I'm glad I found this conversation. I am an indie author and my first book is out now on amazon. I've been toying with the free book idea but now not so sure. What are your thoughts on a small number of free signed copies? Would this come over better?
Signed copies? So you have gone the CreateSpace route? I avoided that, stayed pure electronic - and that means free
samples are readily available at all times. This seemed like common sense at the time - but the longer I sit here, the less effective it seems to be.
Free books, samples, giveaways etc, etc, are all just marketing tools. The problem is that you have to do your own marketing, no-one is doing any for you - and unless you have a relevant background, it ain't easy!
You could try paying for marketing advice - but the cheap ones do nothing and the expensive ones start by marketing themselves, and will cheerfully take money to push an unsaleable product. Then if they sell just a few they can claim to be effective and ask for more money for upgraded services etc
The present book market is a mess, and full of sharks - but I don't know which way it is going to go in future and I don't think anyone else does either! The key is luck - and at that point I have no further advice! (though I might be glad to receive some if anyone out there is REALLY SURE they know what they are talking about)