1. Cheap and Free: Evaluating Amazons E-book Promotions Krista Coulson University of Chicago Press AAUP Annual Meeting New Orleans, Louisiana June 23, 2014

2. Amazon Promotions: (That weve done) Sunshine Deal &The Big Deal 2-week promotion, $0.99-$2.99 Monthly Deal 1-month promotion, $0.99-$2.99 Custom Promotions Organized by UCP across multiple e- booksellers 1-Day Promotions 1-day promotion, $0.99-$2.99 3. Our Questions Will super cheap e-book promos suck (more valuable) sales away from the print versions? If we have to fund a promo by creating a promotional price, are we saturating our market with the promo sale and hurting ourselves in the long run? How do promos work for different kinds of titles? Is a promo just a flash in the pan in attention or revenue, or does it have a longer benefit for a title overall? Is there meaning in the universe? What existed before the Big Bang? 4. Sunshine Deal June 2011 much tall 3000% Increase!!! very sales wow 5. Sunshine Deal June 2011 6. Sunshine Deal June 2011 -4 Wks -2 Wks Promo +2 Wks +4 Wks +6 Wks +8 Wks E-book Unit Sales E-book 7. E- and Print Unit Sales -4 Wks -2 Wks Promo +2 Wks +4 Wks +6 Wks +8 Wks Print E-book 8. E- and Print Unit Sales with Revenue 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120% 140% -4 Wks -2 Wks Promo +2 Wks +4 Wks +6 Wks +8 Wks Print E-book % Rev over Baseline 9. Sunshine Deal 2011 Literature Biology History History/GLBTQ Studies Fiction Popular Science Film Studies History/Women's Studies Education Ethnography Travel Political Science Revenue Change Before and After the Promotion 0 10. The Big Deal Amazon rolls out a bunch of promotions: The Big Deal The Monthly Deal The Amazon 100 The Daily Deal 1-day Promotions 11. Big Deal 2012 -40% -20% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120% 140% 160% 180% E-book Print % Rev Change 12. Big Deal 2013 -50% 0% 50% 100% 150% 200% 250% -6 Wks -4 Wks -2 Wks Promo +2 Wks +4 Wks +6 Wks E-books Print % Rev Change 13. COMPLETELY DIFFERENT! And now for something 14. Chicago Shorts Experiment From Nov 4- Dec 9th 2013 we made 17 of our 18 Chicago Shorts free on every platform. We didnt publicize or announce it, and to my knowledge neither did Amazon or any of our other e-booksellers. 15. 5 weeks of Free Period 11/3-11/9 11/10-11/16 11/17-11/23 11/24-11/30 12/1-12/7 Total Shorts Units on Amazon 16. Total Units of 17 Shorts (Sept May)9/1-9/7 9/8-9/14 9/15-9/21 9/22-9/28 9/29-10/5 10/6-10/12 10/13-10/19 10/20-10/26 10/27-11/2 11/3-11/9 11/10-11/16 11/17-11/23 11/24-11/30 12/1-12/7 12/9-12/15 12/16-12/22 12/23-12/29 12/30-1/5/14 1/6-1/12 1/13-1/19 1/20-1/26 1/27-2/2 2/3-2/9 2/10-2/16 2/17-2/23 2/24-3/2 3/3-3/9 3/10-3/16 3/17-3/23 3/24-3/30 3/31-4/6 4/7-4//13 4/14-4/20 4/21-4/27 4-28-5/4 5/5-5/11 5/12-5/18 Free Period 17. Shorts Source Titles by Binding 1-Sep 8-Sep 15-Sep 22-Sep 29-Sep 6-Oct 13-Oct 20-Oct 27-Oct 3-Nov 10-Nov 17-Nov 24-Nov 1-Dec 8-Dec 15-Dec 22-Dec 29-Dec 5-Jan 12-Jan 19-Jan 26-Jan 2-Feb 9-Feb 16-Feb 23-Feb 2-Mar 9-Mar 16-Mar 23-Mar 30-Mar 6-Apr 13-Apr 20-Apr 27-Apr 4-May 11-May E-book Total Cloth Total Paper TotalFree Period 18. All titles compared to Shorts Source Titles 1-Sep 8-Sep 15-Sep 22-Sep 29-Sep 6-Oct 13-Oct 20-Oct 27-Oct 3-Nov 10-Nov 17-Nov 24-Nov 1-Dec 8-Dec 15-Dec 22-Dec 29-Dec 5-Jan 12-Jan 19-Jan 26-Jan 2-Feb 9-Feb 16-Feb 23-Feb 2-Mar 9-Mar 16-Mar 23-Mar 30-Mar 6-Apr 13-Apr 20-Apr 27-Apr 4-May 11-May E-book Total Cloth Total Paper Total Total Units NOT Including Shorts and Shorts-Related Titles Free Period 19. SOME OTHER LESSONS WE LEARNED Promotions: 20. Promo Impact on Author Royalties Pre-Promo During Promo Post-Promo >6wks after E-book Royalties Print Royalties 21. 1-Week Custom Promo 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120% 140% All 19 Other Bk 1 Promo Movie Tie-in % Rev Over Baseline 22. Big Deal:The Series Effect -6 Wks -4 Wks -2 Wks Promo +2 Wks +4 Wks +6 Wks Promo Units Bk2 Units Bk3 Units Bk 4 Units 23. Monthly Deal: Series Effect Promo Bk 1 Bk 2 Bk 3 Bk 4 Non-Series Book by Author Promo Period 24. Revenue for the Series 0% 50% 100% 150% 200% 250% 300% 350% 400% P-6 Avg P Average P+6 Avg P+10 Avg E-books P-Books Total % over Pre-Promo