Alter vs. Centerville
Beckett Park nearly finished
Marshall vs. Valley View
Book Nook provides readers with insights into the world of books. Vick Mickunas takes you into the center of the publishing world with the latest book buzz, book reviews, and exclusive chats with authors..Home > Blogs > Book Nook > Archives > 2009 > November > 20 > Entry
Who wants free books?
Amazon.com continues to push the envelope for their Amazon Kindle eBook readers. This electronic book reader is for sale only through Amazon and Amazon is the only company that can sell you downloads for the Kindle.
Downloading books is where Amazon is betting the money starts to pour in. This week Amazon announced free downloads of Kindle software for PCs. Meanwhile you can read books downloaded via your Kindle software on your personal computer for free. That’s right. Smart shoppers can read books for free this way.
Here’s how that works. I just checked Amazon’s bestsellers for Kindle downloads. Some guy named Don Brown has the number one book downloaded for Kindles at the moment. He also has the number two book. And number three. Also number four. How did he do that?
Who the heck is Don Brown? Have you ever heard of him? You could easily confuse him with the best selling author Dan Brown but he is a totally different guy.
So how did this guy get the top four slots for Kindle downloads on Amazon? It is simple really. He is giving his stuff away. Every one of those books is being downloaded for free. Nothing. Nada. Squat. No charge.
So if you have a PC you can download the Kindle software for free then you can download four of Don Brown’s books for free. And his stuff isn’t the only free stuff being offered for Kindle downloads. A real cheapskate could read all kinds of free stuff and I’m sure that there are lots of people doing exactly that.
What is the benefit to Don Brown? Publicity. Getting people to read his stuff. Getting his name out there. Establishing a traffic pattern. That’s straight out of Marketing 101. Make a name for yourself. Establish familiarity with a product. They call those “loss leaders.” Later, they will try to start charging for product.
Ditto for Amazon.com. They want lots of people to download the Kindle software to their PC for free. The tightwads will look for free stuff to download. Once people get into reading this way perhaps they will decide that it is worth it to pay for it.
Another smart bit of marketing from Amazon.com. Get your free eBooks (while they last).
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | Comments (5) | Post your comment | Categories: in the Amazone
Comments
By Kellee
November 24, 2009 8:09 AM | Link to this
Dave - the issue with Orwell’s word was that of a copyright issue. I have a Kindle & the iPhone app for it & the majority of the books I have for them are ones I got free. There are also other sites where you can get free e-books in the Kindle format - many are public domain works, but many are contemporary authors. No, you won’t see Stephen King, Dan Brown or the like, but you might discover an author you really like. There are even some authors who will give you a free copy of their book in exchange for a review on the Amazon site. I am currently reading one now. As to Mr Harrison’s comment - I use Twitter & I blog as well, but I am a voracious reader as is my daughter.
By Mark from St Paul
November 21, 2009 12:28 PM | Link to this
Mr. Harrison, there isn’t one single study that backs your “beliefs” about texting. Just the opposite. It’s the kids who text who do best on standardized English exams. As for functionally illiterate Democrats, those people switched parties after voting for Reagan. But please tell me more about how tweeting leads to breeding because I think I’m missing out on something.
By Leon Harrison
November 20, 2009 7:07 PM | Link to this
Free books, the ONLY things that the young and the dumb, including functionally-illiterate Democrats and their bastards and brats, do not want or will not take! If they are texting and tweeting and breeding, they are not writing or reading.
By vick
November 20, 2009 1:40 PM | Link to this
That is an excellent question. Do we have any techies willing to weigh in on this matter? What do you think? Can Amazon delete books from PCs like they do with Kindles if you have downloaded their software?
By Dave
November 20, 2009 1:23 PM | Link to this
If you download the software to your PC, will the book vanish like Orwell’s books did from the Kindles?