How clever Dan Poynter promotes his multimedia ebook

It was the subject line of Dan Poynter’s email that caught my attention.
 

When I clicked on it, there he was, smiling, in the cockpit of a plane. I couldn’t help but look out the front window and imagine that I was sitting there next to him and that we were ready to take off. 
 

 

The headline caught my eye, and I kept reading. Here’s how Dan’s email message promotes the ebook:

• He explains what makes this book different from the typical fiction ebook. 

“Books, especially fiction, have been straight text for hundreds of years. In the early days of books, if there was an illustration, it was a drawing or photograph in the frontispiece. Offset printing made it easy to add illustrations but fiction didn’t change. The Internet made it easy to add videos but fiction didn’t change. Maps anchor the text. Pictures show the locations. Videos bring life to the text. References verify the scenes, and so on. Fiction is growing up.

• And then he explains what’s required to read it.

“To take advantage of the illustrative improvements, enhanced ebooks must be read on a device connected to the Internet. With so many people buying Kindles, iPads, Nooks, and other ereading devices, more and more readers will be able to enjoy the improvements in fiction.

• Then, he summarizes the book.

“Tailwinds: Adventures of a Young Aviator,” takes place in the late 30s and early 40s. It is illustrated with black-and-white photos that were taken at that time. There are maps depicting all the places the young hero visits. Fascinating videos back up materials and almost all were from the 1940s era. See the ebook’s description at Tailwinds Website. 

• He promotes his expertise by mentioning that he has pioneered a new type of reading—again.

• He offers a coupon code, valid until Dec. 31, where you can get a free pre-publication review copy and “permission” to share it with friends and mention it in your blog or ezine.
   
•  He gives step-by-step instructions on how to get the ebook free.
     

  –Go to Tailwinds at Smashwords. 

  –In the area labeled “Available book reading formats,” look in the “Full Book” column and buy the version to fit your ereader. Click.

  –Log into your shopping cart. Click

  –In the Coupon code box, enter this code :XY52B

  –Then click Update and the cost will revert to 0.00.

  –Click on “checkout” 
   

• He explains why the book is free for the next two months.

  “Making the book free, initially, is part of our promotion plan,” the email says. “To make a work of fiction go, it has to get read (enjoyed and reviewed).”  

• At the end of the email, he even suggests where you can review it.
  

  “I hope you like the book and will review it at Amazon, Smashwords, B&N, and other sites.”

I haven’t downloaded or read the ebook yet, but I thought this email was enticing and his promotion very clever. If you’re promoting your own ebook, even if the book isn’t multimedia, consider borrowing a few of these ideas from Dan.

What kind of compelling photo can you offer at the beginning of your email message to really pull in readers?

Have you downloaded Dan’s ebook and read it? Your thoughts? What other ideas do you have on how to promote ebooks? What’s worked for you and what hasn’t?