3 ways how authors can make money on Amazon
As an author you need to know that if you are looking to make money on Amazon, there are significant steps to take when you self-publish your book with Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP).
Amazon isn’t just a website that sells things, it’s a book-selling machine.
- Amazon sells nearly 50 percent of all print books in the U.S.
- Amazon sells over 70 percent of all e-books in the U.S.
- Amazon is the largest sales account for almost every publisher in the U.S.
Therefore, it is important to keep in mind that KDP is a good place to start if you are a self-publishing author. It’s time you learn how to sell books on Amazon.
According to marketing guru Rob Eager, there are 3 tips that every author needs to know about how to make money on Amazon.
Amazon helps to identify target audience
Authors don’t always know who their target audience is, and because you don’t know who your buyers on Amazon are, you don’t get a deeper insight into who those people are who buy your books, and sometimes make mistakes.
But there is a sneaky way you can identify what your book buyers like.
Go to your book’s detail page on Amazon and peer at the section that shows you what “Customers Also Bought…” This is how you’ll see what your readers also like.
This gives you the opportunity to direct your advertising on Amazon, Facebook and BookBub.
If you see a specific author on your “Customers Also Bought” list, then you should advertise to people who also like that author.
This helps you narrow down who your target audience is, because you have found your niche. It could save you a lot of time and effort, and helps you maximise your advertising budget.
Grow your email list using Amazon’s audience
Amazon attracts more book readers than any other resource on the planet. Did you know you can convert those readers into email subscribers for free?
It’s possible when you use KDP service to set up a permanently free e-book that drives readers to your author email list. This is called a free resource, a “Bait Book,” because it serves as appealing “bait” that attracts new readers to you.
Here’s how it works:
- Create an e-book using KDP and offer it as a perma-free Kindle download.
- Add a special offer inside the book for more free content that gives readers a link to a landing page (a single-purpose web page) where you make the offer and collect emails.
- When they go to that landing page, they can join your email list to access the bonus content.
Once you set up your Bait Book, it will run nonstop on Amazon’s website to help build your email list while you write your next book.
The best part is that you can create everything for free. Plus, you can purchase inexpensive Amazon ads to help promote your Bait Book and make sure the right type of reader sees it, which is a great idea on how to make money selling on amazon.
Change marketing copy when you want to
Language lends power to marketing.
Bland marketing descriptions on Amazon’s website can halt sales, but if it is hits the mark, then your sales will improve. That’s why it is important to get your book marketing text just right.
According to Eager, whether you’re a traditionally published author or self-published, and you’re disappointed with the marketing used for your book, you can change it!
Make those important changes to your marketing copy – rewrite the description, add a new endorsement, industry award, or mention that you hit a bestseller list. Here’s the tip: Amazon has a secret “back door” into its website that lets authors update their book’s marketing text.
It’s called the Author Central Account. It gives you full control over your marketing text, editorial reviews, and author bio on Amazon.
What is your best advice for those who are new to Amazon marketing? Add a comment below.
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