A while back, I mused about how I suspected that authors were going to start using apps to promote themselves (in addition to websites and social networking, of course), but I couldn’t quite figure out exactly how that was going to work.
Well, we now have our answer.
In this blog post on goodereader.com, I learned that Book Brewer, a well-known name in ebooks, created the first app as a marketing tool for authors and presented it at the SelfPub Book Expo this past weekend in NYC.
Here’s an excerpt from the article:
The purpose of AuthorApps is to create a unique, customizable space for authors with several titles or series works in which readers can find all of an author’s titles in one easy-to-download free app. Within the app, fans can not only read sample chapters of the authors’ works, but they can also opt to buy a title by tapping the BUY button on the top of any page in a given sample, which gives the authors even greater royalties since the purchase is made within the app. Moreover, readers can receive updates via push notification whenever a new title is available within the author app.
According to Dan Pacheco, the founder of BookBrewer and CEO of FeedBrewer, Inc, their author apps, “are like an extension of the author’s Web site into the mobile space, but with one key differentiator from other apps: they include the actual books and the entire e-reading experience. This allows authors to have a more direct connection with readers as they’re reading, to promote new titles directly to their biggest fans, and to keep more of the revenue.”
He goes on to add: “The history of self-publishing basically boils down to this: the more control you put in the hands of the authors, the more they sell. This is why we think apps are a logical next step for successful self-published authors and small press publishers.”
I agree, Dan. Apps really are the next step. I’m glad you’re venturing into this space, and I hope some of our clients with Smart Author Sites will be able to take advantages of services like this in the future.