👉 The secret sauce on Amazon

(it's not what you think)  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Hey, Apologies for the missing newsletter last Friday - I had an unexpected issue. More exciting than that bland excuse suggests, but also not anything I can talk about just yet. Anyway, I talked about the idea of burst marketing before and you guys demanded to hear more on that topic, so get ready to pack that infobong as recompense. Burst marketing, as a quick recap, is the terrible name I've given to the practice of focusing your marketing efforts on key moments in the calendar, as opposed to the stressy "always on" approach to book promotion which seems predominant in 2023. I've almost always taken this selective approach, focusing my ad dollars strategically. This normally happens around launches - when I typically run discounts/free promotions across early books in the series. If there is a significant gap between launches for whatever reason, then I run backlist promos instead, again involving discounts/free promotions on the first few books in the series. This is my MO for the various names I write under, and also for the consulting I've done for huge bestsellers BTW - so a real range of budgets, readerships, mailing list sizes, genres, and so on. That does not mean I'm claiming this is a superior approach for anyone and everyone; it suits my mindset and plays to my particular strengths. If I was more skilled with Amazon Ads, for example, I might lean more towards an always-on approach. But my strengths lie elsewhere. Let's start with the why - the reason behind all this. I guess the why is straightforward enough in a superficial sense: I think it's easier, I prefer this approach, and I believe it's more lucrative too. But you're gonna need more than that. Fair enough. This is a little wonkish, but it will help you how understand how Amazon recommends books, and what you need to do to get yours recommended too. We'll dive into the how next time. Digital Love Pretty much everyone in 2023 understands how algorithms shape the world around us - and specifically how Amazon's algorithms can bestow a huge number of sales on our books... or plunge us right back into the primordial ranking soup. The burst marketing approach is specifically designed to get love from Amazon's ever-tricksy algorithms. l've written an entire book on the whys and wherefores - called Amazon Decoded, because I'm nothing if not imaginative - and you can read that if you are one of those niche weirdos who likes selling books for money. But at the risk of cutting into my own sales, the most relevant point here today is that Amazon will get behind your book and recommend it to lots and lots of new readers if it thinks your book is worth backing. BTW it's a robot making this decision - before you start sending muffin baskets to Seattle. Although, you can get its attention in other ways. Key point: Amazon's algorithms will reward strong, consistent sales. If Amazon sees you posting several days of consistently good sales, it will start pushing your book. This push can take many forms, but includes things like on-site recommendations and emails to readers. These pushes can result in very modest sales indeed, or drive you right to the very top of the charts - the variance is considerable. Key point: You must prime the pump. A push typically won't happen on its own. You have to show Amazon your book is worth backing by generating some sales yourself first, and your very best chance of getting Amazon's attention is by generating several days of strong, consistent sales. I usually shoot for 5-7 days, and I'm sure it is no accident whatsoever that this is the length of a KDP Free Promotion or Countdown Deal. The strength of the push you get from Amazon depends on a range of factors, but the two you should particularly focus on are the number of sales and the type of reader purchasing them. The more sales you can feed Amazon, the more it will help you - typically. Although what you feed Amazon is just as important. Key point: You need the right readers A boost from Amazon can be very valuable - and lucrative - but it would be a huge mistake to target readers indiscriminately, perhaps to "fake it until you make it." When Amazon does push your book, it will aim for similar readers to those who have already purchased it, and it will weigh recent purchases most heavily. If you could somehow muster up, to pick a random number, 500 sales from friends and family, it would be incredibly counter-productive to send them off to purchase your book. Amazon will then recommend your book to readers who look like your friends and family - not avid readers of your genre. Keep your marketing tight and focused. To put a finer point on it, I would take 100 sales from power readers in my niche over 500 randoms - any day. Key point: Cheating is... complicated The world of marketing can be a Hive of Villainy but this doesn't mean you need to take a peen hammer to your moral compass. I'm not going to give you an ethical sermon, because that's just fishing for cheap high fives from those who agree with you (and wasted words on the rest). Let me say this instead: if you are looking for some kind of trick or ruse or gambit which will generate a bunch of sales for you in a shady way, or by duping readers with some bait-and-switch marketing campaign, think again. Because you probably won't get the benefits you so desperately crave. There's a reason that scammers need to constantly come up with new wheezes - they might fool Amazon into some level of push, but it's not sustainable because ultimately one thing trumps everything. Key point: Readers Beat Robots Many people seem to miss one key point: visibility with readers only matters if your book looks like something they want. If you somehow convince Amazon to show your book to thousands of readers, they still have to buy it. They still must want to buy it. And that is much less likely to happen if you have a weird title or a flabby blurb or an off-genre cover. To put it another way, the better your packaging is, the more your presentation screams "This is the kind of book you love" to prospective readers, the better you will do from any level of Amazon push. The real Secret Sauce: lots and lots of people don't seem to realize that your performance in this recommendations is everything. Amazon will often be recommending your book beside a few others. If your book is never the one that readers choose to click, then Amazon will stop recommending your book. This point is critical so it's worth restating. If you prime the pump with the wrong readers, Amazon will get the wrong idea of who your readers are, it will then recommend your book to the wrong type of reader, who won't act on those recommendations in great numbers, and then Amazon will stop recommending your book. It can be a vicious circle which you can only break out of by targeting the right kind of readers - this is a simplification but it's a little like retraining Amazon's algorithms. When you get it right, Amazon can really get behind your book at an impressive level, and for a sustained period too. If your presentation is on point for your niche, and your metadata is in good shape, you will get the most mileage out of any boost from Amazon. And if all that stuff is in great shape, and you have lots of books for readers to chew through, and your sellthrough is healthy, you can go on a very lucrative run - without necessarily spending another dollar on ads. It's quite a prize. Let's look at the how next week - the mechanics of achieving all this. Dave P.S. Writing music this week is Kings of Leon with Red Morning Light. Broomfield Business Park, Malahide, Co. Dublin K36 AT04 ​Unsubscribe | Update your profile​