A Kindle Primer - Part 2

This is the second part of a very useful guide supplied by a self-publisher - see Part 1 earlier for the details of the author.  Sections 13 is especially useful regardless of the device/format used.

13. PROMOTION: The most difficult part about selling ebooks is getting the word out about them.

For my first Kindle book "Amsterdam 2012", I mentioned it on the Amazon Kindle forum and on Kindleboards.com. That was it. And it took off, selling over 1,000 copies the first weekend. Most promotion is word of mouth--doing guest postings on other writers' blogs, finding interest groups and pitching your book (e.g., if you have a book about dogs, pitching it to websites for dog lovers), participating in various writers groups, reviewing other writers' works. The self-promotion is time-intensive, and, yes, annoying. But even traditional publishers insist their writers do a lot of self-promotion on their own (my last publisher asked me to hire a publicist!) There are some websites that review ebooks only. Soon there will be established review venues. Right now everyone is kind of flying by the seat of their britches.

AUTHOR COMMUNITIES to Join and to Promote Your Books:

- Kindleboards.com. Sign up and promote your book on the Bizarre forum. Participate in as many discussions as you have time for. Post questions if you want. Everyone is very helpful. These boards list a lot of other venues where you can advertise your book.

-Amazon Kindle, Discussions, Meet Our Authors. Amazon no longer allows self-promotion on its Kindle Forum, but have set up a separate forum called Meet Our Authors. You can plug your book there. Let friends know about where you’ve plugged your book, so they can comment on your remark and keep it on the first page of comments. This helps in sales, although most participants in this forum are writers.

-Goodreads.com. Become a member and promote your book. If you spend time on their discussion boards and make "friends", they can be really helpful.

-Nookboards.com. Become a member and promote your book.

-Soundings:Puget Sound Speaks. Promote on Board Index, Independent authors

-Mobileread.com. Become a member and promote your book on the authors’ promotion thread.

-Librarything.com. Become a member and promote your book.

-shelfari.com.

-Redroom.com. Become a member and post blogs entries and stories. They have weekly writing challenges that are widely read.

-NOTE: Whenever you see that one of your author "friends" has a post on the Kindle Forums, chime in, or ask them a question so they can respond, further bumping their thread. They will do the same for you. You can follow these forums--Amazon will send you an alert, if you want, every time someone posts.

AUTHOR BLOGS and REVIEW SITES: Here You Can Ask to Have Your Book Reviewed or be a Guest Blogger:

http://theindiespotlight.blogspot.com/ Fill out their author's interview questionnaire. They will post your book in about 3 weeks.
http://indiebooksblog.blogspot.com/
http://spaldings-racket.blogspot.com/
http://redadeptreviews.com/
http://simon-royle.com
http://dailycheapreads.com
http://candysraves.com
http://bookbuzzr.com
http://thefrugalereader.blogspot.com
http://hf-connection.com (Historical Fiction Connection)
http://booksontheknob.blogspot.com
http://kindle-author.blogspot.com
http://coffeeandroses.blogspot.com
http://bellaonline.com
http://trishasbookshelf.blogshopt.com
http://paperbackdolls.blogspot.com
http://www.kindleobsessed.com/
http://thecajunbooklady.com
http://theunreadreader.com
http://kindlereader.blogspot.com
http://twoendsofthepen.blogspot.com
http://tinasbookreview.com
http://rexreadingrobot.com
http://cherylsbooknook.blogspot.com
http://myreadingroom-crystal.blogspot.com
http://lostforwords-corrine.blogspot.com
http://www.jennsbookshelves.com/
http://www.booksandchat.net/
http://www.thenovelblog.com/
http://kindlehomepage.blogspot.com Kindle Nation Daily, a promotional site. Promotional blitzes start at $59.
http://www.kindleboards.com also has a daily paid promotion available.

Simon Royle has another good list at:
http://www.simon-royle.com/indie-reviewers

There are many, many more. Many are mentioned on Kindleboards.com from time to time. It is a question of networking and favors, but this shared promotion is invaluable.

Other Promotional Tools to Know About:

- Tagging. On your book page on Amazon, there is a place where you can list "tags" or key words that help people find your book. Add tags, then go to Kindleboards and ask fellow writers to tag your book. This will get your book up on the rankings for specific types of books. Very important.

- Author Page on Amazon. Amazon now gives you an author page where you can write about anything you want to promote yourself. Put up a picture and stuff about yourself. You need to set up a separate page for Amazon UK.

-Facebook and Twitter. Lots of writers use Facebook to promote their books. Become a fan of other writers on FB, and they will do the same.

-Kindle Select Program. Amazon has recently started a program where you can list your book for FREE for five days every three months. This can give you visibility, but the verdict is still out as to whether this helps in the long run. Also, to be part of the program, you can ONLY publish your book on Kindle.

-If you have published DTBs, do a book giveaway on Goodreads.com.

-Blog tours. Contact all of the sites you would like to appear on, and ask to be a guest blogger during a specific promotion period. Line them all up, get your blogs prepared, and promote your tour. Several authors have sponsored a Kindle raffle for viewers.

-Some authors have tried listing their book as an ebook on CD on Ebay. The Ebay listing costs $.50 for a 30 day listing. Add S&H costs. The object here is not so much to sell CDs but to entice Kindle owners to see the book and then check for the book on Amazon.

I will post the rest of this guide shortly...