{"id":350285,"date":"2021-03-29T20:06:28","date_gmt":"2021-03-29T20:06:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/?p=350285"},"modified":"2023-06-02T15:56:50","modified_gmt":"2023-06-02T14:56:50","slug":"how-does-instafreebie-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/how-does-instafreebie-work\/","title":{"rendered":"How Does Instafreebie Work?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How To Use Prolific Works To Promote Your Books<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Looking for an article on Instafreebie? It\u2019s called Prolific Works now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prolific Works<\/a> (formerly Instafreebie) is a site that gives ebooks away free to anyone who wants them. That sounds nice for readers, but not great for authors, except that the giveaway comes with a sweet little wrinkle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because, to collect their free ebook, readers must give you \u2013 the author \u2013 their email address.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here, for example, are what Prolific Works giveaway pages<\/a> look like. You\u2019ll see there\u2019s a book cover. A \u201ccome and get it\u201d headline. And an easy sign-up form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PW isn\u2019t really a way of giving away books, then, rather a way to give away books in exchange for an email address.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And since presumably no one downloads a British-set crime novel unless they are interested in reading British-set crime novels, the email addresses you collect are from the reader group you are seeking to target.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Expert tip<\/strong>: when you set up your giveaway page, you\u2019ll be asked whether you want to oblige readers to sign up to your email list, or whether you\u2019re fine making it optional. In the old days, we used to urge people to make the sign-up mandatory, but with changes to the system post-GDPR rules, we now advise you to make the email list signup optional. Conversion rates will be lower, but those will be balanced out by much better visibility. So \u2013 sorry \u2013 but optional it is.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

How Does Anyone Find Your Giveaway Page?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

People will come to your giveaway page in one of two ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. You\u2019ll have directed them there, via your blog, your social media activity, and all the rest.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. PW will highlight new, interesting giveaways using its own resources (it\u2019s had millions of downloads from its site already and the firm only started in 2014).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    And who does Prolific Works choose to highlight? Just those authors who are most active in promoting their work. The more you do, the more they\u2019ll do for you. It\u2019s win-win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n

    Expert tip<\/strong>: if you\u2019re active on social media, use @prolific_works or in your Tweets. If you\u2019re doing other good things, just drop them a short summary email so they can see what you\u2019re up to, but don\u2019t let your good work go unnoticed. You don\u2019t need to badger them, though. Stay professional, not needy.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

    Why The Book-For-Email Exchange Is Good (Even For \u2018Lazy\u2019 Authors)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    You and PW between you will promote your giveaway page. The reader gets a book. You get an email address. What next?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You don\u2019t want to spam or abuse the trust of that reader. You wouldn\u2019t make money if you did, so how do you \u2013 honestly and honourably \u2013 use your ability to make direct contact with that reader?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Even if you\u2019re almost totally passive on Prolific Works, you might make some money. Let\u2019s say you get readers\u2019 email addresses on them downloading books from PW. You do nothing straight away, but when your next book comes out, you email everyone on your list \u2013 including those PW readers \u2013 to say, \u2018Hey, my new book is here, do come and get it\u2019 (or words to that effect).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    That strategy is low-effort, but it can be rewarding in three ways:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. Your PW readers may love that book and go out and seek your other work on Amazon.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. Your PW readers may buy your new book when you come to launch it.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. The added weight of those PW readers will help boost your sales rank on launch, and that higher sales rank will mean higher overall visibility on Amazon, which means more eyes looking at your book, which means higher sales.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      That\u2019s how PW can work for you, even if you\u2019re not fussed about using it actively. And perhaps you\u2019re lazy like me, but you don\u2019t have to be disorganised, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Let\u2019s look at a more engaged, active strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n

      Expert tip<\/strong>: Read the next section. Do what it tells you!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

      Why The Book-for-Email Exchange Is Brilliant (For \u2018Lazy\u2019 Authors)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      The trouble with Lazy Strategy is simple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      People float around the internet all the time. They click buttons, collect free stuff, add themselves to random mailing lists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Where\u2019s the bond, though? The relationship? The loyalty?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Often, it\u2019s not there. People will forget where they got the book from and quite likely forget your name as well. Easy come, easy go. That\u2019s the problem you must overcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Don\u2019t just use Prolific Works to give away your books. Use your mailing list to cement the bond. You want to turn a user download experience into a proper relationship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      So how do you do that? How do you do it easily<\/em>? We all like an easy life, so we replace our Lazy Strategy above with Astute Strategy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n