Eight Ways Amazon Can Help You Sell More Book

Amazon is in the news again. New affiliate policies. Jeff Bezos becoming
the owner of a venerated newspaper. And, of course, the Amazon
hate-machine is out in full force. Here’s why we authors just need to

“get over it.” 

 

1.      Amazon sells far and away more books than any other online bookstore. And far and away more books
than traditional bookstores combined.

2.      Amazon provides easily accessed associate sites
that let you sell your books overseas even if you haven’t
sold foreign rightsto your book.

3.      Amazon provides a search engine arguably second
only to Google’s—especially if you view this statistic
from the standpoint of an author or publisher.

4.      The “What other customers buy after they’ve
reviewed this item…” feature may feel uncomfortable,
but it connects your book to other top sellers on Amazon.

5.      An annual contest for fiction in partnership
with some of the biggest names in publishing.

6.      A widget for your backlist book pages that leads
readers to your new editions.

7.      A “frequently bought together” feature that may
give readers a deal on your book when bought in
conjunction with bestsellers in your genre.

8.      Amazon offers all kinds of ways to promote
your book including:

§   An author profile—a general one and a
Kindle-specific one. You can even feed
your blog and Twitter stream to it.

§   A buy page with add-on features that let you
highlight your credentials and your book.

§   Participation in features like Listmania that
help you spread the word all over the vast
Amazon site—in places where you’ll reach
the readers most interested in your book.

§   Promotion packages like Kindle Select and their
Vine program for getting reviewed by their top reviewers. Some are free, some are costly,
but they all work.

§   A place on your buy page to install story- or
author-related images.

§   Places to comment on reviews. That includes
thanking a reviewer, correcting inaccuracies,
etc.

§   Ways for the author to help their bestseller
ratings by juggling their book’s category and subcategories. (Of course, the author must
promote bestselling ratings when they achieve them—perhaps on Twitter.)

§   Forums (rarely used efficiently by authors).

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My articles and features are available for you to reprint—with credit
and links, of course. Just let me know if you need a more
accessible digital format.  I’ll even add the credit for you.

And, if you e-mail me with AMAZON BOOK-LIKE FLIER in the subject line,
I'll send you a little 1 fold, four-page template I used this information in.
You can adapt it to your promotional needs. Of course, I appreciate
a credit line and mention of my Frugal Book Promoter that includes lots
more on what Amazon can do for your book. 

 

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and how to books for writers including the award-winning second edition of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor .