Blog
MUST DO Steps for Amazon Campaigns for eBooks
By Judith Briles
Daily, I get questions from published authors: Is it worth it … to put in the time and energy to mount a bestseller campaign on Amazon?
If you are a bestseller snob, you will say no, arguing only the “real” lists count: the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, etc. Being the contrarian that I can be,
I’m going to say it is worth it.
I’m talking Amazon … the gorilla that sells most of the books. I’m not talking the “one hour” slot. How about claiming 24 hours for several days? In multiple categories? And how about starting the buzz and building momentum for your title?
It takes work. It’s not something that you should be thinking: … ummm, today is Friday—I’m going to do a bestseller campaign next week. That’s a huge nope—and a recipe for failure.
read more http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2020/08/must-do-steps-for-amazon-campaigns-for-ebooks/
Guest Post: 5 Fail-safe Strategies for Selling More Books
By Dave Chesson
Selling books can be hard. Sure, marketplaces like Amazon have made it easier than ever to list your books for sale, but grabbing readers’ attention is more difficult than ever. In this article, we’ll look at five strategies you can use to sell more books.
read more http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DigitalPubbing/~3/ajPfP7FUO5Y/
Why Authors Should Know Their Target Audience
By Kate Tilton
Who is your target audience? What is a reader profile?
These are two questions that continue to baffle many authors, not only new authors starting out in this business but even established authors with several books out. I get it, with all the marketing information out there these terms get thrown around a lot. So first let’s break it down.
By definition a “target audience” is “the intended group for which something is performed or marketed; the specific group to which advertising is directed.” (Dictionary.com) In other words, your target audience is the people you market your book to. A target audience is also referred to as a “target market” or in our industry a “target reader” or “target readers” so keep this in mind.
read more http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2020/09/why-authors-should-know-their-target-audience/
Coronavirus Lockdown Lessons for Authors
When Coronavirus hit pandemic status in March 2020, no one was expecting a global lockdown. Life changed dramatically, forcing millions to stay at home, disrupting work life, social life and travel plans. New habits and routines needed forming, adjustments to family dynamics had to be made, and our creative processes were flung into turmoil. But as some countries make the long journey out of lockdown, over in the Alliance of Independent Authors, we thought we would look to the future and how we can make positive changes. This is: coming out of lockdown: coronavirus lessons for authors.
read more https://selfpublishingadvice.org/coronavirus-lockdown-lessons-for-authors/
Self-publishing News: Amazon Buy Button is Changing
Author groups are worried by changes to Amazon buy button, artificial intelligence storytelling is coming but virtual reality suffers
Worrying Changes for the Amazon Buy Button
Amazon’s buy button is the holy grail for many sellers. When a customer wants to buy a product, it’s the thing they hit. In theory they may be aware that other sellers are available. And some may do a search to compare offers or buy from their favourite storefront. But most just click buy. New changes to the way the buy button works in 2021 might have profound effects for us as authors. At the moment, if someone wants a new copy of our paperback book, and we publish with KDP Print, they click the buy button and a book is printed on demand. We get the royalty from that at a rate we know from our dashboard.
From next year, people selling “new condition” items will be able to bid for that buy button. The Society of Authors in the UK and Authors Guild in America are worried. I’m not sure there’s too much of a threat to our sales. Most people who buy our books read them. But if a sufficient proportion of people who don’t read them bid to resell them, I can see that would be an issue. A further change will come from Brexit. Access to Amazon’s European fulfilment network will be limited for UK sellers. And vice versa.
Does New Technology Offer New Opportunities?
read more https://selfpublishingadvice.org/self-publishing-news-amazon-buy-button-is-changing/
TwitterChat: Running Author Live Shows and Podcasts
On the ALLi Twitter chat (#indieAuthorChat) this week we asked questions about running Author Live Shows and Podcasts
read more https://selfpublishingadvice.org/running_live_shows_podcasts/
The Ultimate Guide to Mailing Lists for Authors Part 3: Maintaining a Mailing List
In a three-part series starting two weeks ago, the Alliance of Independent Authors #AskALLi team explores mailing lists, how to set them up, how to grow them, manage them and most importantly, build and sustain relationships and connections with your readers. With deep thanks to all of our members who contributed insightful comments and a special thanks to members. This is the ultimate guide to mailing lists for indie authors part 3: maintaining a mailing list.
read more https://selfpublishingadvice.org/maintaining-a-reader-mailing-list/
Should I Write the COVID-19 Novel?
One of our staff writers is an editor and, sitting around the gruel pot the other day, she asked our opinions. Her client was in a rush to publish a book by a specific date, because it meshed with a historic event that was about to occur. It was her opinion that there wasn’t time to get the book ready. He said he didn’t care. He’d publish it now and “fix it up later.” What should she do?
Well, that’s a two-layer question. As an editor, she should keep telling the guy what is wrong with his writing, and when it reaches the point he’s happy with it, he can publish it. It’s his book, and all the final decisions are his.
What if You’re the Writer?
read more https://indiesunlimited.com/2020/08/25/should-i-write-the-covid-19-novel/
Mailchimp Review for Authors
In this review, we’ll take a look at Mailchimp and figure out whether it’s the right email marketing service for authors.
The Author Ego & Book Publicity
The ego works in ways that sometimes helps us, but often undermines our efforts to succeed. How can authors use their ego appropriately so they can market their brooks productively?
Ego is our sense of self, usually out of proportion to reality or certainly contrary from how others perceive us. Sometimes our ego gets the better of us. We act too confidently and overestimate our abilities or how much people actually like us. Other times, we lack enough ego, and shyly or weakly don’t assert ourselves, believing we’re not good enough or worthy of attention.
Many authors are egotistical. A fair amount are humble. Some are completely ego-free and seemingly fail to believe in themselves. Ego can help or hinder our efforts to market a brand, promote a book, and get a strong message out to the public.
So where is the happy medium and how do we harness ego yet what we truly desire?
Let’s look at how he go hurts us. A big ego means:
read more http://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2020/08/the-author-ego-book-publicity.html
How To Ebook 