Pricing strategy for a startup - Price higher for KU?

[Tom Wood]

I'm starting from zero with a set of YA science fiction adventures. I intend to stay in KU for the duration, or until the market says otherwise. Ebooks via KDP and print via IngramSpark.

Reading the comments in the 'KU is broken' thread, it sounds like the free and $0.99 prices don't get much read-thru. Which makes sense to me, since I'd start at the higher-priced end anyway if I'm already paying $10 a month.

I'm wondering if a launch price of $4.99 makes the most sense since I'll be dependent on KU reads and reviews for a while. $4.99 is the Venn diagram intersection of 'the lowest price that indicates quality' and 'the highest price that gets a one-click buy without a lot of hesitation.'

What am I missing here?

[Shoe]

$4.99 is the Venn diagram intersection of 'the lowest price that indicates quality'

What's the source for that statement? I don't disagree with it. I'm just curious.

I price every KU title at $2.99 regardless of length because I'm afraid to go higher and refuse to go lower.

[Tom Wood]

$4.99 is the Venn diagram intersection of 'the lowest price that indicates quality'

What's the source for that statement? I don't disagree with it. I'm just curious.

I price every KU title at $2.99 regardless of length because I'm afraid to go higher and refuse to go lower.

Mostly anecdotal, although Robin Sullivan, author Michael Sullivan's spouse, has said that out loud in one of her publishing seminars that she sponsors here in DC. She's a very successful marketer for Michael's books.

[Arches]

I'm starting from zero with a set of YA science fiction adventures. I intend to stay in KU for the duration, or until the market says otherwise. Ebooks via KDP and print via IngramSpark.

Reading the comments in the 'KU is broken' thread, it sounds like the free and $0.99 prices don't get much read-thru. Which makes sense to me, since I'd start at the higher-priced end anyway if I'm already paying $10 a month.

I'm wondering if a launch price of $4.99 makes the most sense since I'll be dependent on KU reads and reviews for a while. $4.99 is the Venn diagram intersection of 'the lowest price that indicates quality' and 'the highest price that gets a one-click buy without a lot of hesitation.'

What am I missing here?

I read the same thread you did but didn't reach  the same conclusion. Also, you mentioned a "set" of stories. If that means a series, and if you're just starting out that's probably the smart move, then I say do what I do. Price the first book at $.99 and each followup in that series at $2.99.  All of my books are in KU, and that's over half of my income, but I still sell a lot of books. By making it easy for a reader to try my different series, I can gain new readers both through KU and sales.
As a new author, I don't think you have much hope of selling a first book for $4.99 unless it truly is amazing. Lots of other amazing authors are already out there with established readerships, so the competition is tough. Best of luck.

[guest215]

Everything I've personally experienced and heard anecdotally is that there's little difference in the sales volume of 2.99, 3.99. and 4.99. While .99 and 1.99 might get you more looky-loos, the sellthrough for looky-loos is poor. They tend to be cheapie hunters.

My advice would be that if you're looking to launch an evergreen, high-quality series, go 4.99. If you're going for a short-term, low-quality burn, .99 will get you more short-term rank boost and visibility.

Since you have no backlist, I recommend launching the entirety of the series all at once, or in rapid fire.

[Tom Wood]

... Also, you mentioned a "set" of stories. If that means a series, ...

Yes, it's the version of a 'series' that is not sequential. Rather, the books are all set in the same story world. Each novel has its own cast of main characters, and a hero who goes on the hero's journey and is forever changed. There is a recurring set of background characters and a similar story setup.

I hear you on pricing strategy. Lots to consider. Thanks!

Per this (and other) diagrams at author earnings, $3.99 is the best-selling price point with $2.99 and $4.99 close by:

[Tom Wood]

Everything I've personally experienced and heard anecdotally is that there's little difference in the sales volume of 2.99, 3.99. and 4.99. While .99 and 1.99 might get you more looky-loos, the sellthrough for looky-loos is poor. They tend to be cheapie hunters.

My advice would be that if you're looking to launch an evergreen, high-quality series, go 4.99. If you're going for a short-term, low-quality burn, .99 will get you more short-term rank boost and visibility.

Since you have no backlist, I recommend launching the entirety of the series all at once, or in rapid fire.

I intend to release the first three in 30-day steps, with the hope that the earlier ones will help build the mailing list for the latter. It's a series of up to ten novels, which will take some time to produce after these initial releases.

[Arches]

... Also, you mentioned a "set" of stories. If that means a series, ...

Yes, it's the version of a 'series' that is not sequential. Rather, the books are all set in the same story world. Each novel has its own cast of main characters, and a hero who goes on the hero's journey and is forever changed. There is a recurring set of background characters and a similar story setup.

I hear you on pricing strategy. Lots to consider. Thanks!

Per this (and other) diagrams at author earnings, $3.99 is the best-selling price point with $2.99 and $4.99 close by:

We're all trying different approaches and comparing notes. The quick launch of the first three is a good start.
If I were just beginning as an author, I'd wonder how I could make it easy for readers to try my books out of the five million plus in KDP. KU is one way, but for those readers not in KU, $4.99 is a heavy lift for an unknown writer.
Of course, you can try it and drop the price later if you need to, at least for a loss leader to get readers interested in your books. The only downside to starting high is you might not get as much benefit from your initial launch of the first three books as otherwise.
I'd also lean toward making as many characters in your world as possible carry over to the other books. Once readers invest emotionally in characters, they tend to want to follow them on new adventures. In my experience that really helps to build a readership.

[Crystal]

Price is really genre dependent. I would look at the KU books in your genre and shoot for a price that's on the lower side of average. IMO, you're better off getting more sales at a lower price when you're in KU, because the visibility gets you more KU reads. Caveat: you still want your price 2.99 or higher, because only getting 35% sucks. I would only price .99 if I had a really specific strategy to make the most of that price point.