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