Creating a Coupon for Your Ebook on Smashwords

Total Read Time: 2 minutes

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Coupons are a great promotional tool. People always like to know they are getting a deal. Another benefit is creating a sense of urgency. Customers know they only have a limited time to cash in before the coupon expires.

With Smashwords, you can create your own coupons for your ebooks for any discount you like, including 100% off. This can be a handy way to give out free copies of your book without having to change the regular price. I’ve used coupons to give away copies of my books to newsletter subscribers and to create buzz around my work before I launched my debut novel, Soul Seeker.

Here's how to do it:

Steps

1.  Log in to Smashwords.

2.  Go to your Dashboard.

3.  In the left sidebar of your Dashboard, select ‘Generate and manage Coupons’.

4.  In the Actions column on the next screen, click on Generate Coupon beside the title you want to create a coupon for.

5.  Select the end date of your coupon, as well as the discount.

6.  Click the Generate Coupon button to receive your coupon code. Only people who enter this code during checkout will be able to get the discount on your ebook. You can update or cancel your coupon at any time.

Tips

• Creating a coupon for 100% off can also help to drive sales of your other books. Use the free book as a lead-in. If the reader really enjoyed your free book and you have another book available for them to buy, they will be more willing to spend their money while it’s fresh in their mind. (Make sure you include a link to where your other books can be purchased within your free ebook file to make this really easy.)

• Promote the coupon on Twitter, Facebook, etc. to get the word out. Include the coupon code and the link to your book’s Smashwords page.

•  Post about your coupon on the MobileRead forums under Author Self-Promotions. The members of these forums are avid ebook readers, so this should get you some extra hits.

Have you created a Smashwords coupon? What was your strategy?