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| Michael Alvear, author of Make a Killing on Kindle |
I have re-purposed this blog post.
I recently re-read Make a Killing on Kindle by Michael Alvear.
Alvear explodes a number of myths, and argues that an author does not need a platform in order to sell successfully on Kindle.
Make a Killing on Kindle starts
by exploding myths about how you can sell your book and turn it into
a bestseller. Be prepared for lots of explosions.
Why
You Don't Need a Platform
You will hear this from publishers,
agents and others in the book publishing industry all the time: in
order to get the attention of a publisher or agent, you need to have
a platform.
A platform is a group of people who
buy your work, love your writing and want to buy more of it.
According to the figures in this book, you need to have a platform of
hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of readers in order to sell
“career-changing” nunbers of books.
These figures are based on statistics
of the number of people that click on banners and the number who buy
after clicking on those banners. However, I take issue with these
figures. This brings us to the next topic.
Why
Social Media Won't Help You to Create a Bestseller
The
author next explodes
the myth that you can use social media to turn your book into a
bestseller.
If you are using your blog to promote
your book, you will not just count on one banner on one blog post.
You will blog on the topic(s) which your book covers and which will
be of interest to your readers. Any time a news story appears that
relates to your book, you will blog about it and link to your book.
I know that's what I do.
You will also use your blogs as a way
of connecting with your readers. Your blog, and other social media
outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. can help you to
connect and communicate with your readers and potential readers. You
can get to know them, their interests, their tastes, what they like
about your books, what they want to see more of, what they want to
see less of, etc. This can potentially help you to keep selling
books for years to come.
How
to Make a Killing on Kindle
Make
a Killing on Kindle
emphasises key factors in how to get noticed by potential buyers on
Kindle, including:
-
how to choose an irresistible title for your ebook
-
choosing the best possible cover for your ebook
-
keyword research and SEO specifically
for Amazon Kindle.
Alvear takes you step by
step through his process of researching keywords for Amazon Kindle.
One interesting thing is that, like the other tips in this book, he
explains and gives examples of how to apply this to both fiction and
nonfiction titles.
