Why I gave my biggest fans my book for free

 A few weeks ago I sent my newsletter subscribers an email offering all of them a free ebook copy of Rite of Rejection in exchange for an honest review.

Now, handing out copies of your book for reviews is not a new idea, but many would balk at the idea of giving it to people who are the most engaged in your audience.

After all, some would argue that since these are the people most invested in me, they would also be the most likely to purchase a copy. So giving them the book for free is lost sales.

You can think of it that way, but I don't.

These are my most loyal fan base (if I can claim to have a fan base), but instead of considering them customers who might buy my book, I took the approach of considering them ambassadors. My goal in giving them a free book was two fold.

1. As a way of saying thanks for being awesome
2. As a way to make them bigger fans. Up until now, the vast majority of the readers of this blog have been authors looking for marketing tips. I'm fine with that. But I recognize that authors are also readers and I had the opportunity to turn some of these fans of my marketing lessons into fans of my writing.

And fans talk to other readers about books they love. It's a win win for everyone.

So I offered up my newsletter subscribers my book, and many of them took me up on the offer. I hope they love it. I hope they review it. I hope it makes them hungry for more books from me. And I hope it makes them feel appreciated for being fans before there was much of anything to be a fan of.

Now, I realize that many of you may be wishing now that you had subscribed to my newsletter so you too could get a free eBook.  Well, you're not too late to the party. If you subscribe to my newsletter anytime before the Rite of Rejection release date (Dec.4th), just send me an email from the email address you used to subscribe. Be sure to put "Newsletter Subscriber" in the subject line so I don't miss you. In return, I will send you one shiny eBook for your reading pleasure.

And thanks to all of you for being fans and generally awesome people!

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