Not Making Any Sales of Your Kindle Book After All Your Efforts? The Importance of Keywords on Kindle for Self Publishers of e-Books

SELF PUBLISHING AUTHORS MAKE MISTAKES WITH KEYWORDS ON KINDLE!

Not Getting Any Sales on Kindle for Your e-Book? Are you making the same mistake I was making, per chance?

I just discovered a mistake I have been making with publishing books in Kindle's digital marketplace. Apparently, I have been inept at choosing keywords to describe my books. My personal mistake is that I use all these one-word keywords rather than a combination of word strings. So instead of saying, for example "books about divorce" I would just write "divorce" as a keyword.

A friend alerted me today that this is a big mistake. He told me that people don't search using just one word. The search using a word string. So he says that I have to discipline myself that each time I write a description of my book on Amazon, that I have to use a word string as the keyword. And Kindle allows you up to 7 keywords. So this would be 7 keyword word strings.

Wow. No wonder I haven't been selling a lot of books!

So I went in and changed a bunch of kywords for most of my books. Of course now the books are in review for 12 hours so that will kill 12 hours of potential sales. But oh well. Let's see if this modification changes anything.

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Check out my latest paperback

https://www.amazon.com/Infidelity-Cheating-Love-Affairs-Divorce/dp/1537203452/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1472380407&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=author+central%2C+marion+td+lewis

Can Facebook Ads Help Self-Published Authors to Sell Books?

SHOULD I BUY FACEBOOK ADS?

A few people have advised me to buy Facebook ads to help jumpstart my new book writing endeavour - especially now that I have finished the hot and sexy Infidelity. So, my advisers tell me that Facebook ads will help drive people to my e-books and paperbacks on Amazon.com and Kindle, help me become an Amazon bestselling author in no time flat. None of these people actually bought Facebook ads, btw. But they assure me it is a good idea if I bought Facebook ads. Can they be right?

I am a little bit skeptical.  I have been doing research on this and it is mixed at best.

I DID A GOOGLE SEARCH ON "FACEBOOK ADS TO SELL BOOKS" 


If you Google "How to Use Facebook Ads to Sell Books," as I did, you will get a healthy return of great websites and posts such as:

• How Authors Can Use Facebook to Sell Books - digitalworld.com
• Successful Book Marketing Using Facebook Ads - the creativepenn.com
• How to Use Facebook ads to Sell More Books - authorscrib.com
• Facebook Advertising for Authors - Selfpublishingadvice.org

There is this one article Why Facebook Cannot Help You Sell Books by Michael Alvear for Digitalbookworld.com. One quote that I particularly remember is this one:

Let’s review: Facebook shows your posts to less than 16 percent of your fans, and you have to pay to reach the other 84 percent. And even if you do, only two-tenths of 1 percent of the people who see a post about your book will even click on it.
Facebook gets you closer to book sales in the same way that jumping up and down gets you closer to the sun

I really got very nervous when I read that. This guy sounds experienced with this stuff and he really thinks that it is a TOTAL WASTE OF TIME to buy Facebook ads to sell books.

As I continued my research, I read the following by a guy named Mark Dawson, "Facebook is the single most powerful marketing and promotional tool that is available to authors, be they traditionally or self-published."

Hme...what does he know that Alvear doesn't. The article goes on to talk about some staggering sums he spends on advertising, like nearly 4 grand per month! This guy is not talking about folks like me who are just breaking into the business and are "virgins" with this marketing stuff.

I think the best advice I read was this by authorscrib.com:

Facebook Ads aren’t meant for selling low prized books like the common $0.99 and $2.99 books on Amazon. If you are still thinking about using Facebook ads to help you sell more books, you can do so NOT by directly selling using Facebook Ads, but using it to build your mailing list by offering something in exchange for your target book audience’s email and name and draw them into your sales funnel where you can finally sell them your books through relationship based email marketing.

CONCLUSION

OK. I think I get it. I will not be buying any Facebook ads not even for Infidelity.

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=infidelity%2C+by+marion+lewis

INFIDELITY HITS THE KINDLE STORE and AMAZON PAPERBACKS

MY NEWEST AND LATEST BOOK HAS DROPPED!

Infidelity: Cheating, Love Affairs & Divorce

WHERE CAN YOU PURCHASE THIS BOOK?

• It is available on createspace.com for $7.99
• It is also available in the Amazon Paperbacks for $7.99
• And of course the e-book version is available for $2.99 on Kindle.

HOW TO BECOME A KINDLE MILLIONAIRE: 5 Best Practices According to the Research to create a successful e-book

THE KINDLE MILLIONAIRE

I am not a Kindle Millionaire. I have barely sold anything on Kindle. This is why I am researching how the successful authors do it so that I can turn at least one of my 100 books (yet to be written) into bestsellers. Maybe it will be the latest one? Infidelity? I have found some new information I want to share about what seems to be the best practices - based on my research. Here are 5 best practices:

1. You have to figure out market demand for your book.

That means you have to research the market and look at demographic information to determine likely demand for your book and your book's niche.

2. Go on Amazon's website and get to know who the bestsellers are in your niche.

Then find out what it is that makes them bestsellers. Look at everything from the reviews they have received, their rating and ranking on Amazon, how they actually describe their books. Emulate.

3.  Study how other authors price their books and stay within that parameter.

On Amazon Kindle the "sweet spot" seems to be between $0.99 cents and $2.99. This is not the same for paperback, btw. Only for the e-books.

4. Use social media such as Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest

This is essential but it seems that it is not the tool for direct promotion only for creating connections and expanding your network.

5. Create a blog that helps you promote the book. 

Blogs seem to get universal praise in the book-writing industry. If you have an e-book and you don't have a blog that corresponds, that seems to be a red flag.

This website is helpful: http://fourhourworkweek.com/2009/06/29/how-to-build-a-high-traffic-blog-without-killing-yourself/

Wanna Make $1,000,000 Selling/Self-Publishing Divorce e-Books on Amazon Kindle? You Have to "Game" the System!

TO SUCCEED ON AMAZON KINDLE, YOU HAVE TO GAME THE SYSTEM!

I am still waiting for my last e-book Infidelity to go live on Kindle and now I am doing some research into marketing and selling e-books. I have to confess I don't like the marketing and selling part at all.

I just read this article and I think I am going to bring up my lunch. Apparently the only way to be successful selling e-Books on Amazon Kindle (and paperbacks on Amazon) is to "game the system."And get other people to write the books for you. Yes, that's Right. To succeed at this you have to outsource your creativity. Here are some of the points I got from that article. Some are good and as I said, some make me want to puke:

HERE ARE TIPS THAT I LIKE:

1. Get someone to create your cover for you on Fiverr. (It is only $5.00 apparently although I must say I am not ready to do this even though it could be a good idea. I like to create my own covers with create space)

2. Give due attention to the book's description on Kindle (I need to keep this in mind myself.)

3. Solve a problem for your reader. (Non-fiction self-help books seem to do well on Kindle and those that solve a problem for their reader seems to have a better chance to succeed. That probably means that I am not going to spend too much time on my Paris memoirs - cause nobody cares!)

4. Make sure it has an outstanding cover that has a bold design, strong colors and a sexy image. (I don't know if I have done this with any of my books! I think my covers are definitely not very sexy)

5. Copy-edit for little typos (this is where I will get into a lot of trouble. I think I miss a lot of edits.)

6. Check out other people's books on Kindle and read the negative reviews and learn from these reviews (I would have never thought of doing that!)

7. Understand that the Kindle business is an impulse business (that means that your books can't be too expensive since people are not going to impulse buy very expensive books. Fine. But I wonder what it the cut off price? It doesn't say in the article.)

8. Create a niche. (I like this idea and while I write about a lot of different topics, I do write mostly about divorce since that is what interests me the most, and so I think I am in the "divorce niche." Is it fair to say that, do you think?).

THESE TIPS ARE NOT FOR ME BUT YOU COULD LIKE IT

1. Hire a ghostwriter from either elance, Craigslist, or Warrier Forum. (It is good to know this option exists but for now, I am going to try to write all 100 books myself. I hope people are not gonna be thinking that I am outsourcing my stuff cause this is too hard!)

2. Outsource the book and just do the editing (as I said, I want to do the entire book myself but you could have a different plan so if this works for you, go for it)

3. Pay for your reviews. (Well, first of all I have no money but second of all, it seems unseemly.. I mean, who knows? I could change my mind one day but for now, I think this is a little bit not ok.)

SO WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN?

I don't know what this all means. I am just sharing. These are just the tips I just picked up as I begin my research into how to market and sell my Kindle e-books and I am sure one or two writers will read this blog at some point, and I would like to share what I learn with you. It is a whole process and I am sharing the experience as I go along.

So that's all for now. Talk soon and have a nice day.

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Check out my book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Win-Achieve-Business-Success-Concepts/dp/1536952826/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1472381297&sr=8-1&keywords=win%2C+marion+td+lewis

Do Free Giveaways of e-books (Free Downloads) Help Authors to Sell More of their Books?

Hello Everyone!

So I just finished Infidelity. It will be published on Thursday on Createspace, Amazon paperbacks and Kindle. Yeah! I am not going to start the next book till the weekend. The next book is Alimony but I am going to take a few days to rest my head and think with a different side of the brain for a little bit.

Right now I am making lunch and while that works itself out, I am researching how to market and sell e-books online. As you can see I have been doing a lot of writing but not exactly the same amount of selling. Giggle, giggle.  I am definitely not a good saleswoman, OK? I have no idea about sales. But I have been trying to learn about it.

A lot of people who have been successful in marketing and selling e-books on Kindle, advise free downloads and free giveaways - as a sales and marketing strategy -  for a limited period. What do you think about this? Have you done this yourself? Was it effective as a sales and marketing tool?

I am thinking of making Infidelity a free download for 24 hours on Thursday on Kindle. What do you think? I sort of think that when things are free people may not value it so much and it could possibly not work. But I think it would be fun to give it a try.

So I have decided. I have just decided right now. In real time.  Infidelity will be a free download for 24 hours on Thursday in the Kindle Store. Yeah! Get it while it's hot!

I hope you will read it and give it some good reviews. Help me make it an Amazon Bestseller.

See you later! Talk soon!

How to Market and Sell an E-book on Kindle - 12 Steps For Beginners

12 TIPS FOR BEGINNERS WHO WANT TO MAKET THEIR E-BOOK ON KINDLE

I have been writing like an absolute nut job this weekend. I am still working on the book Infidelity. I have tentatively completed the cover as I said in the previous post, and then it occurred to me, heck, how are you gonna sell all these e-books Missy? How are you going to turn all these books into Amazon bestsellers? What the heck are you doing slaving away like this? For what? Who is going to read this stuff? Where are your readers Missy?

And so I stopped and I thought, "OMG." And so, I put the manuscript aside and did some research, and I just deflated like a balloon because selling e-books sounds like hard work! It is way harder than writing up all this stuff!! My god! And sheesh, I write a lot of stuff from divorce books, to books about food, society, law, language,  you name it. I have a lot of topics, ideas and books. But it is not worth it if I am the only one reading. I must be out of my mind!

Well, if you are also writing up a storm, if you are a writer in the same boat, here is what I have learned so far about selling these e-books on Kindle or anywhere for that matter. Read with a grain of salt and see if there is anything on the list that you think will help you:

HERE ARE 12 TIPS THAT MIGHT HELP YOU

1. Participate in AMAZON KDP Select - always. Stand for Kindle Direct Publishing.  Research it if you don't know what that is. Start here.

2. Blog about your book (yeah! I am doing that instinctively. At least I get one out of 12!)

3. It's all about SEO - on Amazon, Google & Facebook ads - and this needs the right keywords so you have to research keywords in your niche and when you do your marketing you have to incorporate them into your materials including your blog. As you know my niche is basically divorce books.  But it is not all I write about. Still, I have to find the right keywords for that and god knows, I don't know where I am going to find time to do that along with everything else I am doing at the moment.

4. Apparently, you also have to join Ingram in addition to Amazon and Createspace (e-book distributor) and Bookhub. (I read that on Huffpost.)

5. Then, you have to get friends and family to review your book and give you lots of stars - if you can. My friends and family are just saturated with all my projects so I am not going to bother them but you should tap yours if you haven't reached saturation point.

6. Also, you have to constantly update your Author Central profile on Amazon. You are going to need a nice author photo which I don't seem to be able to upload because of the pixels, but...

7. Then, you need to price your book right some people say $0.99 and others say no less than $2.99 (who knows which is correct?).

8. You need to understand that e-books are not going to make you rich. If you sell 100 books, it is plenty. Do it for fun, not to make a lot of money.

9. Investigate alternatives to Amazon such as gumroads.com, woocommerce, shopify & paypal.

10. Help out other authors by offering to review their books in exchange for a review.

11. Look into this thing called e-junkie for self-publishers. (If you want to bypass amazon) and make friends with Paypal (I had a bad experience years back and I never looked back so I am not sure I could ever work with Paypal but you might be able to so go for it!)

12. Start an email marketing campaign so that you can connect directly with your readers who are in some cases your customers.

CONCLUSION

To tell you the god's honest truth, this is a lot for me to handle while I am trying to write 100 books. I don't see myself being able to do this without absolutely losing it once and for all. Am definitely gonna lose it, I think. But if you have the energy, focus and moxie and you are trying to market and sell your e-book online, these are some of the things I read you will have to do and it took what? 30 minutes of research? To get all these goodies. Bite in, darling!

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Read my new book about BULLYING which is available on kindle and in paperback