You will generate the bulk of your self-publishing revenue from Amazon Kindle e-books. It makes sense then that you should spend a lot of effort perfecting your Amazon book product page.
In this post, I discuss what you should do to make your Amazon book product page shine.
Reference my wife’s book, Moving Violation, to see these recommendations in action:
Moving Violation: A Small Town Mystery (Chloe Boston Cozy Mysteries Book 1)
https://www.amazon.com/Moving-Violation-Chloe-Boston-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B003YH9JKI
Title
If you don’t show up in Amazon search results, no one is going to see your Amazon book product page. Place the keywords for which you want to rank in search result into your book title, subtitle, series name and keywords while publishing your book via the Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) web-based interface. On top of that, create an intriguing title that will hook your reader into reading your book.
If use a product called Publisher Rocket to identify keywords for promoting my Amazon books. Check out my post PUBLISHER ROCKET: AMAZON KEYWORDS, COMPETITION, CATEGORIES AND MARKETING for additional information.
Note that Moving Violation features the keywords Small Town Mystery and Cozy Mysteries in its title.
Book Cover
People judge a book by its cover. I recommend you create your own professional quality do-it-yourself book cover. Check out my Microsoft PowerPoint book cover online video training course on Udemy:
Book Covers: Free PowerPoint Book Covers for Self-publishing
https://www.udemy.com/course/book-cover-design-with-microsoft-powerpoint-2013/?referralCode=B24452083D6FEAC7B99B
The sole purpose of a book cover is to catch the potential reader’s eye. It’s nice if the cover tells a story, but it must catch the reader’s eye.
I made the Moving Violation book cover using Microsoft PowerPoint. It’s meant to be light and fun like the book.
Price
Don’t make price an impediment to buying your book. Price your book at the least price for which you still receive a 70% royalty; namely, $2.99. I call this the sweet spot. This is the perfect new writer price point. Price your book any higher and you’re imposing an impediment to buying your book. Consider pricing your books higher only after you’ve established your name.
Amazon Book Product Page Description
Make your Amazon book description the best thing you ever wrote. Direct all your copywriting skills at compiling the best book promotion you can write. If your title produces search results, your book cover catches the eye and your price doesn’t turn the potential reader off, they’ll read your book description. This is their first sample of your writing. Make it really good.
Paperback
Publish an Amazon Print on Demand (POD) paperback after publishing your Kindle e-book using KDP. It’s fast and it’s easy. You won’t sell many paperbacks, if any, but they existence of a paperback edition makes your Kindle e-book look more impressive.
No Audiobook
Don’t self-publish an audiobook. It makes your Amazon book description look great but is either expensive to contract or time-consuming to do yourself. You should focus on writing and self-publishing instead. Don’t get distracted by the shiny objects.
Series
Always write in a series. If you do, all the books in the series will appear on the Amazon description page for each book in the series. This is great free promotion. Once you have a reader hooked, don’t let them go. Always write in a series.
That’s it for the Amazon book product page.
I’ll see you in the classroom,
—Brian
