As a Kindle book author, you know that your primary job once the book is finished is marketing. Some people love the marketing aspect of being an author, but an equal number dread it. While you may understand intellectually that marketing is necessary, fun does not fit into your definition of marketing.
I had the same attitude until I started marketing my first Kindle book! Seeing daily results from my marketing efforts made it all a lot more fun. As the sales started to pour in, it turned into a game. It’s now become a daily obsession – what can I do to increase my sales?
Here are ten ways that you can start having more fun in marketing your Kindle book.
1. Track from day one. You don’t know what’s working unless you are tracking your sales. I make it a habit to log into my KDP account first thing every morning and jot down my total sales (and borrows) for the month. It was fun seeing which days of the week sold best, as well as seeing if I could track spikes in sales based on my marketing efforts.
You’ll also want to track borrows, which now include Kindle Unlimited “sales.” Likewise, it’s fun to track foreign sales to see how many countries your book is selling in!
2. Play the Amazon game. Based on the description of the various Amazon ranking factors found in Let’s Get Visible by David Gaughran, I watched my daily rankings. Immediately after checking my sales, I went to my book page and scrolled down to the ranking section.
In that way I could see how well I was doing in each category. I could also see which day Amazon added the page count and when they started adding my book to the “those who bought this also bought this” list on other books in related categories. Each step made it more fun!
3. Encourage reviews. Naturally we would all like all 5-star reviews, but often you can learn the most from those with 3 or 4 stars. Read every review. I did this each morning as I was checking my sales stats.
Respond to any reviews you need to, vote for your favorite reviews so they move up the list, and send thank you notes to the reviewers you know.
I also wrote and shared an article with my network on How to Write an Amazon Review, as well as one on Why Authors Need Your Reviews. Those helped take the mystery out of the review process for some of my readers.
4. Document the process. Each time I gained a new ranking, I took a screen shot. That included total sales rank in Amazon, as well as where I stood in each of my three major book categories. It turns out you can rank for both books and Kindle books – even if you only publish on Kindle. For example, this is a screen shot for my Membership Site Plan book, taken on 2/21/2014.
These screen shots can be used in articles, blog posts, and on social media. They also back up any of your claims in terms of best-seller status.
5. Go where the audience is. Since my Ecourse and Teleseminar Guest books offer additional distribution methods for authors, I found that advertising on sites where authors go can be valuable. Therefore it made sense to pay for ads on author marketing sites.
Consider your book’s target market. Where do they go online? Then buy ads on those sites so that you are right in front of them.
6. Use profitable links. Always use an affiliate link when sending people to your book. In the first month I made extra money over and above the sales of the book because those clicking on the link to my book also bought other items while they were on Amazon. From groceries to music to golf clubs – they sell it all. And when you send visitors with your link they are “cookied” for 24 hours. It’s extra money in your pocket.
7. Use tracking links for each source of traffic. Within your Amazon affiliate account, set up tracking links for each source of traffic. I use different links for my blog, email, Facebook, YouTube, and article sites, as well as other places where I post my links. By tracking these sources you not only see where your sales are coming from, but you also see how effective your marketing is to draw more traffic to your book page.
8. Create a book trailer. A video book trailer is an additional way to attract people to your book. By creating a movie-style short video, viewers can learn more about your book and why they want to buy it.
I took a course on creating book trailers, but that isn’t necessary if you just need a couple of short videos. You can try out the process and easily create your first book trailer with online tools like Animoto, WeVideo or PowToon. Each of those can help you create effective short videos that can be shared on Facebook, posted on your blog, and added to your Amazon author page.
9. Follow up with your readers. Naturally you have included bounce-back offers in your book. For my Book Marketing book I offered a simple invitation to get a Target Market Worksheet. That took them to an optin page, which added them to a special autoresponder.
Through the autoresponder sequence I encouraged them to
- Look at specific parts of the books
- Read articles I had written, particularly the two on writing book reviews on Amazon
- Write a review of the book
- Check out the full course I offer on Design Your Online Course
- Offer suggestions and questions they have on the content for my next book
With this dedicated autoresponder, I can stay in contact with my readers, building a long-term relationship.
10. Brag About Your Book! This is probably the hardest step, but keep in mind that people like to share in your success. Post awards, rankings, quotable reviews on your social media account – each time with that trackable link to the book.
Remind your subscribers about your book. It’s not enough to write them once telling them you have a book. Put it on your calendar at least twice a month to send an email dedicated to some aspect of your book.
None of these book launch tips are hard or time-consuming. The wonderful thing about having a Kindle book is that daily you can see the impact you are making with your marketing. And results make it all more FUN!
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Wow!
As usual, Jeanette, you have provided a comprehensive yet coherent series of doable steps to market our books. And despite all the other courses I’ve taken, I can’t say I found these key steps laid out like this. Many thanks!
Donna