Chris Webb on Publishing, Media and Technology - Latest Comments in Crowdhacking: 10 Simple Ways Authors Can Help to Increase Sales at Amazon.com

Re: Crowdhacking: 10 Simple Ways Authors Can Help to Increase Sales at Amazon.com

Saad Naeem — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 04:13:45 -0000

thanks , nice tips but i can never become a author i hate writing :(

Re: Crowdhacking: 10 Simple Ways Authors Can Help to Increase Sales at Amazon.com

Guest — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:42:28 -0000

I asked amazon about listing your own book on Listmania, and as far as I understand it, it's not allowed. As an author selling on amazon you are not allowed to self-promote through listmania. Perhaps you could look into this.

Re: Crowdhacking: 10 Simple Ways Authors Can Help to Increase Sales at Amazon.com

Chris — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 08:59:16 -0000

UPDATE: Fixed link in item #8. It seems the old So You'd Like To... guide was taken down.

Re: Crowdhacking: 10 Simple Ways Authors Can Help to Increase Sales at Amazon.com

digitalcameratips — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 02:42:26 -0000

Sorry to bother you again - -but got my website wrng - if possible, please correct it to http://www.digitalcameratip...
Maybe you can send me a quick mail in case you got the thing unde r#8 fixed (see my original post).
Thanks

Re: Crowdhacking: 10 Simple Ways Authors Can Help to Increase Sales at Amazon.com

digitalcameratips — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 02:39:57 -0000

Hi, just found your blog - interesting ways to promote your own book via amazon- thanks for these pointers.
Anyway, i tried the link at topic #8 (Check out this short example) and the link doesn't work anymore. maybe it is possible to come up with a new example or repair the link?

Re: Crowdhacking: 10 Simple Ways Authors Can Help to Increase Sales at Amazon.com

Bookmarketing Newbie — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 17:44:22 -0000

I think the Search Inside program is really important. It adds your book to so many more potential searches that the other options don't cover. That has been my experience.

Re: Crowdhacking: 10 Simple Ways Authors Can Help to Increase Sales at Amazon.com

PS Gifford — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 17:34:03 -0000

Some very good points. As an author trying to get noticed on Amazon I know how tough it can be.

Paul

www.psgifford.com

Re: Crowdhacking: 10 Simple Ways Authors Can Help to Increase Sales at Amazon.com

Renate — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 17:45:03 -0000

Hi Chris,
I have my book - From the Promised Land to the Lucky Country - selling on Amazon. I had the book paired and it was doing extremely well, so that Amazon has extended the pairing on their own account. I had the rating go up few times to 18,500 and at one time it went to 12,400. However, at the moment, it had dropped, for the first time since the pairing to 309,350.
I have just now succeeded to fix technorati, and I did FeedBurn.
I was verified a couple of days for AmazonConnect & have 4 reviews that average to 4.5 stars rating.
I have a lot of trouble understanding the RSS and the way to link my book as per your number 1 advice. Could you please help me and tell me how to go about it? I find it all very daunting.
Thanks
Renate

Re: Crowdhacking: 10 Simple Ways Authors Can Help to Increase Sales at Amazon.com

Carolyn Warren — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 22:05:00 -0000

Thank you for these "10 Simple Ways." My first book, Mortgage Ripoffs and Money Savers, Wiley Publishing, is coming out in April, so I'll definitely put your suggestions into practice.

I, too, have ignored the barrage of invitations to buy my way onto the amazon best-seller list. I believe I have unique information to share from inside closed doors of a dirty industry--information the public needs--and hopefully, good, honest marketing, along with reader recommendations will make this book a success.

Re: Crowdhacking: 10 Simple Ways Authors Can Help to Increase Sales at Amazon.com

Steve Weber — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 16:17:46 -0000

This is a great list of tips for increasing your visibility on Amazon. I think the two best things to do from a effort/benefit ratio is:

1. Getting people to review your book on Amazon

2. Starting a blog on your book topic

I recently wrote a book that describes many of these tactics in detail, and anyone can read it free on my Web site under a Creative Commons license. Follow the link "Read it now":

See Plug Your Book by Steve Weber

Re: Crowdhacking: 10 Simple Ways Authors Can Help to Increase Sales at Amazon.com

Andrew — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 14:43:36 -0000

All good ideas. Related to point #10 above, I've had success as a publisher getting top-ranked reviewers to post reviews of our books.

I went down the list, looking at what types of books each person reviews (some only do fiction), and sent a few emails asking if they would consider reviewing our book. The top-ranked people get many requests like this, so the further you dive down, the better chance you'll have of a reply (and hopefully a review).

Re: Crowdhacking: 10 Simple Ways Authors Can Help to Increase Sales at Amazon.com

Nancy P Redford — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 08:28:46 -0000

I have found that using Omakase ads and the aStores have sky rocketed my Amazon sales.

Before this I would use their regular product links and reviews and generate a few hundred dollars in sales.

In my reports from November 2006 onwards sales are in the thousands.

I'll be looking into adding the new Amazon unbox video downloads.
It will be interesting to see how these perform on my web sites over time.

Only wish the commission levels were bumped up somewhat ;-)

Re: Crowdhacking: 10 Simple Ways Authors Can Help to Increase Sales at Amazon.com

Calvin — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 11:30:05 -0000

Although I'm not a book author - but I find that your tips do have their own merits. I personally agree with your point #3 share own images, so get the ball rolling and also point #4 “Help others find this item”. Both methods have been working really well for me not not only for selling books - but also other products. My site is still new but I'm already making some good income selling amazon products.

Re: Crowdhacking: 10 Simple Ways Authors Can Help to Increase Sales at Amazon.com

Schuyler Thorpe — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 21:22:58 -0000

Promoting your book is important, but I'm not in the habit of jumping on everyone's bandwagon to "quick success" and hope that it's the same for me.

I know the importance of using the internet, but I like to keep things simple and clean. I have a lot of sites dedicated to myself, my books, and whatnot. But this thing behind Amazon.com is something I'm not sorely impressed with.

I've heard of it before, and quite frankly, it's all hype and no substance.

There's other sites I know that will promise the same thing that this article shouts out, but from my POV, it's something I can easily do without.

Re: Crowdhacking: 10 Simple Ways Authors Can Help to Increase Sales at Amazon.com

Solo Business Marketing — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 16:28:09 -0000

I was looking for the No. 6 link on Amazon.com's site but was not able to find it in my limited research time. I'm grateful for it here.

As a multiple book author, I know that the best place to sell books is in locations outside of the traditional book store. You've provided great ideas to jumpstart or continue a book marketing campaign, and it is very much appreciated.

Re: Crowdhacking: 10 Simple Ways Authors Can Help to Increase Sales at Amazon.com

Heather Sickels — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 11:24:33 -0000

To promote your book, especially a self-published book, I suggest promoting yourself through the media and getting the word out using email. If you are a writer in the US start with your city or state. The inexpensive downloadable media list service, Easy Media List and the contact directory site Mondo Times offers email addresses and data an author can use to do the PR leg work themselves. There is even a list designed specifically to contact the Top Newspapers Book Editors.

Re: Crowdhacking: 10 Simple Ways Authors Can Help to Increase Sales at Amazon.com

Sherri Caldwell - The Rebel Ho — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 09:46:42 -0000

Thanks for great tips & suggestions! My book, The Rebel Housewife Rules: To Heck With Domestic Bliss! (Conari Press, 2004) was published two years ago, and Amazon has been a great help in boosting sales, keeping it 'fresh' (availability, when it's not stocked in bookstores anymore) and driving traffic to my website & blogs.

Another thing that has really helped is networking with other authors and writing reviews on Amazon.com, always signing my reviews as "Co-Author, "The Rebel Housewife Rules..." Somehow, when I review books of similar nature (women's humor), it usually turns out that the Amazon gods then link my book with that book on the "Better Together" offer, which is a nice little boost, too.

You can actually launch a grass-roots campaign, when your book is published, to encourage people (anyone & everyone you know) to purchase your book on Amazon.com, which can result in a higher ranking for your book in the Amazon.com lists. People have done it on the BN.com, too, but I've always preferred Amazon for book buying and interaction.

Live, Love & Laugh,
Sherri

Re: Crowdhacking: 10 Simple Ways Authors Can Help to Increase Sales at Amazon.com

Kimber — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 09:43:11 -0000

Very good post.
Love the bit about asking for reviews.
In my experience, most people are happy to leave a review if they're asked.
They simply don't think to otherwise.

Re: Crowdhacking: 10 Simple Ways Authors Can Help to Increase Sales at Amazon.com

Chris — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 09:06:50 -0000

Elaine: You are right about reaching out to readers and finding them where they are online. Sounds like a topic for another post... :)

Re: Crowdhacking: 10 Simple Ways Authors Can Help to Increase Sales at Amazon.com

SifuPhil — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 03:50:08 -0000

As an author ("T'ai Chi for Seniors") I can vouch for these points, although I don't know that I'd personally use Ms. Newitz' idioms of "herding the mob" and "gaming" - maybe it's just an age thing. :>)

Anyway, your point #3 about using images is one that I hadn't really considered before. Thanks for the great idea!

Also, as Elaine just mentioned, live appearances help immensely. Having had the use of radio and TV appearances, I agree that radio interviews, while easier to set up, are less effective than TV coverage. But the best method truly is becoming acknowledged as an "expert" in your field. Authors are often shocked when that title is thrust upon them, but the general public is trusting (sometimes to a fault) and will bestow that title upon anyone who has a book published. Might as well use that type of "link love" to your advantage while you can.

Re: Crowdhacking: 10 Simple Ways Authors Can Help to Increase Sales at Amazon.com

Elaine Vigneault — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 23:50:25 -0000

What I've noticed in my limited experience as the wife of an author:

Basically any TV appearance than mentions the book will increase sales.
Radio not so much. But radio spots are easier to get.
Online interviews on blogs are worthwhile, too. And those can be fairly easy to get if you pursue them.

The best thing is good, old fashioned niche marketing: get thee to the websites that cater to your readers and let them know about your book. But you can't just talk about the book, you have to prove you're an expert first. Help some people out by answering their tough questions accurately and you're in.