Do I Really Need To Publish an Ebook?

If you’re a budget-conscious self-publisher with a new book, you may wonder, “Do I really need to publish an ebook?” It makes sense to do what you can to keep costs down. Maybe publishing an ebook is one of those corners you can cut. Right?

But even if you personally prefer the smell of ink on paper and flipping real, actual pages, there are plenty of reasons you should consider supplementing that beautiful print book with a digital version. Let’s dig into a few reasons it may be a good idea to publish an ebook version of your next publication.

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Topics Covered in “Do I Really Need an Ebook?”:

You May Not Read Ebooks—But Your Readers Do
Ebooks Help You Unlock the Power of Buyer Psychology
With Ebooks, There’s No Wait Time
Ebooks Let You List Your Books on Kindle Unlimited
Ebooks Unlock Additional Opportunities to Connect with Readers
Ebooks Double Your Optimization Potential
Publish Your Next Ebook with Spoonbridge Press

You May Not Read Ebooks—But Your Readers Do

According to a 2022 report by the Pew Research Center, 32% of American readers exclusively read print books. The same report notes that 9% of readers read only ebooks. Sure, ebook-only readers make up a much smaller piece of the pie. But why leave almost a tenth of your potential readers out in the cold?

After all, you’ve done all the hard work already: you’ve written the book, gotten feedback on it, and rewritten it. You’ve had it edited, designed, and proofread. Doesn’t it make sense to make that book available to as many readers as possible?

Ebooks Help You Unlock the Power of Buyer Psychology

You may have heard about “price anchoring”—and if you haven’t heard about it, you’ve definitely experienced it. Think about the last package tiers you had to decide between: the basic package is available for bargain shoppers, while the deluxe package is the obvious right choice for people who prefer to spend top dollar.

A single price point means shoppers have a single choice—to buy or not to buy—but with multiple price points, there’s something for every buyer.

By publishing an ebook along with your print book, you can take advantage of this same piece of buyer psychology. Amazon displays their ebook and paperback prices at the top of both sales pages so the ebook price looks like a bargain in comparison. This makes clicking that “Add to Cart” button a no-brainer for price-conscious consumers. And for readers who prefer print books, that option is still just a click away.

With Ebooks, There’s No Wait Time

When you self-publish a book on Amazon, the print version will be available with free shipping for Amazon Prime member. However, lots of buyers have noticed that those Prime turnaround times just aren’t what they used to be. A reader might get excited to read your book but still have to wait three or four days before they can curl up with a printed copy.

Don’t make readers wait for a good thing! With an ebook, there’s no wait time (not to mention no carbon cost of a physical delivery), so your readers can dig in immediately after deciding to make their purchase.

Ebooks Let You List Your Books on Kindle Unlimited

For many independent authors, one of the greatest joys of self-publishing is receiving positive reviews from their readers. And with nearly 7 in 10 book buyers turning to Amazon, Amazon is where those readers tend to leave reviews.

One way to reach those readers is to enroll in KDP Select, a program that allows authors to list their ebooks as free for subscribers of Kindle Unlimited (think Netflix, but for ebooks). In exchange for this exposure, authors agree not to publish their ebooks anywhere else for the 90-day enrollment period. But don’t worry—this only applies to the ebook version. You can still sell your print book anywhere you like during this 90-day period.

Is this potential exposure worth the temporary exclusivity and lower royalties? Only you can decide. Just remember, Amazon displays your ebook reviews on your print book page and vice versa. That means the more reviews you can get on your ebook, the more your print book will benefit.

Ebooks Unlock Additional Opportunities to Connect with Readers

KDP Select isn’t the only program available exclusively to ebook providers. Here are a few more ways you can use ebooks to maximize your sales potential.

• Make your ebook available as a free download for people who sign up for your mailing list (This is especially useful for the first book in a series)
• Offer your ebook for free to thousands of potential readers via third-party ebook promotion services like The Fussy Librarian, BookBub, or FreeBooksy.
• Not all ebook promotion services require your ebooks to be listed for free! Try listing your paid ebook at a discount with services like Bargain Booksy. (BookBub and Fussy Librarian offer both free and paid ebooks.)

Remember, if you list your ebook in KDP Select, you are still responsible for complying with KDP Select’s exclusivity requirement.

Ebooks Double Your Optimization Potential

When you publish a book through KDP, you can list up to 7 keywords that best describe your book. Further, while Amazon will add your print book to a small handful of categories—maybe 2 or 3—authors in the know can actually unlock up to 10 categories.

Update: Due to recent KDP changes, authors are no longer able to choose 10 categories. However, through solid keyword strategy and category research, your book has a good chance of appearing in up to 3 categories that will work the best for you.

But when you publish an ebook alongside your print book, the number of available keywords and categories doubles. That means twice the opportunity to connect with your readers! If you’re still wondering if you really need an ebook, this fact alone should tip the scales.

At Spoonbridge Press, we use Publisher Rocket to identify the best keywords for your book and the categories where you have the best chance of ranking highly.