Why don't books have deluxe editions?
Updated: Dec 12, 2022
When selling an ebook, why not offer two versions:
A normal version
A deluxe version with more material, such as extra chapters, an embedded workbook with exercises, an exclusive interview with the author, an extra forward by a person respected in the same field as the author
Price the deluxe version a few dollars higher than the normal version. Albums are sold this way. Add a few extra tracks (eg, demo versions of songs, live versions of songs, songwriter commentary on each song), and--boom--you've got yourself a deluxe edition.
One benefit of doing this is it price anchors the normal version, making potential readers more comfortable buying it, and therefore more likely to buy. Another benefit is it gives both groups of readers something to be pleased about: value-oriented readers feel they're getting a cheap book; quality-oriented readers feel they're getting a high-quality book.
As this is an ebook, there is no logistical reason you can't do this. Brick and mortar books stores likely would not want to carry two versions of a book. Hardback versus paperback is simple, but two versions of the same book (multiplied by hardback versus paperback) is harder to communicate--or at least it takes up more book space, which, unless you're a big name, they won't give to you. On a webpage, however, it's easy to make the difference clear, and no shortage of space.
You might brand the second version as a "deluxe edition" with multiple add-ons, appealing to a sense of luxury. Or you might brand it as a "workbook edition." Lots of self-improvement books sell a separate workbook, but this workbook is built in for only a few extra dollars--what a steal!
Or you might brand the second version as the normal one and the first one as an "economy edition," an "abridged" version, or a "study guide edition" with just the basic principles for a few dollars less.
Come to think of it. A third product tier could be a PDF summary for, say, just a couple dollars. And then you can have a PDF summary + workbook combo for a few dollars more.
Your webpage might look something like this:
Summary PDF - $2
Workbook PDF - $3
Summary PDF + Workbook PDF Combo - $4
Book - $7
Deluxe edition (book) - $10
Audiobook - $15
Deluxe edition (audiobook) - $18
Deluxe Combo (Summary PDF, Workbook PDF, Deluxe edition of book and audiobook) - $28
Thanks for reading.