How Amazon Can Work For You

In the world of distributing and marketing your book, Amazon is a key player in sales success. However, it is important to understand the realities of what Amazon can and cannot do for you. Below are some frequently asked questions that we have recently addressed with our authors.

Why doesn’t Amazon promote my book?

Understand Amazon is not a book promoting company, they are an online seller. Amazon does not – of itself – really promote any books (other than ones it publishes itself). It is purely driven by sales and demand. In other words, if a book sells well, then it will be featured more on Amazon – and that means it will probably sell even more. This can definitely be frustrating for new authors, as the challenge is generating enough sales in the first place.

Amazon Book Marketing
I’ve lowered my pricing and gotten good reviews but my book still isn’t selling. What gives?

Changing the price, or even getting ratings, really won’t make any difference on their own. There are literally thousands of cheap, well-rated books available. Readers need to know why they should buy, read, and rate your book in particular, instead of any of the others.
How can I sell more books on Amazon?

First-time authors have to be forceful, creative, and persevering to if they want to be successful. You have to take all your belief in the book, all your passion and encouragement, all the zeal and enthusiasm, and somehow communicate that to readers. That has to come from you (the author). Readers need a personal connection, and that has to come from the author – or other readers.

Take control of your marketing. Publicists, marketers, and publishers are available to help. However, you as the author are the best salesperson for your book title. Build a solid platform, author brand, and marketing plan and put it into action with confidence.

Also, be sure and check out Amazon’s Author Central. This will provide you with tools to help you promote your book titles on Amazon.
Conclusion

Authors can be very successful in selling their books and generating interest, but on every occasion that has only happened with a lot of hard work on their part. A good publisher provides the solid foundation of quality and service that you can build on, and can assist you with the building on top of that, but ultimately your success will depend on how much work you put into it and how long you keep at it.

You can not count on retailers like Amazon, or anyone else, promoting your book for you. While they could certainly make more sales, they already have lots of sales and so that doesn’t concern them. They are content to sit back and let authors and publishers generate the sales. Yes, it’s unfair on many levels – but that’s the way the industry works and we have to make the best of it.

It’s not just about advertising. Telling people about the book is only one element – they also need to know why they should buy it/read it.

Check out our articles on marketing. There are all sorts of things you can do (without necessarily spending any more money), and the more you learn about marketing, the more ideas you will come up with. There’s no magic formula. You just have to keep learning and keep trying until you find something that works.

Don’t give up. Many successful authors have the same struggle, and sometimes it takes a long time and some providence to make things really take off.