The Great Free Experiment

by @scottmarlowe 1/25/2012 12:38:00 PM

Right now, you can download both of my eBooks on Amazon for free.

This is an experiment to see if "free" works. I won't know the results (results being measured in real $$$ sales) until after the free period ends (tonight at midnight), so I'll have another post to discuss that.

What I do know at this point is that The Five Elements, which was not selling well even at $0.99, has gotten nearly 1,000 downloads in just 1 1/2 days of being free. The Hall of the Wood, which is free only for today, has racked up a couple of hundred downloads.

I... [More]

The Hall of the Wood: Free Today

by @scottmarlowe 1/25/2012 7:28:00 AM

The Hall of the Wood is free on Kindle today. This is a 1 day deal, so get it while you can.

My other novel, The Five Elements, is also free just for today. I decided to extend the 1 day freebie on that one into a second day because it was gaining so much momentum I didn't want to stop it. Right now, The Five Elements is sitting at #5 Epic Fantasy and has gotten over 500 downloads.

But this post is supposed to be about The Hall of the Wood.

The Hall of the Wood went free for most of the month of December and it "sold" (downloads, really) like crazy. Around 200 downloads/day, and never really showed signs of slowi... [More]

The Five Elements: Now Free Tomorrow, too

by @scottmarlowe 1/24/2012 8:39:00 PM

I'm getting such awesome results out of my 1 day KDP Select free promotion that I've decided to extend the promotion one more day. That's right: Get the The Five Elements, now ranked Top 10 in the Epic Fantasy (free) category, for $0.99 free!

How good is the promotion going so far?

How about:

  • over 400 downloads and counting as I type this
  • ranked Top 10 in the Epic Fantasy (free) category
  • ranked #693 in the "Free in Kindle Store" category

Free doesn't put any money in my pocket, but it gets my eBook onto people's Kindles. My hope is that some of those downloads will turn into reviews. Rev... [More]

The Five Elements: Free on Kindle Today Only

by @scottmarlowe 1/24/2012 7:36:08 AM

The Five Elements is free today only! Go download! It's a fun read with plenty of alchemy, sorcery, and what I like to call "pseudo-science" (which basically means I read scientific articles and journals, and then take those ideas into the fantastic).

This is a bit of an experiment. When The Hall of the Wood went free, it "sold" like hotcakes. I think the new cover had something to do with it, as well. Since going back to $0.99, it's actually selling OK—a handful of sales per day. Nothing to get excited about, but better than it was doing before the month-long free period.

I'd like to--or hoping to, anyway--see the same r... [More]