One of my absolute favorite movies is It’s a Wonderful Life. If you haven’t seen this Christmas classic, then you really have no business being online right now. Seriously. You need to go watch it. Right now. (And then, of course, come back and read this post.)

It’s a Wonderful Life is quite possibly the most well-known and well-loved of all Christmas movies. BUT it wasn’t such a hit when it first released back in 1947. Though not a total flop, critics and audiences alike didn’t immediately embrace it. And yet today, even people who don’t love it (i.e. crazy people!) have probably seen at least portions of it. So how did a movie that wasn’t initially recognized as a hit become the mega Christmas favorite it is today?

Well, it started with a case of copyright confusion. (Stick with me. I promise there are book marketing implications at work here!) Someone somewhere forgot to renew the copyright for It’s a Wonderful Life back in the early 70s. Thus, the movie entered public domain and started airing constantly on TV during the holiday season. In the next 20-some years, the movie exploded in popularity.

In the late 90s, someone finally got his or her act together and the copyright issue was fixed. You can still catch it on TV but not nearly as frequently. But if you don’t see it on TV, no worries because you can buy it on DVD or Blue-Ray, in Technicolor or black and white, special edition, as part of Christmas compilations, pay to watch it online…etc etc etc. And people like me (i.e. classic movie nerds) will always plunk down the money to purchase the movie instead of waiting to catch it on TV.

All right…now we sidestep to author marketing and today’s particular topic: Freebies.

Publishers will often offer free e-versions of authors’ books. This seemed to balloon hugely a year or two ago, but I think it’s evened out now. They’re still offering free ebooks, but perhaps not at the same pace as before. And we’ve all probably heard  varying opinions on the pros and cons of freebies. Me? I’m on the pro side. Why?

Because of the It’s a Wonderful Life effect!

Once It’s a Wonderful Life entered public domain and started airing on lots of TV networks, it exposed the movie to a whole audience of people who would’ve have seen it otherwise. Sure, whoever should’ve owned the copyright at that point wasn’t getting their money. But in the long run, the movie’s sudden burst of exposure cemented its standing as a Christmas classic and the current copyright holders are probably pretty happy about that…and financially satisfied.

The same thing can happen with freebies. When a publisher (or a self-published author) chooses to offer a book for free for a limited period of time, it can boost the book’s (and the author’s) long-term impact. Readers who may not have been willing to buy a book by an author they’ve never tried are more likely to give it a chance for free. And once they do, all kinds of good stuff can happen. Good stuff like:

• Future purchases. If they love your free book enough, chances are next time they see your name on a book—whether a new release or a backlist book—they’ll be willing to plunk down the mullah.
• Telling their friends. Pre-freebie, they didn’t even know who you were. Post-freebie, you’re a brand they trust and one they’ll likely recommend to their reading friends
• Connections. We all know marketing is really about relationships. Your new readers are new connections who could open all kinds of doors for you—book clubs, speaking engagements, new social media followings.
• Promotion boost during non-release season. When you’re in between book releases, it’s easy for the marketing well to run dry. A freebie gives you a nice reason to be out there promoting.
• Promotion boost during release season. A lot of times, publishers will offer an author’s previous book free in the month or two before an author’s next book. It’s a great way to get people talking and excited—and hopefully pull in some new readers—right on the cusp of your next release.

Done well, freebies really can work. If you’re traditionally published and your publisher decides to offer your title as a freebie, then go ahead and promote the heck out of that book on whatever day(s) it’s offered free. Don’t think of it as dollars lost. Think of it as readers gained. 🙂