marketing
-existing titles help market preorders
-capture the readers interest at the moment you have their attention
-increased on-store promotion

He also gives the author tips on how best to capitalize on preorders:

-budget an extra 4-6 weeks into your release schedule
-the book should be final or near final
-make each preorder listing a marketing event
-preorders increase odds of merchandising love
(Note:  He also believes that preorders may work best for established indie authors, but may be beneficial to new authors, too.)

Although my books haven't always been available for preorders, advanced marketing as been a tool I've used since I began on my journey as an author.  And I see the difference it makes for me when I do and don't use it as part of my promotional kit.

My first book, "Love's Chance", hit all the marketing goals for my publisher, and became a best seller for both my publisher and ARe.  Mistakenly believing I didn't have to put forth the same effort in my other releases was quickly discovered in the lower sales.  

Now, I have a regular routine of promoting my books eight to twelve weeks out using a mix of promotional tools.  It takes a lot of work and time.  But, I believe it's definitely worth it :-)

To read more of the article by Mark Coker, click here.

What do you think about preorders and advance marketing?