Kindle eBook Launch —Lessons Learned

WOULDN'T IT BE GREAT to launch an ebook on Kindle, catch the wind just right, and watch that baby soar?

It’s possible.

I’m not blowing rainbow bubbles and pipe dreams here … it’s possible. Kindle authors — even new Kindle authors — launch books that top the charts daily. Somebody has to place in the top ten, or there wouldn’t be a top ten.

The question is: How do YOU do that?

As succinctly as I can get it across, here’s a mini case study of a project I’m conducting right now. This could help.

The Brief Backstory

I listed two books on Kindle, back in 2010. I rushed to get them published, knew next to nothing about formatting (I put page numbers in Kindle books), and ran zero promotions.

Consequently, I raked in about twenty bucks per year for three years, then pulled them down out of embarrassment. After that, I studied the Kindle self-publishing process, helped with some successful launches, and learned a few things.

Last year, I decided I was going to take myself on as a client — meaning, I would put some time into writing, formatting, publishing, and promoting my own stuff. That was a tough row to hoe, but I succeeded in getting the first in a series of quick reads ready.

That book is in the launch stage right now, and it’s been ranking at or near the top of three categories on Amazon for the two days since it was released. And it has dropped to the early 300’s for ALL free books on Amazon (my goal is to place it in the top 100).

BIG change from the last go-round. My first two books never caught a glimpse of top ranking. This one is riding the wave.

What made the difference?

That’s what I’m fixing to tell you … read on.

Basic Ground Rules For a Successful Kindle Launch

Sign up for all the Kindle guru courses you want, but there are a handful of foundational principles they’re all going to teach.

Here’s the shortlist:

• Write something a reasonably-sized audience will want to read
• Use a title, description, and keywords your chosen audience is looking for and will respond to
• Create a cover that will attract that audience
• Format the book correctly (check my article on the new Amazon publishing tools)
• Develop a launch strategy (think before you launch) that includes a plan for promotions
• Pay attention during the launch, keep checking and refining your systems

You’ll want to tweak each one of those points to match your goal. Maybe you’re a real estate broker who’s publishing a book on owner-sold properties so you can sell it at your speaking engagements and use it as a business card. Your approach might well differ from that of a would-be Kindle millionaire who’s publishing a string of books to collect royalties. Nevertheless, the basics remain.

Beyond the Basics: Kindle Launch Firestarters

You can follow all of the fundamentals listed above and still have a lackluster launch. That’s where strategy comes in.

Here’s something you need to know: The first 30 days after publication, your book is eligible to be listed in Amazon’s Hot New Releases section. The better your book performs during the first month, the more Amazon will do to help you promote it. That’s a good thing … a really good thing.

It gets even better. If you do well in Hot New Releases, you’re eligible for the New & Noteworthy section. That can light a fire to warm the writer’s soul, and it can keep that warm glow burning for 90 days after publication.

Moral of the story: Don’t stumble off the starting blocks; blast off and run like the wind. Run, Forrest, run.

Here’s the strategy I’m using to get quick traction. It may backfire. It may fizzle out. It may not work for more than a few days — but it’s working right now: I enrolled my book in a Kindle Free Promotion through KDP Select. That gives me five days to give my book away.

Why would I do that? The more people I can get to “buy,” read, and review my book during the free period, the better its chances of getting talked about and read after the free period.

In the two days since I launched, more than 1,000 folks have taken advantage of the free offer. No, I don’t earn sales royalties from those “purchases,” but I do get credit for pages read via the Kindle Unlimited program.

Not only that, but you can print live links in Kindle books. Some of the links in my book go to an opt-in page where readers who want to go deeper into the program I describe in the book can get more info. And building a mailing list is like stashing gold in your safe. It’s a really good idea.

But How Do You Get the Word Out?

Here’s a huge secret: If you ask people, they will help you. If you don’t ask them, they probably won’t.

I hate asking anybody for anything. Maybe it’s ego, maybe it’s fear, maybe it’s stupidity — got me — but I HATE it. One of my mentors, though (Jon Morrow), pushed me to the edge and I took the leap.

I used my mailing list, I used my social media contact list, I contacted people I know with a simple message:

If you’ve time, would you  get my new book while it’s on Amazon Kindle Free promotion? That would be much appreciated.

For the mailing list, I added more description (a sales letter of sorts … if you want a copy, email me: [email protected]), but I kept it pretty simple: “This book can help you, will you help me get the word out?”

All you need to do is ask. People will help. Try it.

One Trap to Look Out for: Amazon Is Sneaky

Here’s something you need to be aware of: even though Amazon benefits when you add a (good) book to their library, they’ll still try to weasel in and create friction between you and the reader. I don’t know why they think that’s smart, but they do it.

Here’s the scoop: They’ll try to guide the prospective free book grabber towards signing up for Kindle Unlimited (a monthly subscription program). The problem with that is unaware readers will think it’s you, not Amazon, trying to trick them. That leads to bad juju.

To sidestep that roadblock, let your potential readers know about it and tell them how to avoid getting waylaid. Take a look at the screenshot (below), then I’ll describe the path.

The first step is making sure you have the link that will lead you to this page. If you published your book as a paperback and an ebook, you’ll need to make sure you have the ebook ASIN (Amazon Standard Identification Number). Navigate to the Amazon product information page for your Kindle book and look in the browser address bar for the number.

Mine looks like this: https://www.amazon.com/How-LIVE-Manual-Roadturn-Principles-ebook/dp/B07871FZ41/….

The part you want follows the “dp/” designation. For my Kindle book, the ASIN is B07871FZ41. The next step is to make the simplest possible link. Create that by cutting out the title and keeping the rest of the first part. My simple link is this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07871FZ41. You can further simplify with a link-shortener, if you wish, but I’m going to hyperlink anyway, so this works just fine. The best part is the link resolves to the page shown in the screenshot (above).

NOTE: Canadians will need to add “ca” to the link: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07871FZ41/.

See the Kindle Unlimited box under the book title? That’s where most people will click to get your free book. Doing that takes you to the aforementioned signup page for an Amazon subscription, and that has a tendency to tick people off. After all, you said the book was FREE!!!

The first way to circumvent that is to let your prospective readers know to click on the “$0.00 to buy” link (arrow on bottom left).

The second way is in the right sidebar. The “Read for Free” button takes them to the subscription pitch. The “Buy now…” button is the one to click. Notice that the Kindle price for this special promotion is $0.00, so “buying the book” means you get it for free.

Is this confusing? Sure is.

Why does Amazon do it? Got me.

But leveraging the Free Book Promotion in Kindle Select for the first five days of the launch can be a valuable tactic when you take a few simple precautions.

I considered breaking it up and using a 3–1–2 sequence with breaks in between (since you only get five free days per quarter), but I want to get past that, start shooting for sales, and aim for the Hot New Releases and New & Noteworthy charts.

NOTE: Nobody but Amazon knows exactly how the ranking algorithm works. From my own experience and study, though, it appears these are the three prime factors:

• Number of purchases (free book promotions are still technically considered ‘purchases’ in the free book rankings)
• Number and quality of reviews
• Number of pages read

Books that get bought, read, and reviewed are the books that move quickly up the chart … that’s how it looks from the research I’ve read and book launches I’ve observed.

Amazon updates positions hourly. If everyone reading this would go get my free book right now, for instance, read through the four steps of the LIVE method, and then leave a review on Amazon … not only would those readers gain personal insight from the 30 minutes or so invested, but it would help the book get found by more readers. All of that within an hour.

How cool is that?

Can My Book (and your book) Really Hit the Charts on Amazon?

Can I do it?

Someone has to. Hit it or not, I’m in the midst of an intelligent launch, I’m getting help from others, and my book is placing exponentially better than my earlier launch when I just put the work out there and waited to see what would happen.

Can you do it?

I’m confident you can repeat the success I’ve seen so far, if you’ll do the things I’ve done so far.

Sounds good?

Let’s rock!

(This article previously published on Medium)