How to Sell E-books at Author Readings

E-books have freed many writers from many of the niggling details of selling physical books at author readings: making change ahead of time, schlepping the books around, having someone watch the table while you read, and worrying about taxes and receipts.


Last week at Barry University, I tested this method at my reading from Bob Marley and Bradford's iPad--a story about a writer whose health and work problems are solved when Bob gives him some sage advice.


Like everything else, it takes a little prep work, but it's worth it. Here are the steps:


1. Let the audience know ahead of time that you'll be reading from an e-book and encourage them to turn on their smartphones with the ringer on vibrate.


2. Set up an e-mail account with a memorable name. I chose: bradfordsipad@gail.com. Try it and see if it works.


3. Once I set up the account, I went to Settings and clicked Vacation Responder on.


4. Then, I copied this text into the Message Box:
 
Greetings!


Thank you for supporting my work. For indie writers like me, word of mouth/blog/tweet/e-mail is crucial for success.

Here is the link to Bob Marley and Bradford's iPad @ Amazon:
http://amzn.to/nrg1Kg

Of if you prefer, @ Barnes & Noble:  http://bit.ly/JeiiHm

My e-book is also available in any style to match your e-reader @Smashwords:  http://bit.ly/JeiDtE

So thank you, thank you, thank you.

& remember, to tell a friend or two *wink wink*.

1Love,

Geoffrey

Blog: http://geoffreyphilp.blogspot.com/

Visit my Amazon page: http://amzn.to/A7oZgU

Follow me on Twitter: @geoffreyphilp

Then, I invited the audience to send an email to bradfordsipad@gail.com, so they could buy the book and read along with me. With the vacation message on, the purchase details were delivered automatically to them.


I also encouraged audience members to live tweet the event. The more audience participation, the better.


The students at Barry University responded positively to the story. So far, I've seen some movement on sales at Amazon, but more at Smashwords because most of the students had Nooks.

Let me know about your success!








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If you enjoyed this post, check out my page on Amazon. I’d also be very grateful if you’d help it spread by emailing it to a friend, or sharing it on Twitter or Facebook.





Thank you!