tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post7086541702481030630..comments2024-03-18T02:11:40.154-07:00Comments on <b>Smashwords</b>: How Ebook Buyers Discover BooksDovetail Public Relationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05039664167177159146noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-51936749153478067102016-06-20T18:18:53.475-07:002016-06-20T18:18:53.475-07:00Thank you for the info Mark!
I wish Smashwords had...Thank you for the info Mark!<br />I wish Smashwords had a marketing package for authors to save time on trial and error marketing efforts.<br /><br />John Freitas<br />http://www.scifibookseries.comAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01948588660967342931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-8357902089087690582014-09-03T07:18:44.515-07:002014-09-03T07:18:44.515-07:00Thanks, Mark! Great info! Word-of-mouth has been v...Thanks, Mark! Great info! Word-of-mouth has been very good to me, although it's becoming harder and harder to be noticed in the growing sea of self-published titles.<br /><br />Brian January<br />http://brianjanuary.blogspot.com/Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08034748375177433198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-75762313542020481132012-06-25T22:12:16.350-07:002012-06-25T22:12:16.350-07:00I think, at one time or another, I have used every...I think, at one time or another, I have used every one of those methods to find something to read. Interesting information.Lisa Trejohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11938384720755957940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-12746979682776996622011-12-05T14:04:26.603-08:002011-12-05T14:04:26.603-08:00Great info! Thank you!
VickieGreat info! Thank you!<br />Vickievickiejohnstonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15947507866512596346noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-70659134515569917332011-10-31T12:40:49.613-07:002011-10-31T12:40:49.613-07:00More evidence that family and friends tell you wha...More evidence that family and friends tell you what you want to hear and are not the best salespeople.Trichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17419238534960870612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-3150599253942327012011-10-26T11:45:15.990-07:002011-10-26T11:45:15.990-07:00Great information and really interesting data. Ult...Great information and really interesting data. Ultimately it is all about readers and writers connecting. Reading is inherently an individual pursuit but the world of literature is and always will be a social community. Awesome post!<br /><br />DiscoverLitAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-5468232859355507902011-10-05T14:43:28.249-07:002011-10-05T14:43:28.249-07:00"Recommendations from fellow readers on onlin..."Recommendations from fellow readers on online message forums, blogs and message boards..."<br /><br />The survey was done on Mobilereads, which is an ebook forum. That might be skewing this bit of data.David Alastair Haydenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04388339435468414583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-75750475349762430722011-10-01T13:21:21.213-07:002011-10-01T13:21:21.213-07:00Mark,
great post and discussion. One rec that you...Mark,<br /><br />great post and discussion. One rec that you missed is by publisher--I think lots of epub romance readers buy first from their favorite online publisher, because they know they'll get a certain tone, and level of quality. <br /><br />Then, they will follow certain authors to other publishers.<br /><br />best,<br />Cathryn CadeCathryn Cadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10714037225684245673noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-26091548031579933282011-10-01T11:21:15.086-07:002011-10-01T11:21:15.086-07:00@Thacher ..Another good place that I don't see...@Thacher ..Another good place that I don't see mentioned is Facebook. There is a ton of cross pollination going on there. Fans of any given author are always offering up recommendations on the fan pages and there are many pages dedicated to various genres.Idea Guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01848989241561068301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-44555334988231999352011-09-28T20:12:15.690-07:002011-09-28T20:12:15.690-07:00I'm confused about why you'd think that be...I'm confused about why you'd think that being on the best sellers list is how books get discovered, isn't it more likely that books that are selling well enough to get on those lists are being enjoyed by people who will tell their friends or post reviews or mention the book online? The lists are just a side issue, if a book is selling well it will get good word of mouth (or keyboard) publicity. Right?Bonnie Ricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08370979121510491598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-58594933862702774652011-09-27T09:24:37.929-07:002011-09-27T09:24:37.929-07:00This is a great survey, thank you for this. With ...This is a great survey, thank you for this. With the declining number of bookstores and more and more people buying eBooks and buying online, I've been wondering how people decide what to buy and read. Glad to hear all the work I'm doing at BookBanter is not for nothing!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-39238316833713497822011-09-27T05:04:47.718-07:002011-09-27T05:04:47.718-07:00The key is finding those online forums and interac...The key is finding those online forums and interacting without ruffling feathers. Sometimes people forget writers are readers as well and we're not always marketing. I've had my hand slapped enough to be very wary of boards and forums.<br /><br />Thanks for such a concise survey.Nina Piercehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14548896481430215466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-91889995213715071282011-09-27T03:37:37.747-07:002011-09-27T03:37:37.747-07:00Thanks - the programmer in me loves stats and a ni...Thanks - the programmer in me loves stats and a nice pie (chart)Simon Hayneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02660767551431793439noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-33198641258814441292011-09-26T20:46:18.434-07:002011-09-26T20:46:18.434-07:00Great post, Mark. I am a new kid to this block but...Great post, Mark. I am a new kid to this block but consider me duly impressed. It just goes to show...there are always surprises just when you think you know all the answers. The quest for targeting readers never ends. Good info - thanks much!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-7842382853025223132011-09-26T20:45:34.813-07:002011-09-26T20:45:34.813-07:00Great post, Mark. I am a new kid to this block but...Great post, Mark. I am a new kid to this block but consider me duly impressed. It just goes to show...there are always surprises just when you think you know all the answers. The quest for targeting readers never ends. Good info - thanks much!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-28886377673051818332011-09-26T16:39:31.509-07:002011-09-26T16:39:31.509-07:00Thank you for this info! It just goes to show that...Thank you for this info! It just goes to show that we must continue to spend the greater amount of time marketing online for the best results.<br /><br />A fellow Smashwords AuthorScott Bryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17740912255193457791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-39311223747035482952011-09-26T15:29:27.283-07:002011-09-26T15:29:27.283-07:00Thanks for sharing this! I'm a random person, ...Thanks for sharing this! I'm a random person, too, so I can appreciate those methods the most.Joleene Naylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11591967764003541551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-37493644158043009702011-09-26T14:39:56.634-07:002011-09-26T14:39:56.634-07:00Fits right in with what my research has led me to ...Fits right in with what my research has led me to believe. The trick is, integrating yourself with forums (enough that you aren't considered a "feed hacker"), while still finding time to write.<br /><br />Best solution? Write a really good novel and let everyone else do the talking for you! :)<br /><br />-Terron JamesTerron Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03508184587009172827noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-75395936008502664112011-09-26T12:56:21.035-07:002011-09-26T12:56:21.035-07:00Bob has some good points on this and I also have t...Bob has some good points on this and I also have to wonder, since this sample was taken online, if the results are reflecting that. But this is wonderful information to have and many thanks to Mark for compiling and posting it.<br /><br />~HeidiHeidi Hallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08195353956874010053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-84750674540077479092011-09-26T10:27:57.195-07:002011-09-26T10:27:57.195-07:00I have to agree with Bob - I think bestseller list...I have to agree with Bob - I think bestseller list placement (and also boughts, especially on Amazon) is huge. I'm not saying the survey data is wrong - just that it's limited to an audience who probably isn't very representative of general readers. This is great data on mobilread users - not sure it tells us a lot about everyone else. <br /><br />Only a small fraction of readers hang out in online spaces related to books (I think the last survey I saw said 8%). The other 92% need an offline or in-store (including online store) method for discovery, and I think in-store visibility matters a whole lot for that group of readers.ModWitchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06026833488444170404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-37322646658636910982011-09-26T09:52:29.582-07:002011-09-26T09:52:29.582-07:00I was not surprised by the second most common answ...I was not surprised by the second most common answer of readers finding their favourite authors first at 18 percent. It just makes sense to go with what you know. What did surprise me was the measly 3 percent that checked out the best seller list for books. I find that hard to believe, since I had experience with a free book going to number 3 and downloading as much as 1000 downloads a day. Of course this was free and probably not a true picture of what a best seller book that was not free might download in a day.<br /><br />I also came away with the same belief I have always had that readers like a well known name and are comfortable with the tried and true. The percentage of adventurous readers who try new stuff are less of course, and that is to be expected since buying books cost money and they want some kind of insurance that they are going to be satisfied. <br /><br />Of course Amazon will refund any book so a reader can take a chance there. Don’t like it, return it. I don’t like that policy really. Since most e books are not expensive, there really shouldn’t have to be a guarantee that you can return something after you have read it and didn’t like it. You certainly can’t do that with a print book. (Maybe you can on Amazon, I don’t really know, but not in a book store. <br /><br />As to the question what good online communities are available, I would like to suggest the Smashwords Forum. http://z15.invisionfree.com/smashwords_forum/index.php<br />Many helpful folks there and books are discussed as well. I really like that one. <br /><br />http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/carolmarlenesmithCarol Marlene Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03947607922037667580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-52364647814621749842011-09-26T08:12:26.526-07:002011-09-26T08:12:26.526-07:00.. superb info, liked the way you discussed the f..... superb info, liked the way you discussed the findings - pointed out areas of note and also pointed out potential weaknesses in survey questions... i was blown away that recommendations by friends/family came in low... this is a BIG help for me as a prep my 1st novel for publ.Andy Hhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16353341393079842957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-23871111066585051342011-09-26T05:43:25.298-07:002011-09-26T05:43:25.298-07:00Interesting results, and so informative. One quick...Interesting results, and so informative. One quick question, I'm assuming that the respondents were answering in relation to their ereader book purchases, correct?<br />Stella MacLeanStella MacLeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00772073287130986889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-81144812104748846362011-09-26T05:21:02.144-07:002011-09-26T05:21:02.144-07:00Great info. Thanks! I've discovered that the h...Great info. Thanks! I've discovered that the hardest part of being a sci-fi/fantasy writer is getting people to read and comment on my books. You've provided tips here that may help me do that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-27912806077551962582011-09-26T00:27:26.166-07:002011-09-26T00:27:26.166-07:00A lot of the sites mentioned have opportunities to...A lot of the sites mentioned have opportunities to get to potential readers but self pubbers have to be careful not to shamelessly self promote. The trick is to build relationships and take part in the discussions.Christopher John Chaterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05142647178585900592noreply@blogger.com