If you’ve self-published your book on Amazon, chances are you’ve spent some time staring at your sales reports (or lack thereof), wondering when those sales are going to start rolling in. That, or you’ve been anxiously refreshing the listing page for your book, waiting for the moment when the BSR (sales rank) indicates that you’ve made some sales.
We’ve all been there. After working for what seems like forever on a book, it can be beyond heartbreaking to log in day after day to find that you’ve made zero sales. What about all that effort you put in? What about “if you build it, they will come”? WHY IS NO ONE BUYING YOUR BOOK?
I have many answers to this question, and I’ll start with the simplest one: did you build an audience before you released your book?
If not, start there. In fact, I believe in that so strongly, I’ll make it # 1.
1. Build your audience. In this case, “audience” means email list, and if you don’t have one of those already, can I recommend that you get started on that, like, yesterday? You need an email list to be a successful author. I would put “email list” even above websites for important things for authors to have. After all, if you don’t have any people, how are you going to get the momentum going for your book? Many authors learn this the hard way, but just publishing a book on Amazon does not entitle you to book sales. Yes, Amazon has its own built-in audience, but you have to do something to get the momentum going. Ideally, that would mean sending out an announcement about your book to your 10,000+ person email list. an email list is an essential tool for any author who wants to connect with their readers, build their brand, and promote their books effectively.
Here is more information (in fact, a whole free book!) about how to set up your email list so people can start signing up. Seriously. Get on that!
2. Put A+ content on your book’s page. A+ content is essentially an expanded description of your book that includes images, videos, and other rich media. A+ allows authors to showcase their products in a more visually appealing and informative way
A+ content can help you sell books on Amazon in several ways. First, it can help your book stand out from the competition. A+ content provides an opportunity to create a more engaging and informative product page that helps potential customers better understand what your book is about and why they should buy it. A+ content is free, so why wouldn’t you use it? Any space you can get for free on Amazon, you should take.
Additionally, A+ content can help improve your book’s search ranking on Amazon. By including additional keywords and rich media, you can improve the relevance and visibility of your book to potential customers.
Here is more information about A+ content!
3. Take out paid ads on your book (through Amazon)
In case you’re not familiar with paid ads on Amazon, Amazon Advertising is a suite of advertising tools that Amazon offers to sellers and vendors on its platform. It includes several different types of ads, such as sponsored products, sponsored brands, and sponsored display ads. These ads can appear on various parts of the Amazon platform, including search results, product detail pages, and even on external websites.
Amazon Advertising can help you sell more books by increasing the visibility and discoverability of your products on Amazon. By creating targeted advertising campaigns, you can reach potential customers who are actively searching for books similar to yours, or who have shown interest in your book’s genre or topic.
One of the key benefits of Amazon Advertising is that it allows you to track the performance of your ads in real-time. This means you can adjust your campaigns as needed to optimize your ad spend and ensure that you’re getting the best possible return on investment.
To get started with Amazon Advertising, you’ll need to have a seller or vendor account on Amazon. From there, you can create advertising campaigns and set your budget and targeting criteria. Amazon also provides a range of tools and resources to help you get the most out of your advertising campaigns, including analytics and reporting tools, as well as best practices and optimization tips.
Here is more information on amazon ads!
4. Use GoodReads to get the word out about your book. This will work especially well if you are an active GoodReads user, meaning you already know the interface and participate in the community. You can create a profile on GoodReads, add your book(s), host giveaways, participate in groups, get reviews, and alot more. Plus, GoodReads is owned by Amazon, so that counts for something! Here is some more information about GoodReads (and a great video interview).
