How to Stand Out in the Biggest Bookstore in the World
SELLING YOUR BOOKS ON AMAZON
JAMES D. BEST
• Steve Dancy Tales
• The Shopkeeper
• Leadville
• Murder at Thumb Butte
• The Return
• Tempest at Dawn
• The Shut Mouth Society
• Nonfiction
• Principle Action, Lessons From the Origins of the American Republic
• The Digital Organization
• Magazine Columns and Journal Articles and Ghost Writing
• Skillful Direct Marketers
• Publishing, Printing, Distribution, Sales
• Companies Owned by Amazon
• Createspace
• Audible.com
• Goodreads
• Shelfari
• IMDb
SELLING YOUR BOOKS ON AMAZON
Amazon Dominates Books Print, eBooks, Audio
• Product PageThis is your shelf space
• Author PageThis is your branding
• Features and ProgramsThese are your knobs and switches
Keys to Selling on Amazon
SELLING YOUR BOOKS ON AMAZON
PRODUCT PAGE
• Book Cover
• Look Inside—Critical
• Formats
• Enticing Book Description, with Accurate Book Details
• About the Author—Professional
• Editorial Reviews—Responsible Reviewers
• Customer Reviews—Amazon and Goodreads
• Frequently Bought Together and Also Bought
A Moving Target
Your Shelf Space
PRODUCT PAGE
• Eye Catching
• Now larger and animated
• Look Inside—Critical
• Audio sample now available with print formats
• Images moved down page
Your Cover
PRODUCT PAGE
Formats—Print, Kindle, Large Print, Audio
Frequently Bought Together—Valuable When You Have More Than One Book
PRODUCT PAGE
• Enticing Book Description
• Accurate Book Details
• About the Author—Professional
• Editorial Reviews—Responsible Reviewers
• Update periodically
Make them want to peek inside
PRODUCT PAGE
• Amazon
• Goodreads
• A Few critical is actually beneficial
Customer Reviews
The Shopkeeper
PRODUCT PAGE• Flexibility limited
• Pick a strategy
• Use Also BoughtLast, but not least—Pricing
AUTHOR PAGE
An opportunity to sell yourself and your books
AUTHOR PAGE• The first thing a reader sees is your photo
• Biography on all product pages
• Images and data displayed for all of your books
• Learn how to sign in
• Add and correct information• Learn about new Amazon features• Add an author video• Automatic feed from your blog• Latest Twitter tweet• Scheduled events• Review sales information
AMAZON FEATURES AND PROGRAMS
• Prime (KDP Select)
• Requires Amazon Exclusivity
• Borrow for Free
• Countdown Deals
• Free Book Promotions
• Matchbook Program
• Discounted Audio with Kindle Purchase
What is Amazon Prime?
• Program for best customers
• $79 a year
• Free trial month for new Kindle owners
• Free shipping
• Free video
• Free book borrow every 30 days
• Kindle and print previews
• Back cover
• Preview pages
• Inside This Book is highly valuable for nonfiction
LOOK INSIDE
Equivalent of Flipping Through Book at Store
• Must sound authentic
• Carried across all editions
• A few bad ones actually help
• Was This Review Helpful is important
CUSTOMER REVIEWS
The Good, Bad, and The Ugly
• Amazon Verified Purchase important to those who look for it
• Recentness helps with older books
• You can report spam reviews
• Never respond to a bad review
• Tags
• Listmanias
• So you’d like to …
• Customer Discussions
OLD FEATURES ARE FALLING BY THE WAYSIDE
But Other Great Features are Coming!
GOOD FRIENDS, GOOD BOOKS AND A SLEEPY CONSCIENCE: THIS IS THE IDEAL LIFE. — MARK TWAIN
KNOWING YOU HAVE SOMETHING GOOD TO READ BEFORE BED IS AMONG THE MOST PLEASURABLE OF SENSATIONS.— VLADIMIR NABOKOV
THOU SHALT NOT IS SOON FORGOTTEN, BUT ONCE UPON A TIME LASTS FOREVER.— PHILIP PULLMAN
READING IS THE SOLE MEANS BY WHICH WE SLIP, INVOLUNTARILY, OFTEN HELPLESSLY, INTO ANOTHER’S SKIN, ANOTHER’S VOICE, ANOTHER’S SOUL.— JOYCE CAROL OATES
BOOKS ARE A UNIQUELY PORTABLE MAGIC.— STEPHEN KING
READING BRINGS US UNKNOWN FRIENDS.— HONORÉ DE BALZAC
THANK YOU
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