How to give away Free Copies, ARC Copies, or Giveaways?

Modified on Wed, 3 Apr, 2024 at 11:56 AM

Consider offering free copies of your book, ARCs, or promo codes as a part of your marketing strategy – it's a fantastic way to boost your reach and build a fanbase in the long run! Here's how these freebies translate to big wins for you as an author:

Finding new fans.
Reviews* and buzz.
Building an audience.

*Honest reviews from readers are priceless. Free copies are often offered with the expectation that a review will be posted on Good Reads or specific retail websites. If you are offering your book for this reason, consider making your wishes clear: tell your reader that you would like them to leave an honest review (Tell them where, if you have a place in mind.) and ask them to keep the books files to themselves.

To provide free copies of your book, there are three main methods of doing so through the Draft2Digital interface:

Go to your User Dashboard, click on your book title, and from that book's View Book page, you can download your book files and send them to whoever you would like.

EXAMPLE OF DOWNLOAD DIGITAL FILE ON VIEW BOOK PAGE
This download widget can be found below the blue Ebook Price Change box.

A word of warning: the files you download in this way are not encrypted, so there is nothing to stop someone from republishing your book your files as their own. Only send these files to trusted reviewers, fans, or friends.
The second method of providing free copies would be to use Smashwords coupons. You can find the Smashwords Store Coupon Manager under ACCOUNT > Multi-Book Actions > Smashwords Store Coupon Manager.
The third method is through Apple Books promo codes, which is a tiny bit more complicated.
1. You can request a maximum of 250 promo codes per book title at Apple Books. Once you've requested all 250 codes for a single book title, you are out of free coupon codes and those will not renew.
2. Promo codes are valid for 4 weeks from the date they are requested.
3. You can even use promo codes on books set up for pre-order, so long as a final file has been uploaded and provided to Apple Books.

To request Apple Books promo codes, contact the Draft2Digital support team and give them the book title and the number of codes you'd like to request. Important Reminder: Codes expire within 4 weeks of the day they are requested, even if they never get used. We encourage you to be conservative with your requests and make sure you are only giving them out to users who will actually use them in a timely manner.

Draft2Digital support staff will send you the Apple Books codes via email, along with a Terms of Service PDF document that Apple asks be forwarded to every individual you give a promo code to.

Once you have distributed a promo code, the recipient can redeem the code through the Apple Books Store for a free copy of your book in any territory.