Questions about PDF’s.

[The Ninja]

Questions about PDF’s.

My friend and I are working on/finishing up a PDF right now and both he and I have some questions about what we should expect for the future of the PDF.

1.) How well do PDF’s generally sell? Assuming that our PDF sells about average, how many copies does that “generally” mean? Does the average PDF sell in a years time a few hundred or a few thousand etc. We are not looking to make a living off of the pdf but we are hoping to make some profit from it.

2.) How does a start up PDF publisher get the word out about his product without spending a lot of money on advertising? Is it alright to “plug” your book on websites / posting boards? Does it help or hinder the sale of the PDF?

3.) Is there any advise that any PDF publishers may have for starting out book writers like my friend and I. Is there any big things that we should watch out for just starting out and is there any websites that you recommend for selling PDF’s?

 

[BiggusGeekus]

1.) How well do PDF’s generally sell?

90 days is your big window. The following is a word-of-mouth estimate of sales expectations:

20 or less - Very poor sales. Take a deep breath and try to figure out how you can improve.
21 - 50 - Not so hot sales. Hey, not bad for your first time out!
51 - 100 - Pretty good sales. Pat yourself on the back.
101- 200 - Success! You beat the boss AND you get a power up!
200+ - Say it like Keanu Reaves: "Whoa."

2.) How does a start up PDF publisher get the word out about his product without spending a lot of money on advertising?

You stop people on the street and hope they don't run away. Seriously, there's no good answer to this. Sorry.

Is it alright to “plug” your book on websites / posting boards? Does it help or hinder the sale of the PDF?

A little link in your .sig is not going to cause anyone to run off. The small guys do it here all the time. Obviously, don't be a jerk about it.

POSTER: I'm having trouble with one of my players. He doesn't want to play a cleric.
ANNOYING PDF GUY: Well then! Have your player buy five copies of Llamaworld d20!! That'll do it!!!

... you don't want to do that.

3.) Is there any advise that any PDF publishers may have for starting out book writers like my friend and I. Is there any big things that we should watch out for just starting out and is there any websites that you recommend for selling PDF’s?

Go here: http://www.rpgnow.com
And here: http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=1668

Good luck!

 

[The Sigil]

90 days is your big window. The following is a word-of-mouth estimate of sales expectations:

20 or less - Very poor sales. Take a deep breath and try to figure out how you can improve.
21 - 50 - Not so hot sales. Hey, not bad for your first time out!
51 - 100 - Pretty good sales. Pat yourself on the back.
101- 200 - Success! You beat the boss AND you get a power up!
200+ - Say it like Keanu Reaves: "Whoa."

Just as an FYI, in the 90-day window, as far as I can tell, most "established" PDF producers tend to see sales of between 100 and 150 units on most products. The true "big guns" see over 200, but not TOO much more than 200.

Just as a point of reference, getting a product into the top 100 all-time in sales volume at RPGNow.com requires a pinch over 200 sales (I know because my latest product, Buy the Numbers, was sitting at #100 with exactly 201 sales a week or so ago).

As a second point of reference, I can only think of a handful... by which I mean "three"... products that were released in the last 90 days that hit the top 100 sellers list (there may be more, but I can only think of three off the top of my head... you should be able to get the exact number with a little research). One of those was an E.N. Publishing product, Sorcery & Steam, and E.N. Publishing is an "800-pound gorilla" of publishing and gets a ton of sales.

That should tell you about how well your products will sell. My guess is that a new publisher should be pleased to see 100 sales and has a hit on his hands if he gets above 150.

All of this is anecdotal, of course.

--The Sigil

 

[Vaxalon]

This makes me feel a WHOLE lot better about the sales from City Council.

 

[Fast Learner]

There's a whole forum here about the topic, where you'll find a lot of similar questions and some great advice: e-publishing forum.

 

[Chaos Drake]

Yes, but you shouldn't be doing it for the money.

 

[trancejeremy]

I think I would buy a Llamaworld d20 setting.

 

[Monte At Home]

Just as an FYI, in the 90-day window, as far as I can tell, most "established" PDF producers tend to see sales of between 100 and 150 units on most products. The true "big guns" see over 200, but not TOO much more than 200.

If you're looking for data points, for whatever it's worth, Malhavoc pdf products sell well over 200 in 90 days. (I also don't believe in the 90 day sales window for electronic products. We still sell BoEM at a steady rate and that product is 3 years old.)

I say this for one reason only, and no, it's not to toot my own horn. When I see posts like this, while they are refreshingly honest and truly helpful to those just starting, I fear they paint the complete picture of the true potential of electronic publishing. A great many of our electronic products have sales figures in the thousands, not the hundreds. In other words, while I don't want to create false hopes, I do want to make the point that there's a lot of potential out there for growth.

 

[johnsemlak]

As a second point of reference, I can only think of a handful... by which I mean "three"... products that were released in the last 90 days that hit the top 100 sellers list (there may be more, but I can only think of three off the top of my head... you should be able to get the exact number with a little research). One of those was an E.N. Publishing product, Sorcery & Steam, and E.N. Publishing is an "800-pound gorilla" of publishing and gets a ton of sales.
--The Sigil

Uh, slight faux pas there Sigil.

Sorcery and Steam is an FFG product, Steam and Steel is is a PDF product from EN Publishing.

Sorcery and Steam is also available in PDF format from (deep breath) DTRPG. Actually, it was made available for free a while back.

 

[tensen]

I say this for one reason only, and no, it's not to toot my own horn. When I see posts like this, while they are refreshingly honest and truly helpful to those just starting, I fear they paint the complete picture of the true potential of electronic publishing. A great many of our electronic products have sales figures in the thousands, not the hundreds. In other words, while I don't want to create false hopes, I do want to make the point that there's a lot of potential out there for growth.

I think the model is a little skewed. 90 days sales window is silly to think of with PDFs. I think we have 3 year old products that are still selling more a month than what they give as low sales figures for new products. This is because people are thinking on the low end, and not putting sufficient time and effort into products. If they realize they can do better sales, maybe they won't just be satisfied with low numbers, and actually take time and polish their products.

As for the thousands, it may be an unlikely hope. Maybe the top ten on rpgnow broke a thousand sales... out of over 3000 products. It is possible. It is a worthy goal. But even 1 in a thousand isn't bad odds.