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SPQ 046: $0.99 Book Launch: How Long Does it Take for Amazon to Drive Organic Sales?
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The Question
Derek Doepker of ExcuseProof.com wants to know how long you should keep a book at 99 cents and promote to your list before you let Amazon take over and start driving organic sales.
Biggest Takeaway
The Answer
Derek Doepker is a very successful Kindle author and marketer in his own right. His product, “Hooks for Books,” includes some great examples of engaging titles that pull readers in. Continue reading
SPQ 045: Hate eBooks! How Do I Get Print Book Readers to Check Out My Titles?
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The Question
Jon Jorgenson just published his third book, but it’s his first book through KDP. Members of his audience are having a hard time understanding how they can order the book if they don’t have the Kindle app or a Kindle device. He thinks this is limiting his sales. What is the best way to educate an audience that is used to buying print books on how they can easily buy Kindle books?
Biggest Takeaway
The Answer
The obvious answer is to use CreateSpace to give audience members the chance to buy a print version of the book. Some people want print books and don’t enjoy the ebook reading experience. Tom “Big Al” Schreiter makes 30 percent of his income from print books, so there’s nothing wrong with offering a print option to readers. It only costs about $50 to $200 to get a print book on CreateSpace. Another option is to use Lightning Source to distribute to larger platforms. Continue reading
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SPQ 041: Can You Use Affiliate Links within Kindle Books?
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The Question…
Tyler asks via email:
“Within Kindle books, can you use Amazon affiliate links to link to other products or books? And can you link out to other affiliate products?”
Biggest Takeaway…
The Answer…
Affiliate marketing is a great way to generate income online. You recommend a service or tool, and if people go through your link and buy it, you get a commission. In a way, you act like a salesperson for other companies. Steve was very successful with affiliate marketing from 2006 to 2014. Even though he sold his last major affiliate marketing site in 2014, he still dabbles in it from time to time. Continue reading
SPQ 040: Free Books – Do They Tick Off Paying Customers?
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The Question…
Tom asks via email:
“If people buy your book, and later you give it away for free or discount it, do you get any negative feedback from those who purchased at full price?”
Biggest Takeaway…
The Answer…
This question is from Tom “Big Al” Schreiter, who is a very prolific writer and a great example of someone who takes action. One-third of his sales come from print books, one-third from audiobooks, and one-third from Kindle. He does a great job finding a good balance with all of his different product lines. Continue reading
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SPQ 039: 30 Days Post-Launch, What’s the Best Way to Revive Sales?
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The Question…
Ted asks via email:
“I published a book recently – Sugar Detox – and it did very well at the start but has now tapered off quite a bit. Do you have any secrets on how to revive books that have slowed down after the initial burst? It’s been about 3 weeks since publication, and I followed the Free – .99 cents – $2.99 format in KDP.”
Biggest Takeaway…
The Answer…
For self-publishers, making sales and reviving flagging sales are two of the biggest concerns. There is increasing competition on Amazon, even though there are a lot of gurus who say Amazon is full of opportunity and infinite abundance. There are a lot more writers who are writing for the same audience, so Steve says the Kindle “gold rush” is over. Gone are the days of throwing a book on Amazon and making a lot of sales without doing any work. Continue reading
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SPQ 037: How to Build Assets with Your Self-Publishing Business
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Introducing Self-Publishing Assets
In episode 36, Steve talked about some of his favorite books. One of those books is “Rich Dad Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki. Although Steve disagrees with a few aspects of Kiyosaki’s brand, he does agree with the idea of building assets.
Steve defines an asset as any item that generates cash flow. Your goal should be to build as many assets as possible. At the time of this recording, Steve technically has about 90 published assets, from Kindle books to audiobooks. He would like to add about 50 more assets to his portfolio in 2015.
Biggest Takeaway
Joanna Penn covered this topic in a blog post titled “It’s Not Just One Book: Your Rights and How to Exploit Them.” She talks about how you can exponentially grow you portfolio with just one book. You can put the book in Kindle format, print format, or audio format; leverage foreign rights to the content; use the books to create information products; turn small pieces of content into apps; or license your content to other people. Continue reading
SPQ 034: Disappointing Book Sales – How Do I Increase Them?
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The Question…
Julie from TrulyMadlyDeeplyHappy.com has had disappointing results with her book marketing. She wants to know what she can do about it.
Biggest Takeway…
Steve’s Answer…
When Steve checked out Julie’s website, he noticed she is a doing a lot of the right things to build an author platform. She has her own podcast, writes blog posts, and has a presence on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube and Google+. Continue reading
SPQ 032: Can You Build a Book Business and Generate $10,000 Per Month?
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The Question…
Sherese asks, “What advice do you have for someone who wants to get into the Kindle business and has a dream of making $10,000 per month in residual income, but without an established platform?” She has always been attracted to Kindle and the idea of producing content for the Web.
Steve’s Answer…
A lot of people ask Steve how to make a certain amount of money per month. He says it’s very hard to make $10,000 per month. Even if you do everything right, it doesn’t always happen. Many full-time authors still haven’t reached their income goals. It’s not something you can do in a couple of months. Continue reading
SPQ 028: What Are the Requirements to Be a New York Times Bestseller?
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The Question…
Som wants to know what the parameters are for determining if a Kindle book will be a New York Times bestseller (number of copies sold, etc.). He also asks if non-US authors are eligible for inclusion.
Biggest Takeway…
Steve’s Answer…
Non-US residents are absolutely eligible for the New York Times bestseller list. Many authors from outside the United States have been on the list. Steve has never personally achieved this goal, but in May 2014, he sold 16,000 copies of “Habit Stacking.” With a more strategic promotional plan, he may have been able to hit the list, but it’s not a major goal of his. Continue reading
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SPQ 026: Should I “Americanize” My Author Name?
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The Question…
“I have a very ethnic name. Should I consider changing it to something more Americanized to help influence sales on Amazon? If I’m trying to brand myself as a writer, author, and entrepreneur, should I just leave my name the way it is and hope people focus more on the quality of my content than the ethnicity of my name?”
Biggest Takeaway…
Steve’s Answer…
Steve says Hung should not Americanize his name. In episode 9, Steve talked about some of the challenges he’s experienced with using a pen name. Continue reading