More from HarperCollins, this time some sweet data on the results of their recent experiements with “free”.
Publishers Weekly reported that at recent panels at BEA and the IDPF Digital Book conference HarperCollins shared the results of digital giveaway campaigns they did with books by Neil Gaiman, Erin Hunter and Robin Hobb.
Here’s the skinny:
Promotion for: Neil Gaiman’s American Gods
- Content given away: Full access to the book, through the company’s Browse Inside feature
- Number of page views generated: 3,827,306
- Average page views per visit: 46
- Number of clicks on a buy link: 1,177
- Result: Promotion bumped weekly sales of the title at bricks-and-mortar locations by 250%.
Promotion for: Neil Gaiman’s Fragile Things
- Content given away: DRM-free audio download of Gaiman’s short story “A Study in Emerald” to promote the collection Fragile Things
- Result: Promotion didn’t drive registration and, according to Harper, “readers bypassed our up-sell efforts” because content was “too easy to take and run.”
Promotion for: Erin Hunter’s Warriors, Volume 3
- Content given away: Browse Inside preview of 20% of the book
- Result: Preorders of the book increased 30%.
Promotion for: Robin Hobb’s Shaman’s Crossing
- Content given away: Full e-book (downloadable with DRM and registration)
- Result: Same-title and backlist sales of Hobb’s e-books increased.
The results are interesting and certainly seem to indicate the value of offering free open-access trials of content to entice people to buy the book. I hope more publishers will be willing to share data for the benefit of the industry.
Kate Eltham is a writer and creative industries professional based in Brisbane, Australia. She is Chief Executive Officer of 
kate.eltham {at} gmail.com
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I think the free browse-inside option is a very good idea, comparable to browsing through the books in a bookstore. I don’t just walk in, pick up a book and leave. I read the blurb, read the first paragraph, flip through, look at some dialogue, sometimes check out the fourth sentence on page 123, etc. I want to know it will be worth my while.
(I don’t like the browse-inside options which are limited to only a few pages of the actual book plus front and back cover – it’s not enough book to know what I’m getting myself in for).
Ha! Just because you were being cute I reached for the nearest book within arms length of my keyboard, which happened to be The Girl in the Glass by Jeffery Ford.
For your edification, the fourth sentence on page 123 is “The days were beautiful and clear and the nights were long.”
I like browse-inside. I also like free chapters and I even support open-access free downloads. Anything that increases the book’s – and therefore the author’s – visibility and audience reach.
P.S. Read The Girl in the Glass. Fabulous novel.
It’s good to see some real data from the various experiments with “freeconomic” models. The increase in sales at bricks-and-mortar outlets for “American Gods” is especially encouraging.