Google Play Books has been doubling down on their ebook infrastructure for the past month. They recently unveiled a 70% commission rate for publishers and indie authors. The platform is now focusing on the promotional aspect and has just launched Promo code campaigns, which can be used to offer select customers a discounted ebooks and audiobooks without lowering the list price. Publishers can create up to 5,000 codes per campaign and up to 3 promo code campaigns per month.
Publishers can offer discounts to customers in 75+ countries and they can be used to distribute free books or audiobooks to generate buzz or reviews. Using the Google Play platform, publishers do not have pay extra to distribute review copies through a 3rd party company like Netgalley.
There are three different ways that promo codes can used. The first is free, which allows customers to redeem the book at no cost. The second is a percentage off, which only applies to ebooks. The final one is a fixed price promotion, which allows customers to purchase the book for a lower fixed price.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
