A love of literature can quickly add up, forcing readers to hunt down less expensive books than those found in traditional bookstores — a daunting task considering there are close to 130 million published books in the world.
For those with ereaders and tablets, there’s an easier way. Enter BookBub, a free daily email that alerts readers to free and deeply discounted bestselling ebooks that are available for a limited time.
Since discovering BookBub last year, Suzie Miller claimed she has downloaded more than 350 free books using the service, and estimated her savings to be greater than $1,000. “I now have more books than I can read in a lifetime,” she added.
Why are publishers giving away bestselling ebooks for free?
Last year, Random House decided to give away Dan Brown’s bestselling novel, The Da Vinci Code, for free for one week. Why did Random House give away a national bestselling ebook that usually retails for $9.99? The promotion was very deliberate, with the goal of hooking new readers on Brown’s thrillers and drumming up interest in his new book, Inferno. In fact, the ebook included the prologue and first chapter of Inferno.
“It makes it almost irresistible,” Liz Perl, Simon & Schuster’s senior vice president explained to the The New York Times. “We’re lowering the bar for you to sample somebody new.”
With BookBub’s daily email, readers are alerted to deals on bestselling ebooks from award-winning authors. Each book featured on BookBub is free or deeply discounted — with some up to 90% off. The sales are only available for a limited time, so readers are encouraged to act fast to secure the bargains.
Free ebooks personalized by genre
For readers, part of the appeal of BookBub is that it does not list every single free ebook on the market. Instead, BookBub’s expert editorial team selectively curates only the highest-quality ebooks to feature in their email and on their website. In most cases, the deals can be purchased for any ereading device, including Kindle, iPad, Nook, and Android.
BookBub’s deals are personalized for each and every reader. Sara Swager of from Mooresville, N.C., enjoys reading primarily romance, supernatural, and historical novels. For readers with varying interests like Swager, it can be exhausting to keep up with the hottest new authors across multiple genres.
“I have found new authors that I enjoy reading and have gone on to buy books numerous times from them,” said Swager. “I have probably downloaded close to 100 books from BookBub.”
Swager added, “If you love to read, you would be crazy to not join BookBub.”
With millions of readers using BookBub’s service, this type of promotional concept seems to be resonating with both publishers and readers alike. To find out more about the service, go to http://www.bookbub.com.
