I recently uploaded Turf Wars to Smashwords. Almost immediately sold a couple of copies and had some free downloads. But does anyone have any long-term experience with this marketing?
I recently uploaded Turf Wars to Smashwords. Almost immediately sold a couple of copies and had some free downloads. But does anyone have any long-term experience with this marketing?
Yes, I think you are right, Jonathan.
The site seems to be a little stagnant - they can only accept files in .doc format with no formatting and to Word 97 spec. Conversion using my Word 2016 added many spaces and rows of full stops that had to be edited out. Their conversion program is nowhere near as sophisticated at that Amazon uses.
I also made the mistake of selecting the option that allowed buyers to select their own price. I was not expecting they could choose £0.00! - That accounted for my free downloads. I changed to $1.99 and had two sales on the second day but nothing since.
I guess only time will tell. At least, the book does appear twice more in google search now.
I'll update this if sales suddenly boom. (Don't hold your breath!)
Lots of free downloads and few sales seems to be it.
From my point of view idea was to increase visibility, though whether the sheer volume of stuff Smashwords carry is hindrance or help I don't know. They distribute to retailers it's impossible to approach unless you're a publisher and setup was relatively easy, so in that respect it's pretty cheap exposure.
Disappointing from a sales point of view but maybe I expect too much.