Advertising in Self-Published Works

[JoanDrake]

When self-publishing on your own site, has anyone here tried just allowing the book to be read for free but using advertising to make your money? Is that even feasible technically?

 

[HareBrain]

I speak as a non-expert, but I'd have thought to make more than a pittance from advertising would take tens of thousands of visits to your site, and where are those visitors going to come from? Unlikely to be lured by the promise of a free book when there are so many to download on Amazon, unless it's blindingly attractive for some reason, in which case you'd be better off selling it. (In any case, how are you going to get so many people to even know your site exists?)

I've recently read a couple of books by self-pubbers who have popular blog-sites (largely because they blog about self-publishing) and both said that they make very little from advertising.

I think you'd be better off either offering one book free and others for sale, or offering a large free sample (say 50% of the book).

 

[tinkerdan]

If you have a site that has a presence with regular visitors and something that appeals to others I can see it working but I've not tried on mine because I have yet to create a presence.

http://inmydaydreams.com/?p=4769

This site has a web novelization of a superhero and has a bit of traffic and sells advertisements for other authors.[I have not yet bothered to ask him if he makes any money on it.] the main point that comes to mind though is that he has a number of regular followers so there is a presence that might induce some others to advertise.

 

[Brian G Turner]

If you could get the ads to show up with each book page, then that might work - but I don't know how that could be implemented.

Ads on the webpages giving away the book would be a non-starter - advertising revenue would be an absolute pittance.

 

[Jim Zoetewey]

I do make some money off it ($200 or so a year), but I make more off the Kindle version of the first book in the series.

 

[tinkerdan]

Welcome Jim
Thanks for the information.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

In book power up purchases?

I can't see it somehow.

 

[FibonacciEddie]

I like it Ray ...

How about a serialised book in which people pay for the next installment to keep the (kitten, puppy, hero, nursery ... safe)

 

[Jim Zoetewey]

From what I've seen, the best way to make money off the writing of a serial itself is to have a minimum number of posts per week and then if there are enough donations do an additional posts. Wildbow who wrote a serial called Worm did this to a point that he was making more than $1000 in donations per month.