You might exclusively be creating low content books on Amazon KDP or even no-content ones as well. That’s the beauty of the platform; you do not have to have an epic novel in order to participate in this industry. If you are reading this article, you’re probably already involved in this. But even if you are only producing these kinds of things, it’s still important to know how the industry works overall – not only for getting a better hang of sales cycles and trends, but also to understand what to do if and when you decide to sell more content-rich books of your own creation.

Self-Publishing: No Longer A Stigma, But No Less of a Challenge

Many of us may remember a time when “I’m self-published” had as much credibility as “my prog-rock three-part album is on Soundcloud.”

However, Amazon’s KDP program has not only empowered those who would have been put off by the gatekeepers of old, but also converted many established authors freeing themselves of the shackles of publishing houses. Today, being self-published not only shows talent, but industriousness and drive.

Self-publishing has a ton of benefits over traditional publishing, but being an independent author is challenging job. You must become knowledgeable in most facets of the publishing process before you can self-publish, including writing, formatting, and marketing.

While resources like Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing make self-publishing accessible, independent creators may find them to be daunting at first. What is necessary for you to use this platform to you full potential? How do you make sure your book satisfies the necessary technical requirements while also appealing to potential users? Well, here’s how to exploit the publishing system on Amazon so that your book will be a success.

They Won’t Read What You Wrote If They Can’t Understand What You Write

First, make your description as perfect as you can.

This may seem rudimentary, but even if you’ve written a 300-page novel, you need to have a short “elevator pitch” for your prospective reader.

For your book to succeed on Amazon, a strong description is essential. Users and readers can get a sense of your style and find out exactly what to expect from your book via your book description. This description needs to appear and sound polished. Before anyone even considers what you’ve made, a weak description can damage your reputation.

Check your blurb for errors, proper style, and readability by running it through a grammar checker. Aim for a professionally written, genre-appropriate blurb that is keyword-rich (but not keyword-stuffed).

Look at what established sellers say to describe their own offerings and make sure your descriptions are of the same caliber.

Additionally, you can review quotes and format snippets. There are alternatives to plain text; for description formatting, Amazon KDP uses HTML.

You Cover as Sales Tool

Your book’s cover is the first thing prospective readers will notice. A good book cover has the power to make or destroy a sale. You really might want to consider purchasing a professionally-designed cover. There are numerous elements that affect how appealing a book cover looks.

There are various expectations for different genres. A generic cover disregards the expectations and traditions of the genre. A nonfiction book shouldn’t have the aesthetics of a young adult fantasy book, and vice versa.

Try to avoid utilizing DIY book cover manufacturers like the one provided by Amazon unless you are an expert graphic artist. Look at the portfolios of seasoned cover artists who are knowledgeable about your genre. To identify artists who collaborate with independent authors, search Instagram and Twitter or ask other authors for referrals. Upwork can be a great resource for you in a case like this as well.

Get People to Read all Your Words – By Using a Few “Key” Ones

The keyword boxes on Amazon, which have a character limit of 49, are among its most crucial features. In order to find what they’re looking for, users enter words or phrases known as keywords into search engines. To find books on Amazon that they wish to read, customers use keyword searches.

Use precise long-tail keywords. The more richly described, the better the result will be generally. You can perform this research yourself, hire someone who is knowledgeable on KDP categories and keywords, or use a keyword research program. To reduce your competition, go for terms that only return a few hundred results, not thousands.

Pick A Lane – Find Your Categorical Fit

It can be challenging to choose the appropriate predefined category for your book from those offered by Kindle Direct Publishing. You can choose from two Amazon categories when you upload your print or ebook manuscript. Your book may frequently fall under more than one category. By participating in more of them, you also increase your chances of becoming a bestseller in that category. The good news is that with a little extra effort, you can add your book to more categories. You can add up to eight additional categories for a total of ten if you contact KDP customer care.

An unattractive book is the shortest route to a one-star rating. When your print books or eBooks are a disaster, readers stop reading before they even turn the page and might not ever come back, so it’s also vital to pay close attention to interior formatting. Don’t skip over this suggestion, it’s really that important. You may format your book and give it a professional style using a number of tools, like Atticus, Vellum, or Kindle Create.

Five Dollars? Too Expensive. But $4.99…

Once you get established, you also might want to modify your global pricing based on where you want to sell more. You choose the pricing when you publish a book on the Kindle store.

Believe it or not, the ancient marketing psychological truism that costs that end with “. 99” sell better because consumers believe they are getting a deal still holds true. The same marketing psychology applies to markets outside of the United States. For other markets, KDP automatically modifies the currency amount. However, you can manually alter your foreign prices. In each currency, add “.99” to the end of each price. Make sure any modification doesn’t have an impact on your royalty rates. Keep an eye on the 35% and 70% royalty pricing thresholds for each type of currency.

Affiliate Yourself And Grow

Finally, by joining the Amazon Affiliate Program, you can actually increase revenues. To earn more from your books’ royalties than the standard 70%, you may use affiliate links for your own book by signing up as an Amazon Associate. Use your affiliate link whenever you link to Amazon on your website, social media pages, or anywhere. You can make an extra 4% on the sale of your book using your affiliate link. Although it’s not much, with enough sales, the extra 4% can rapidly mount up. Remember that you only receive this cash when someone purchases something after clicking your link rather than just browsing Amazon.

Even for low-to-no content items, the Amazon publishing landscape might be intimidating. KDP need not be your enemy, though. You can achieve success with Amazon self-publishing by using advice like this. Just remember to keep yourself current on what the platform has to offer and you can really start to see a boost in sales once you employ new ideas in both design and marketing.