Guest Article
Many authors find that just because their book or ebook is available on Amazon, that doesn’t mean readers will find it or make a decision to buy. Amazon carries millions of book titles, and that means that you have to do the work to help your audience find yours.
Following are some easy and important ways to boost visibility on Amazon and ultimately sell more books.
1. Add more content to your sales page. Often times the description submitted to Amazon with your book or Kindle ebook isn’t enough. First, make sure you’ve set up a free Author Central account. From there you can add additional details like editorial reviews, a note from the author and other details. For my last book, I chose to publish the entire Table of Contents in the “From the Author” section, adding more keywords to my book page to improve search and giving page visitors a clear view of the contents. Whatever you do here, take full advantage of the opportunity to expand the details on your book page to better capture the interest of potential readers.
2. Get more reviews. The fact is that positive reviews help to sell books on Amazon, and the more reviews you have, the better. While you should never manufacture reviews, you can certainly go out and simply ASK your readers to take action. In fact, make a habit of periodically reminding your readers via social media or your email newsletter. This should be an ongoing effort.
3. Link your print and Kindle editions together. If your book is available in print and ebook formats, you can alert Amazon to link up your respective sales pages so that potential readers can see that multiple editions are available. Here’s how:
- Go to http://kdp.amazon.com.
- At the footer of the page click on Contact Us.
- Click on Product Page, then Linking Print and Kindle Editions.
- Fill in the requested information: ASIN for the Kindle version and ISBN for the print edition. Once submitted, you should see your pages linked together within a few days.
4. Build your author platform. New authors often struggle with something I call “author post-partum.” This is what happens after the fun of a new book launch, when the frenzy dies down and you’re left wondering what the heck to do next. Successful authors are in it for the long haul. That means that they are committed to promoting their books long-term, not just the week the book is released. To do this, you need to adopt as many of the following tactics as you can handle:
- Professional website (no template sites, please!)
- Blog that you update at least twice per week
- Content marketing strategy that includes video, podcasts, guest blog posts, etc.
- Daily social media activity
- PR strategy so that you are pursuing media interviews and placements
- Great partners who you can cross-promote with
- Ongoing learning about new online marketing tactics
- Speaking at events, both in person and online
- Professional email marketing strategy
5. Plant three seeds each day. I like to compare book marketing to gardening. I don’t personally like gardening—the dirt, the bugs, the sun—yuck! But what I do like is having a beautiful yard, so I do it anyway (and also hire professionals to help). Imagine what would happen if you planted three seeds in your garden each day. Over time it would be beautiful. It’s the same for book marketing. If you can do three things every day to build your platform and promote your book or ebook, over time you will reap many rewards. But many authors give up before they find this out. Keep at it—you’ll be glad you did.
“E-book Reader” courtesy of Maggie Smith / www.freedigitalphotos.net
Do you have any other ideas for selling an Ebook?
About the author: Stephanie Chandler is the author of several books including The Nonfiction Book Marketing Plan: Online and Offline Promotion Strategies to Build Your Audience and Sell More Books. Stephanie is also CEO of http://AuthorityPublishing.com, specializing in custom book publishing and social media marketing services, and http://NonfictionAuthorsAssociation.com, a marketing community for authors. A frequent speaker at business events and on the radio, she has been featured in Entrepreneur, BusinessWeek, and Wired magazine, and she is a blogger for Forbes.
Great article, Stephanie. Another avenue not talked about much in the self-publishing word is public domain.