Bet you're anxious to know what I'm talking about, huh?
Strap in and let's get going!
Like I said above, I've worked my rear off remodeling my books since reading this series. Since the remodel, I'm doing much better. But I have eleven books on the market, and some folks will say I sold more books because I have more books available. I disagree. I think I wasn't using the right sales approach. This series of how-to guides walked me through how to use my books to sell more of my books. I'm convinced they go hand in hand.
Yes, it was a lot of work. No, it didn't happen overnight. Yes, there were times I wanted to tear out my hair and scream. But I didn't. I kept at it. As a matter of fact, I went so far as to whiteboard a strategy for updating all my books and attacked it that way.
First up, we have Bestseller Tactics: Self Publishing techniques to help you sell more books on Amazon and make more money. Advanced Author Marketing by Glyn Williams. Here's the cover and the buy links to the Kindle version:
Amazon Kindle $3.95The book description on Amazon is long but full of good stuff. I suggest you check it out from there.
I used this one to help me reorganize my library and rebuild it from the skeleton out. Williams brings some things to light that were smack my head duhs. I thought, why didn't I see that? Well, because I'm not a numbers/marketing person primarily. Sure, I have some great marketing ideas, but I've never understood how to make (and keep) my book visible to those who may want to buy it.
Second, and the one I used when I launched I, Zombie, we have Bestseller Tactics 2: The Ultimate Book Marketing System. Advanced author marketing techniques to help you sell more kindle books on Amazon and make more money. Self Publishing by Glyn Williams. Here's the cover and buy link to the Kindle version:
Again, the description is longish so I'll let you check it out for yourself.
I attribute I, Zombie's mad, out of the gate success to this one. It got noticed, it got reviews, it got love. It hit the paid bestseller list on launch week and hit it again during the free promotion. I was stunned. Heck, I still am.
I'll be using the tactics in this book over and over again as I write and launch more books. I have plenty of WIPs to test it on to see if it was a fluke and if my success was mostly because I wrote a niche book in a popular genre (YA and Zombies).
We shall see...
Last, is a book I haven't bought yet (but plan to). I'm not putting a recommendation on it yet, but keep your eyes open. It's Bestseller Tactics 3: Facebook for Authors - How to sell more kindle books on Amazon with an automated marketing machine by Glyn Williams. Here's the cover and buy links to the Kindle version:
Again, I don't know how well it works, haven't tested it, haven't bought it, can't recommend it. With the way Facebook is changing their algorithms lately, I'm not sure this book isn't already outdated or if it can possibly be kept up to date without the author losing a lot of time (and his mind).
So, purchase book 3 at your own risk.
Remember how I talked about blog tour companies last week and why you might want to steer clear of them? It was this series of books that caused me to start looking at the numbers and checking statistics on blog life, sales of books via tours, and how tour companies do their own marketing (it's to authors, not readers). Link to that post: A Look at Blog Tour Companies. Yeah, it stirred up some poo. Yeah, some people unfollowed me. Why is it that when you're honest, folks don't stop and look at what they might be able to do differently, they take it to a personal level?
To quote The Godfather: "It's not personal, it's business." Keep that in mind.
I hope you enjoyed this post and that it helps you find your own success. Publishing is a big world with a lot of hungry readers on the receiving end. May we all get our books into the hands of those that wish to read them. I'm all about the sharing.
If you'd like to grab a copy of I, Zombie, you can do that here. Yes, I do make money off that sale. But it's win-win. You get a great book to read, and I get a sale. If not, no hard feelings. You can still subscribe to or follow my blog and show your love that way. *grin*
If you've read these books, what did you think? If not and you plan to, what are you hoping to learn?
Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!
Jo
Yet another great post. I'm definitely going to check these out. When it comes to marketing, I need all the help I can get.
ReplyDeleteThanks, L. K.! You totally should. I was blundering along, blind until I found these books. Let me know how/if they help should you grab them!
DeleteCheers, I'll give these a look.
ReplyDeleteMarketing/self-promotion is very much not my strong suit.
I know what you mean, Thaddeus. I'm learning every day, too. I read all I can get my hands on about marketing :) Thanks for the comment!
DeleteDid you find the second book more useful than the first? I'm thinking for me personally, the topics in the second book would be helpful. I didn't know your blog tour post stirred up controversy. That's too bad, especially since I know you write these posts to assist writers.
ReplyDeleteNo. I found them both equally helpful. The first goes into how to set up your books to sell your books. A lot I knew, a lot I didn't. The second is launch awesomeness. :) Yeah it did. Oh well. I just wish folks wouldn't take it personally, you know? Thanks for the comment, Heather. :)
DeleteAwesome! Book one is in the Amazon Prime program, so I'm all about making it my borrow for February to give it a "test drive." Thanks for the recommendation!
ReplyDeleteOh yes, you'll be happy you did, Pauline. Subscribe to the newsletters, too. I'm so glad I did. :) Thanks for the blog love!
DeleteThanks, Jo. I bought book one today. Hopefully, I'll have a little more knowledge when my next book comes out.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, S. G. :) I try and learn something new every day. I look at it like, if I learn one thing per day, by the end of the year I've learned 365 new things. In a couple of years, that adds up to a lot of knowledge :) Thanks for the lovely comment!
DeleteYou're so welcome, Deirdre! I try to be helpful when/where I can be. Thanks for the blog love :)
ReplyDeleteBought this. About 60% into it or so. I'm not going to follow every suggestion (not a black hat sort of chap, and I really dislike automated things. If I tweet, it's me doing it, not a programme) but it does seem to have some good ideas and I'll definitely be giving some of them a try.
ReplyDeleteI didn't follow all the suggestions, either :) But, it had some things in it I didn't know. I use Hootsuite to automate anyway so that was a no-brainer. Those things that are good, I took to task and implemented. They make a difference. :) Let me know how it goes, will ya? Thanks for the comment, Thaddeus!
DeleteHi, Jo! I see you made this post in January. Would you still recommend these books now that it's 8 months down the line? Thank you for your help!
ReplyDeleteI completely would. These books are so much more than you could ever imagine. Every Indie author should have them on their virtual shelf! You'll get a whole new perspective on launching. :) Thanks for the comment! :)
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