There are plenty of ways to make money on Amazon, including drop shipping, selling gently-used items, and becoming an Amazon affiliate. But have you ever thought of writing a book to sell on the platform?
Gone are the days of book-store shopping and libraries (well, almost). According to the Association of American Publishers, ebook sales in the United States totaled $29.33 billion in 2021. Selling ebooks on Amazon can be a lucrative side hustle or even a full-time gig.
Writing, publishing, marketing, and selling ebooks doesn’t have to be complicated. There are hundreds of apps and websites to help you along the way. Here are some tips, tricks, and the most important steps to selling your first ebook.
Determine Your Market
Many people make the mistake of writing an ebook without knowing their market. You need an established market that is eager to read books like the one you’re creating. Writing for an oversaturated audience yields low sales. You want to make sure that your concept is worthwhile. Do some research and familiarize yourself with what sells and what doesn’t. Be able to answer the following:
- Is there already a market for your ebook?
- Is your chosen subject something that can be read for free? You need your audience to be willing to pay for what you offer.
- Is the competition so fierce that your book will be overlooked?
Writing Your Ebook
If you are new to writing, you may want to seek advice from other authors or, if you have any, mentors. Writing seminars or workshops also help you polish your skills. Many courses address the complexity of writing, such as constructing a character, deciding on an eBook title, developing the narrative, and using the suitable tone and terminology for your genre. These workshops help you sharpen your writing skills and improve them. They can also connect you with many other authors and readers.
Make sure that your ebook is faultless. If readers see errors, your integrity as an author suffers, making it unlikely that readers will purchase from you again. It can also prompt a bad review. When you publish your ebook, the fewer faults it contains, the better. You can outsource the editing to a reliable ebook editing and proofreading service. There are also many apps, extensions, plug-ins, and websites you can use to edit for final work. Using more than one of these tools is a good idea to ensure nothing is overlooked.
To sell ebooks, you must have a book cover. You want it to set your book apart from the rest, and you want it to appear professional. In addition, you want it to be so interesting that buyers will buy it only to find out what’s inside. Fortunately, there are numerous ebook cover designers available, and many of them are inexpensive. There are also apps and websites with tools to help you design your own ebook cover.
Upload and Publish Your Ebook to Amazon
Once you’ve determined your market and written, formatted, and designed a cover for your book, it’s time to post it to Amazon. You will need a Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) account to upload your ebook to Amazon. It’s free, and they’ll walk you through the publishing steps. You will be surprised by how quick and easy it is.
Pro Tip: Don’t Forget Keywords
Making money selling ebooks relies heavily on keywords. The appropriate keywords prompt Amazon to display your book to customers. There are many online tools available to help you find keywords to use. These tools can also help you determine which keywords are too competitive and which are not.
Keywords are critical for locating a niche audience. When publishing ebooks on Amazon, you’ll employ keywords in three essential locations:
- Kindle Keywords: When you publish your book, Amazon allows you to enter seven keywords of 50 characters each.
- Title Keywords: Including relevant keywords in your book’s title or subtitle can increase exposure and sales.
- Book Description: Keywords in the book description will help customers to find your book.
Launching Your Ebook
Successfully launching an ebook can help you be discovered by Amazon’s algorithm. A successful launch can be tricky, though, and remember, you have a lot of competition. Here are some great ways to launch your ebook:
KDP Select (Kindle Unlimited) Enrollment
This is probably the easiest way to give your ebook a little boost. It allows you to perform a free book promotion or a Kindle countdown sale, in which your book is sold at a discounted price for up to five days. Both strategies increase visibility and persuade consumers to buy. In addition, they can significantly enhance your book’s position and help you receive reviews.
It is important to note that KDP Select requires you to sell your book exclusively on Amazon for 90 days. However, you may wish to sell your book to a wider audience by distributing it through online retailers like Google Play and Barnes & Noble. If that is the case, you can simply opt out of KDP Select.
Run a Sale
Offer your book for $0.99 for a while in exchange for honest evaluations. Because of the low price, there is less pushback. This can help get your ebook out there and generate feedback. You can increase your pricing once you’ve received some reviews. Reviews are vital to the success of your ebook.
Social Media Marketing
Reach out to your social media following. You can use free Facebook promotion groups (as long as marketing is allowed), your Twitter following, and even your Instagram or TikTok profiles. How engaged you are on such sites has a significant impact on how successful you will be.
Book Promotion
Every day, an estimated 2,000 novels are published. This means that even household names must work hard for sales. This is where book promotion comes in. There are several free book promotion platforms available to assist you in selling more books. Examples include BookBub, BookMarketeers, FreeBooksy, ManyBooks, and Bargain Books. These websites will gladly advertise your book to their audiences. It is a good idea to contact book promotion sites at least two weeks before the campaign begins.
Amazon Ads
Once your ebook is out and you have reviews, it’s time to start generating traffic. Amazon ads can help you get your ebook noticed by buyers. This creates sales! You can create Amazon advertising to display your ebook in search results, on the sales page of another book, and on the Kindle lock screen. There are quite a few video courses and online articles outlining how to create and publish Amazon ads.
Writing ebooks for Amazon can be an excellent way to generate income. It can also be gratifying to know that someone is enjoying your work or learning from you. With the points from this article and a great book idea, you are well on your way to publishing your first book!
Did you know you can earn free Amazon gift cards for simple tasks? Check out our article on How to Earn Amazon Gift Cards for Free!
