Although self-publishing has provided an avenue for millions of writers to publish their books, regardless of their location, status or resources, there are key things to consider before publishing on Amazon if you want to attract more sales and better results for your book.
The reason you have to take note of these Amazon Publishing Requirements is because the competition is tough. And one of the ways to get ahead with your books is to do what others are not doing.
So, being able to identify these key things will aid you in making decisions that will enhance the success of your book on Amazon. And when you implement them, you will double your success rates and improve your overall sales as a published author.
That said, whether you’re in Nigeria, India, United States or anywhere around the world, the following are the top key things to consider before publishing on Amazon
Your Objective
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One of the most important things to consider before publishing on Amazon is your objective as an author.
Before you get started on your publishing journey, you need to ask yourself, what exactly are my objectives? What do I plan to gain by publishing this book?
Is your objective precisely to make money online as a published author? Are you trying to create a voice or you just want to leave a legacy that will showcase your expertise?
If your publishing objective is the former or latter, your strategy will be different.
Understanding your objective helps you in getting things in the right perspectives, before you finally kickstart your publishing journey.
After getting clear with your objective(s), you can head over to create your goals and marketing strategy, based on that objective.
The Target Audience
Another crucial part of the things to consider before publishing on Amazon is your target audience.
This is a no brainer. In most cases, there’s always a need to consider your target audience even before you embark on writing your book.
If you happen to miss this part before writing the book, you have to pay attention to them before the actual publishing of your work on any platform, be it online or offline. This is very important.
To get started with this, start with asking yourself questions like; who am I writing for? Who’s likely going to buy this book, after I get it into the market?
Are these people on Amazon? Do they buy books from Amazon or would they be willing to make purchase from Amazon, if I publish my book there.
Knowing the availability of your real target audience is very important to the success of your book.
Because if there’s no sufficient number of potential buyers for your book on Amazon then there might not be any need to publish on the platform in the first place.
Another thing you need to do is to consider the content of your book.
Does your content sit comfortably with this audience? Or is there a way they can connect to what you’re writing about?
Getting to know this clearly will guide you on your decisions as to whether publishing on Amazon will help you achieve your goals as an author or not.
The Listing Price
Your listing price is one of the other key things to consider before publishing on Amazon.
Before you publish your book, you want to know the cost of production, the actual cost for the buyer as well as the cost in comparison with other books.
Beyond this, getting a realistic listing price for your book will also entail paying attention to the purchasing power of your audience and also, a listing price that will give you a decent royalty after all your expenses are deducted.
If you’re also publishing a paperback copy of your book on Amazon, before fixing your list price, pay attention to the printing cost, cost of shipping the book to the buyer, Amazon charges and your own net royalty.
Having a fair knowledge of this will help you in setting a list price that will be beneficial to you, your audience and Amazon itself.
Considering the cost price and corresponding royalty, you’ll have to decide if publishing on Amazon is the right thing to do or not.
If making profit is your primary motive and publishing there is not worth it then you might want to consider an alternative platform.
35 VS. 70% Royalty Options
Your best royalty options is one f the crucial things to consider before publishing on Amazon.
Publishing with Amazon offers you the chance to gain either 35 or 75 percent royalty earnings, based on the listing price for your book.
For all books sold below 2.99 Dollars, and over 9.99 Dollars, you stand to gain about 35% royalty remittance.
On the other hand, books sold over 2.99 to 9.99 USD offers you a whooping 70% in royalty.
To choose a convenient royalty for your book, you’ll need to consider several options. For example, pay attention to factors like;
Available territories where your books will be sold. Most of the time, the 70% royalty is only available for sales in the US and most of Europe.
For sales in some locations outside this, you’ll need to be enrolled in the Amazon KDP Select before you can enjoy the 70% royalty.
Book Size; you’ll also need to consider the file size of your book, as this will affect your cumulative royalty per sales.
Competition Price; Finally, you’ll also put into consideration, the average prices for other books that are similar to yours.
Having a thorough look at these pointers will help you in choosing the right listing price and subsequently, the royalty that will be beneficial to you, based on your realities.
Marketing and Promotions
If your sole objective is to make money selling your book on Amazon then you’re going to do a lot of work when it comes to promoting the book.
Reason for this is because, you’re going to be the one doing most of the promotions for your book, if you really want to sell.
Of course, you can always pay people to promote your book on your behalf if you have the means or use other options.
Generally, you have the option of promoting your book either by the use of the free promotional options available or the paid promotions. I made a comprehensive post on how to promote your books on Amazon here.
When it comes to free promotion, there are a lot of things you can do to promote your book for free as indicated in the guide above.
This could include things like enrolling your book in the KDP Select program and using the few available promotional options, getting an author website and blog, writing guest posts, getting featured on podcasts and interviews etc.
The paid promotion on the other hand can be both pricey. and rewarding at the same time when done well.
With a paid promotion, you can choose to use third party promotional platforms like social media Ads, paid ads on other websites, Google AdWords etc.
You’ll also have the option of using Amazon’s own paid promotion channels to further promote your book.
KDP Select or Not
KDP Select is a program available to authors who are willing to give Amazon exclusive rights to sell their ebooks only on the Amazon stores, in return for some promotional tools that will help the author to sell even more books.
Usually, KDP select is an optional offer where authors can opt in and opt out, within a period of 90 days. It is one of the key things to consider before publishing on Amazon.
While KDP Select naturally sounds promising for most new authors, it does not always mean all authors will make a lot of sales when they enroll on the program.
The program has both it’s pros and cons which includes for instance; that you will not be able to sell your book on any other platforms apart from Amazon while you’re enrolled in the program.
This means that besides selling it offline, you’re stuck with selling your book only on Amazon, if you subscribe to the program.
On the positive sides, you can use the promotional tools for KDP select authors, to promote your book.
Based on the foregoing, it is very important you study and understand your options before enrolling on the program.
Book’s Genre
Your book’s genre is another of the key things to consider before publishing online.
While it is not arguable that Amazon sells books on almost all the well known genres on earth, there are actually a handful of genres that command the largest number of sales on the platform.
In order to make effective sales on Amazon, you need to consider your book’s genre, and be sure you’re writing on a genre that has a reasonable number of fans on the platform.
Doing this will make it easier for you to promote and sell the book, easily
Final Words
Publishing on Amazon is a great way to become a published author, get your ideas to readers around the world and earn from it.
But as always, there are certain things you will need to put into consideration before making a final decision on whether to publish on the platform or not.
Although often times, these key requirements are not only limited to Amazon, it is applicable to all publishing platforms.
You can learn more about the key steps to take before publishing your book online or reach out to our publishing team here.
Now, it’s over to you. When it comes to publishing on Amazon, which of these things are really of a great concern to you? Drop your comments below.
One response
How can Nigerians get paid when they publish on amazon kindle?