This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Got a question today from an author, or at least someone who's planning to release their first book. So an author in the making, his name is Dylan. He wants to know, why do so many authors offer pre-order bonuses? And I know all about this, of course, because I write books, and you may have encountered it as well if you follow authors on social media, or if you're on their email list, or you just kind of keep up with stuff. You notice that authors are like, hey, I have a book out, buy my book, and you'll get this pre-order bonus.
And sometimes it's something elaborate. Sometimes there are different tiers. You can purchase a whole bunch of books and get a bunch of bonuses, or you just buy one thing and get access to something. Why do authors actually do that? They're not actually making much money from each copy of the book that's sold, typically.
It's often one to $3 per copy of the book that's sold. And also, do these perks really drive sales, or do they just create extra work? I guess it could be one or the other. So how do you decide if you're in this situation, if they're right for your book launch? And by the way, if you're not an author, you can also think of this in terms of any upcoming launch strategy.
If you're launching a product, do you have a pre-order bonus, or do you create some kind of incentive, or do you just focus on the core product at hand? That's the topic. I'm gonna say a quick shout out to our sponsor, then we'll hear Dylan's question. [Music]
Hi, Chris, this is Dylan from Nashville. I've noticed that a lot of authors, especially in nonfiction, offer pre-order bonuses for their books, like exclusive downloads or live webinars.
Why is this such a popular strategy? Does it actually move the needle in terms of sales, or is it just a way to get people excited? I'm planning to release my own book next year, and wonder if this is something I should try, or if it's more work than it's worth. [Music]
Dylan has hit on an important point. Pre-order bonuses are still valuable.
They can still be helpful, but the strategy is not without challenges. So let's break it down. Well, first of all, why is it a popular strategy? A couple of reasons. One, for authors of traditionally published books, they have a short window for their books to get attention.
It's usually two to four weeks. If your book does not work commercially in those two to four weeks, it's very unlikely that your book will continue to sell. It's very unlikely, not even continue to sell, but it's unlikely that bookstores will stock the book, and you don't have any chance of hitting any bestseller lists. You know, your publisher itself kind of stops paying attention to it. So you really need to kind of maximize that two to four week window.
And any pre-orders you get for the book, which could be as early as a year earlier, usually it's just a couple of months, but still whatever the period is, those all count towards your week one sales. So that's why most books that debut on the New York Times bestseller list, for example, they do so in their first week of sales. Sometimes it happens differently, but more than 90% of the time, it's the week one sales. So that's why people are doing it. And as for the challenges, well, I do think some people are kind of tired of it, at least buyers and readers, bonus fatigue.
They're like, I don't care about the bonus. I want to read the book when it's out maybe, but I don't want to pre-order this book. I don't really have much reason to do that. Every author offers a downloadable PDF or something that the novelty kind of wears off, right? Readers are just a little bit skeptical.
So the key to success is to create bonuses that feel genuinely unique and valuable, something that goes beyond a standard offer. So it really is just kind of marketing 101. You need to create a compelling offer, an offer that they can't refuse, which we've talked about a good bit. So to overcome that fatigue, focus on relevance and creativity, focus on delivering high, high value. And if it's a memoir, for example, maybe some behind the scenes content.
If the book is about productivity, don't just offer a downloadable checklist, give them an interactive planner app, just for example. I mean, maybe that's complicated, but you figure out something that is actually genuinely helpful. And then as for making it too much work for yourself, we want to be selective to avoid overwhelming yourself or readers. You want to be selective, you want to be authentic. Honesty and connection really go a long way in these things.
I think if you just let your audience know why you're offering the bonuses and how they will enhance the book's value, it's not just about pre-orders, hopefully. It's also about helping them implement what's in the book, perhaps, at least if it's a nonfiction kind of book. So that's why people do it. That's why it can work, but you can also consider skipping it entirely. Figure out what's best for you and to that.
Dylan, congratulations on the upcoming book. Listeners, for everybody out there wants to write a book, I'm cheering you on. If you don't want to write a book, there's other stuff you can do. That's cool. Let's talk about something else tomorrow.
Tomorrow, we're going to talk about subscription products. And then I've got the story of a cosplay hairstylist after that. Then something about ads on Instagram. We've got all kinds of things coming up, so I'm so grateful to our community doing lots of different things. You can always subscribe or follow wherever you listen.
My name's Chris Guillebeau. This is "Side Hustle School." [Music]
From the Onward Project.
