Anyone have any ideas? Base it off your competitors or other books in the space? - What if you are the first mover and nothing else really exists? Set a random price based off the buyers IP? Do the Radio Head pricing model of a voluntary amount for the first 100 sales and set a price off of the average of that? Ask how to set the price in a forum? Any other ideas? Thanks everyone!
I would make the price to be set at low, say $17 or $10 while starting and upto 10 or 20 or 30 sales, that's the seller wish, right? Now, as the time goes and you notice that the ebook is gaining popularity and people are making some noise about it, rise it steadily. But, dont be over enthusiastic and price it exorbitantly. Hope you got my point.
Random price by IP is not a good idea since many users surf with dynamic IPs. Maybe not in the US but if you intend to sell globally this comes into effect. You can start with a higher price ($37), build a list of prospects (autoresponder) and offer discounts to those who haven't bought after a few days/weeks.
is it already published book or just an e-book that's written for a particular audience? it has many strategies.. though..
See... what you ebook can do based on that keep the 10% of the price... like said your ebook can help people to make $100 per day or the information you are sharing with them is worth $500 gain to them... then keep your price 10% of this... Also, to keep in mind the following table... Gain: $100 price: 10% of it If Gain More $150 price should have be at highest: $15 per ebook Hope it helps...
Last time I had to price my ebook, I based it off what similar ebooks are going for. Then, I chopped off a good 20-30% since I was the new kid on the block. Another thing you could do if to a split test. Market the ebook for two different prices and see which price sells better.
I have one that sells well at $37. The next in that series will be priced at $27 because it will be a bit shorter (but also a valuable workbook for my niche so I'm not going to underprice it either). Then I have another coming out based on a blog post series I did which will only be $9.97. It depends on what you're offering and who you're offering it to. You have to evaluate each e-book on a case by case basis to price them. Seeing where competitors are could help, but I wouldn't rely on it too much. I'd worry more about whether or not you're giving new information or just rehashed content they can get elsewhere (which is what a lot of e-books are).
The book is currently an e-Book that is unique in its content. Unfortunately I don't have any other books to base it off of that are of the same subject matter. I am convinced that the material is all new and not rehash of other stuff on the internet. I am a new writer... I like the idea of pricing the book as a percentage of what can be gained from it. BUT is it the daily gain, weekly gain, monthly gain? What time frame do I use? I also like the idea of slowly inflating the price until I reach the ceiling but I am afraid that I have a relatively limited audience... Thanks everyone for the comments and suggestions. This definitely helps.
I got this in an email from one of my favorite professors and thought it was of value for this conversation: “Expected†price for books: $15-$30 (perceived benchmark) “Value†someone will get from reading your book (i.e., how much money can they make?) (you should know). “Cost†of your time (what you’d like to make back). Then, pick a number! Do an experiment for elasticity (if you raise the price, do people still buy?) Go for it!
The expected price for books has absolutely nothing to do with the expected price for e-books. 1. People will pay a premium for the instant content (as opposed to waiting for a book to be delivered or having to go to the store). Convenience comes at a price (at least if you know how to take advantage of it well). 2. E-books will often sell fewer copies than print books, so you might have to charge more to make it worth the time investment (depends on length and the editorial standards you have in place though). 3. E-books also often cover topics that become irrelevant quickly -- topics print books couldn't cover well because too many things in the industry could change between the writing and publication date. Since they're often on the market for a shorter period of time, that's another reason not to set the price as low as some print books -- you won't be earning from them as long, at least not without investing more time in releasing updated versions.
You can split test until you bleed, but no matter how you look at it, most are not going to pay over, say, $25, as an example. And there are a lot of lazy procrastinators, so you can give value all day long, but you still have to get them up off their butt to go get their credit card. So, with that in mind, keep it under $25, or as close to $20 as you can, AND give value. It's pretty simple, if you look at it like that.
There's no single maximum price point, $25 or otherwise, and if someone has the credentials and a good market that enables them to charge more, then they shouldn't feel limited. Everything depends on the niche and the market being targeted. Everything.
It makes sense in the real world too.... I sell one successfully at $37 with no problem. I have a colleague who sells several at $47 quite successfully. I know others who sell very successfully at closer to $100. If you have the credentials so people are willing to pay to read what you write in a niche, and you know your market well, you can absolutely charge more than $25. For the bulk of e-books you might be right (the bulk of them are complete crap anyway, and $25 is overly generous). But it's not a hard rule, and certainly doesn't apply to everyone. It's up to the OP to figure out whether the information they're providing is worth more and whether or not $25 is the maximum price for their particular market.
I understand, but here's the thing: You may get sales, but how many pass on it??? An author selling it between $20 to $25, and show value, along with free samples, tips will sell more. You have to remember that in adition to that, there are a lot of lazy procrastinators, and a lower price is one of the ways to get them off their butt. But I have a feeling we are going to have to agree to disagree. ~ What are the url's As a marketer and PR person, I am always interested on such subjects. Jesus, I sound like a nerd.
Probably. I'm not saying your advice is "bad" or always "wrong" -- in fact, what you're saying is probably quite true given the mediocre nature of most e-books that seem to be out there and the overly broad markets they have a tendency of targeting. That's my point though -- it depends on the market. It's not always about selling the largest quantity possible to the broadest market possible, and doing so at a lower price. Many markets (including my own -- targeting freelance writers who want to earn a significant income writing online) are not huge. There are no grand numbers of buyers. It's more about reaching a certain saturation level than a certain number of buyers, and when you target a narrower market (often better for your career when your e-books are also platform pieces that help to sell your higher-priced services) you can, and must, charge more to profit well when you reach that saturation point. When you target well, you also don't find as many cheapskates trying to hold onto a buck. When you have a reputation in the niche and people know the information isn't just rehashed crap from ezinearticles or something, but rather content that's going to help them truly grow their careers, I've found they're quite willing to treat it as an investment. Experiences are going to vary, as ours do, based on the markets we work in. The target market should influence every aspect of your marketing mix, including price. For the bulk of folks, your advice would come into play. For the OP though, it might or might not. They have to understand their market in order to determine that, and that's all I've been trying to say. Angela Booth comes to mind. Run a search. She's got too many for me to remember them all, and they're at their own sites. She's an authority in the freelance writing niche, and has the ability to charge well because of it. Most of hers that I've seen are $37-47.