Why Amazon?

There are many ways to skin a cat (Why do cats get such a bad rap in English?), and, yes, there are many publishing options out there. However, researching the publishing options is just another ploy your mind will use to distract you from the real work of getting your book done! ?

I'm not paid by Amazon to promote their services and I see publishing as "horses for courses", so I have no axe to grind. My vested interest is in the budding author, and in enabling them to cut through the bewildering array of options out there, so that they can choose whichever best serves their marketing aims.

If your aim is to use your book to get your message into the hands of your ideal clients, sooner rather than later, Amazon offers some surprising benefits, especially if you can see the bigger picture of how to make a million from your book by NOT selling it!

Here are 5 of the best:

1.??????Amazon is the world’s largest bookseller and distributor of books.

Whichever way you publish, and however long that takes you, you will want your book to be listed on Amazon eventually.

So, why not save yourself a lot of time and effort and just start here! ?You can always publish another version with “Pumpernickel and Spratt”, or whatever, later!

Leverage Amazon to deliver a single copy of your printed book to a potential client almost anywhere in the world! Or order a box of books at cost price to give away to potential clients.

2.??????Your clients already have an Amazon account!

I have seen authors get quite precious about Amazon and resentful that it takes so much of their profit. However, that must be weighed against the ability to use their publishing software free. This allows you to see the cover of your book before you start writing, and lets you market one piece of content 3 or 4 ways, with hardly any additional input from you. When you realise that the price DOES NOT MATTER and that the real ROI of a client-attraction book lies in signing up clients to your ￡5K, ￡10K, ￡20K offers, you can begin focusing on Amazon's reach and distribution muscle.

Would you give away your book if it engaged a ￡5K client? Of course you would, all day long! Why, then, would you make it difficult for your clients to get their hands on a copy?

Consider this: when your clients are watching you or listening to you on a podcast, they are at their most interested and engaged. Why make them go off and find their credit card and sign-in to your website to get your book, when they can download the ebook from Amazon in one 1-click, and start reading now, while they are hot prospects?

3.??????You already have an Amazon publishing account!

Just head over to www.kdp.com and access with your usual Amazon log-in details. Yes, it takes a bit of getting to know and finding your way around, but see this as a tool of personal empowerment. Once you know what you are doing and why ( that’s where I come in!) you learn a process that gives you total autonomy over your publishing! Once you have a bit of practice, you can publish a book a month!

4.??????Amazon gives you complete editorial control over your content and the availability of your book.

You know your audience better than anyone. Amazon lists your book as long as you want it to be available, so no worries about your title being remaindered or out of stock.

And my personal favourite...

5.??????Your Book is a Living, Breathing Manuscript

?Two of the main reasons authors take so long to get their book out there are :

1. The fear that it is not perfect

and

2. The fear that it is not complete

But Amazon allows you to re-up-load your manuscript as often as you like, so, if you find a typo or some rogue spacing, or you just want to insert an update, you simply correct and upload a new file.

Whenever a client orders a copy, Amazon prints and sends them the latest version.

What’s not to love?

If you are ready to use a book to attract clients to your high-end offers, I would love to hear from you and discuss how Amazon can facilitate the writing, publishing and marketing of your client-attraction book.