SPQ 031: What is the Best Way to Format an Ebook?

spq31 format an ebookThe Question…

What’s the best way to format my first book? Is it best to go to Fiverr, or is it better to learn how to do it yourself? I have an older version of Word that doesn’t seem to work with what’s out there. It seems very complicated.

Steve’s Answer…

Steve feels formatting is his Achilles heel. It’s the one aspect of his business he hasn’t totally nailed down, so he recently hired someone to format his books for him. When he first started out, he was really frustrated by the MOBI format, so he created books without formatting. He would use asterisks instead of bullet points so the formatting didn’t look all over the place. It didn’t give readers a quality experience.

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SPQ 024: Increase Book Sales by Testing One Variable

SPQ 024: Increase Book Sales by Testing One Variable

Simple Book Marketing: Testing Variables

This is the first episode in a series called “Simple Book Marketing,” where Steve covers simple strategies to help increase your book sales.

In July 2012, Steve had two books in the marketplace. One of them was selling about five to 10 copies per day. He decided to update the book cover, change the keywords, write a new book description, and change the categories on Amazon. As a result, book sales plummeted.

Biggest Takeaway…

[Tweet “Before you can test any variables, you need to know your baseline.”]

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SPQ 020: How to Craft Compelling Book Titles

SPQ 020: How to Craft Compelling Book Titles

The Question…

Thomas Lau of Kindle Bestseller Empire asks:

Can you share your thought process when deciding on the titles for your books? What tips can you give for authors who can’t fit keywords with high search volumes into their titles?

Biggest Takeaway…

[Tweet “Spend time finding the right title for your book. Make it compelling and memorable.”]

Steve’s Answer…

The title of your book is really what helps it sell on Amazon and other ebook platforms. In episode 19, Steve explained why he doesn’t think keywords are all that important. He advises authors to avoid creating keyword-rich titles with a bunch of random words.

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