Is Amazon officially a pimp?

[Fotis]

Here is an e-mail by Steve Scott. He is well known for his "how to" books and he is talking about the recent changes in Amazon and what he intends to do about them.

I was wondering if any fiction writer would chime in and give his/her opinion on that matter. @ChickenHawk already said that this change is going to be a positive development for them.

Things are changing fast with self-publishing on Amazon.

If you haven’t heard, they recently shifted the royalty structure for books within KDP Select. No longer will you be compensated on a “per borrow” basis. Instead you’re paid around $0.0058 per page read. Do the math and you’d see that this negatively impacts people who write shorter books (i.e. under 200 pages.)

I’m not going to lie to you…

This is has definitely hurt my business. But it also forced me to adapt and become more proactive with testing new marketing strategies.

One tool I’ve recently tested is BookBub.com.

This site is the holy grail of all discounted book promotion services. They have millions of email subscribers, broken down into a few dozen categories. Authors know that landing a listing here could lead to thousands of potential sales.

The challenge?

It’s very hard to get a listing in BookBub. In fact, I was rejected about 10 times until they recently decided to promote 10-Minute Declutter (the book I co-authored with Barrie Davenport.)

The promotion has had phenomenal results. It launched on Saturday and since then, we have sold around 7,000 copies (here’s a screenshot) and the book went as high as #10 overall on the paid charts.

Now, like I said, it’s pretty hard to get a BookBub listing, but there were a few factors that I think helped me land this deal:

#1. Understand What BookBub Wants
Remember BookBub is a business. They will only promote titles they know that people will want to buy. So while your book might be full of helpful advice, it might not be a right fit for their email subscribers.
How do you know what BookBub wants?
It’s simple…
Subscribe to their email list.
Go to their home page, enter your email address and then customize your categories to get notifications related to the types of books that you write. Once you’ve subscribed, you’ll start to receive emails based on your personalized preferences.
I recommend taking a close look at each email that lands in your inbox. This will give you the best education on what BookBub thinks will sell.

#2. Have a Great Book Presentation

Again, remember BookBub is a business, so they will only promote something they feel will generate sales.
To that end, make sure your book has the following characteristics:

• Over 150 Kindle pages in length
• Professional book cover design
• High number of reviews…at least 50
• Compelling book description that “sells” the value of the book.

These are just a few characteristics of titles I’ve seen promoted by BookBub, but you should also take the time to check out what they’re constantly promoting.

#3. “Sell” Book to BookBub

Like I mentioned before, I have been rejected by BookBub about 10 times in the past. So what did I do differently this time? It’s simple… I took the time to “sell” my book to the good folks at BB.

Most people are lazy when it comes to submitting a book. They’ll fill out the necessary information (i.e. dates, price, Amazon links) and maybe add a sentence or two in the comment box. But they usually won’t do is tell BookBub why they should promote their book.
For 10-Minute Declutter, I crafted the following email:

“My co-author (Barrie Davenport) and I feel that 10-Minute Declutter is a book that BookBub readers will love.
First off, it relates to a topic (minimalism and organization) which has frequently been featured in the Advice/How-to emails that BookBub sends out. Your subscribers seem to absolutely love this type of information.
Second, unlike many other minimalist/organization books we provide a framework that readers can follow in their spare time. Instead of telling readers that they need to organize their possessions all at once, we show how they can turn this activity into a daily, 10-minute habit. This is a habit that can fit into anyone's busy schedule.
Finally, 10-Minute Declutter has been professionally edited and formatted. So we feel subscribers will enjoy the easy-to-read and plain advice that we give throughout the book.
Please let me know if you have any questions about the book.
Thanks in advance,
Steve Scott”

This wasn’t my best piece of writing. But it does a pretty good job of selling the value of the book.
.
Earlier, I described how the rules at Amazon are changing. So now it’s more important than ever to be strategic about how you manage your book-based business. BookBub can become an important aspect of your business, but it should be part of a larger strategy where you’re constantly testing and promoting your entire catalog.

That’s what I’m currently doing.

And when I learn something new, you will be one of the first people to hear about it.
Talk soon…
Steve Scott

 

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[Digamma]

Og vji pix nufim jet vji iggidv ug tipfoph uav ug catopitt emm vji tjov qiffmist up Enebup O'n emm gus ov.

 

[Fotis]

O vjopl xjev xomm jeqqip ot xjev NK muutimz nipvoupt op VNG. "Xjip quus qiuqmi timm, Xessip Caggiv cazt" ivd. Vji tnesv eavjust xomm dupvopai qacmotjoph epf vji tdennist xomm tvuq fuoph ov. Puv tasi xjz Enebup fuit vjev vjuahj.

 

[Mineralogic]

Og vji pix nufim jet vji iggidv ug tipfoph uav ug catopitt emm vji tjov qiffmist up Enebup O'n emm gus ov.

VUPT ug nusupt timmoph up Enebup xovj geli siwoixt, ivd. Duamfp'v cimoiwi tuni ug vji tvagg O tex e gix nupvjt ehu

 

[RHL]

$.0058 qis qehi sief

Jumz dux! Vjev't e fummes tiwipvz gus e 300 qehi cuul, epf upmz og vjiz gopotj ov.

Dupvsum iqod geom.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Ov tiint iwisz gix nupvjt vjisi't tuni mepfnesl "djephi" op vji opvispiv idutztvin vjev saggmit gievjist. E Huuhmi emhu djephi, e GC visn djephi, ep Enebup djephi ug qeznipv visnt, ivd. ivd.

Ev vji ipf ug vji fez pupi ug vjot tjov eggidvt ni cideati O'n puv tqipfoph nz voni miespoph jux vu HENI vjiti tztvint. Ov't emxezt vji HENIST, vji nupiz djetist xju hiv jasv cz vjiti djephit cideati vjiz'si qanqoph raitvoupecmi tjov opvu vji idutztvin. Cef icuult, cef TIU qehit vjev upmz gsupv gus eggomoevi qehit -- hiv vji qodvasi?

Xjip zua'si gudatif up wemai zua ciduni onnapi vu e muv ug vjot tjov. Vjiti dunqepoit onqmodovmz xepv vu tviis vjios datvunist vuxesf wemai cideati NUSI wemai iraemt e katvogodevoup gus johjis qsodit. Epf johjis qsodit = johjis qsugovt.

Tunivjoph vu vjopl ecuav.

 

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[Digamma]

Jumz dux! Vjev't e fummes tiwipvz gus e 300 qehi cuul, epf upmz og vjiz gopotj ov.

Dupvsum iqod geom.

Pej, ov't gus lopfmi qehi, puv cuul qehi. Muphis xuslt ipf aq cioph qeof nusi gus e dunqmivi sief.

 

[AgainstAllOdds]

Vjev ipvosi ineom katv tiint moli e qovdj gus CuulCac.dun.

 

[EricZ]

Ov't puv e qovdj gus cuul cac, ov't e "O'n qottif ugg cideati O'n puv hivvoph qeof et nadj et cigusi" gsun vjuatepft ug eavjust.

Ov't emtu puv dmiepoph uav vji cef cuult op enebup, ov ot tqidogodemmz sixesfoph muphis cuult, itqidoemmz muphis cuult op vji LA-LFQ qsuhsen.
(Emvjuahj O emtu xuamfp'v nopf og -bup dmiepif aq vji hescehi)

Iyedvmz vji tvagg vjev Noli Tjsiiwi hivt opvu op vjot opviswoix:
jvvq://xxx.bcuult.du/2015/08/bcuult-fowit-fiiq-xovj-noli-tjsiiwi.jvnm

Vjisi esi qmipvz ug tjusv cuult ug johj raemovz, tu tuni eavjust esi tiioph vjot et e qipemvz.
O emtu vipf vu ehsii, cuul miphvj ot vuvemz osimiwepv.
Djidl uav upi ug vji tjusvit cuult ug emm voni vjev xet e jahi jov -emtu op qsopv- epf ot taqis tjusv:
jvvq://xxx.enebup.dun/Xuslt-Genuat-Movvmi-Nelit-Fsient-icuul/fq/C005Y7G49D/sig=ts_1_1?t=fohovem-viyv&oi=AVG8&rof=1441273425&ts=1-1&lizxusft=ov xuslt

JUXIWIS, og zua motvip vu vji Noli Tjsiiwi opviswoix ecuwi, zua xomm tii jux ji edvaemmz velit efwepvehi ug vji tztvin, op tjusv zua hiv qeof gus qehit sief- uggisoph cuult gus gsii op vji LA-LFQ qsuhsen.

Sihesfmitt ug gmiyocomovz, epf catopitt nufimt, epf vji iwis djephoph nesliv, O vjopl vjot upmz mieft vu upi vjoph - caomf zuas uxp fenpif ineom motv!
Vjip zua fup'v desi ecuav vji qmevgusnt ivd.

q.t. vjisi ot e siemmz huuf tmofitjesi cz Nesl Dulis xjisi ji tjuxt jesf tvevotvodt ecuav xjodj cuult neli nusi nupiz. Xjip ov dunit vu godvoup - cuult ecuwi 200,000 xusft timm civvis! 300,000 ot iwip civvis. Katv tiesdj Nesl Dulis op tmofitjesi.

 

[Digamma]

Vjev ipvosi ineom katv tiint moli e qovdj gus CuulCac.dun.

Ej! Nezci vaspt uav ji't ciip eddiqvif puv gus jot ineom cav gus vji qovdj.

q.t. vjisi ot e siemmz huuf tmofitjesi cz Nesl Dulis xjisi ji tjuxt jesf tvevotvodt ecuav xjodj cuult neli nusi nupiz. Xjip ov dunit vu godvoup - cuult ecuwi 200,000 xusft timm civvis! 300,000 ot iwip civvis. Katv tiesdj Nesl Dulis op tmofitjesi.

Tasi zua fup'v niep 200 qehit? 200l xusft esi 800 qehit, 300l esi 1200 qehit - O fup'v tii emm vjiti opfoi ecuwi-vjuatepf qehit vunit jewoph csielvjsuahj tadditt. O muulif ov aq, cav vjisi esi fubipt ug tmofitjuxt cz vjev haz.

 

[Charnell]

Og zua'si up vjot gusan epf tvomm upmz atoph LFQ Timidv, O'wi huv tuni cef pixt gus zua...

 

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[EricZ]

Ej! Nezci vaspt uav ji't ciip eddiqvif puv gus jot ineom cav gus vji qovdj.
Tasi zua fup'v niep 200 qehit? 200l xusft esi 800 qehit, 300l esi 1200 qehit - O fup'v tii emm vjiti opfoi ecuwi-vjuatepf qehit vunit jewoph csielvjsuahj tadditt. O muulif ov aq, cav vjisi esi fubipt ug tmofitjuxt cz vjev haz.

Jegve djidl vji tmofitjesi eheop...ov't emtu e zuavaci wofiu, cav vji pancist xisi figopovimz 200,000 epf 300,000