What to Consider When Pursuing a Freemium Book Model

A premium is an item given away to attract, retain, or reward customers. It may also be provided as an incentive to purchase a particular product. Can companies use your book as a premium? Yes, and you can earn substantial revenue that way. Can you use your book as a premium for your own business? Yes. When your book is a "freemium" it can generate a valuable source of revenue for your other services, such as speaking or consulting, and your other titles. Here are the Top Ten Factors to Consider When Using Your Book As A Freemium.

1. Your book has to have value in itself to recipients, meaning its content should be useful to them.
2. The form should portray value -- a high-priced hardcover book will have greater perceived value than a low-priced ebook.
3. If your competitors are also using their books as freemiums, the full weight of differentiation falls on your content and packaging to create an expectation of greater value.
4. The benefit you receive for giving your book away should exceed its cost.
5. Use a freemium to enter a new market in which you do not have a recognized position.
6. Use your freemium to generate recurring revenue, perhaps through a consulting contract or a subscription service.
7. Allow others to give your book away if they reach the target market in which you are interested.
8. For maximum value, your freemium should attract new users rather than reward existing clients or customers.
9. Give it away freely without the expectation of a quid pro quo.
10. Use your book as a freemium to attract business (before the sale) or as a "thank you" after the sale.