Discovering (hopefully) how to make a killing on Kindle: part two - Lynne Garner
Last month I wrote about the steps I was following from an
eBook recommended to me called 'Make A Killing on Kindle' by Michael Alvear. If
you'd like to read my first steps click on this link.
I rounded off my last post stating I would update you on my
progress. Sadly I've not made a killing on Kindle. However I have learnt a lot
and wanted to share some of that with you.
Firstly (and no surprise really) the title and the search
engine terms make a big difference. The book I decided to experiment with was not
appearing on the first page when I searched for it on Amazon. Yet my other
title was. So I changed the SEO terms and the title slightly. The book is now
appearing on the first page.
I've tracked sales for a month and discovered most sales are
made at the end of the week and over the weekend. Again not a surprise as my
titles are aimed at kids. So I am assuming adults download to keep the kids
occupied over the weekend. I will continue to monitor sales over the next few
months to see if I can see any trends that can be used to my advantage. For
example the best time to promote my titles to boost sales.
The book suggested I gain reviews. The only way to do this
is to get people to read my books. So over a two day period I gave away three of
my titles. Almost 400 copies were downloaded over this period. Sadly I still have no
reviews. However I'm hoping reviews start to appear as the give-away was only a
month ago.
What did surprise me was a book that had sold very few copies (The Best Rabbit - a picture book) was downloaded as many times as my best seller. So
previous sales do not equate to the number of free downloads. This picture book reached number 9 in the US in 'short story collections' and number 6
in the same category in the UK. Since the giveaway this title has reached the top 20 paid for eBooks in the short stories category and is still in the top 100!
Although the exercise has not equated to a huge increase in
sales I have learnt a lot. So I'll continue to publish eBooks and
hope that even if I don't make a killing on Kindle I will at least start to
earn a living.
Lynne Garner
Follow me on Twitter @lynnegarner
My blog: Fuelled by Hot Chocolate
Other group blogs I contribute to: Awfully Big Blogging Adventure and The Picture Book Den
Comments
Chris - I've (well I mean him-in-doors I don't do the technical side of things) has only used HTML for one book description so far. Must add to next weeks to-do list.