Publish on Kinde – How to Get Your Book Noticed

How do you get your book noticed on Kindle?

It’s tricky, isn’t it?

And little wonder either given that there are millions of ebooks currently available to buy from the Amazon Kindle Store. It’s a busy noisy book-buying marketplace, and if you don’t understand how to get more eyes on your Kindle book, you will struggle with sales and feel disillusioned by the whole self-publishing journey unless (you can master Amazon ads of course, which is a whole different blog entirely!).

But don’t worry. All is not lost when it comes to optimising your book for Kindle sales!

Whether you’re a solo self-publisher or you hire an e-publisher such as myself to assist you with the process, any established self-published author will tell you that exposure is vital to success. The sheer breadth of book material available on Amazon Kindle is good news to any writer, as is the multitude of genres. In short, it has become a one-stop shop for many a reader around the globe who wants to buy their next book fix instantly.

And so whilst you might at first feel daunted by the prospect of trying to launch your debut novel or memoir or fabulous new business book in a market so flooded with options, you can also rest assured that it is never a market which is saturated. After all, for any reader, there is no such concept as ‘too many books’, is there? The question then is…

How, as a self-published writer, do you get your book noticed in the Kindle Store?

Choose The Right Categories

Marketing your book in the Kindle store relies on your readers finding you quickly and easily. Take time to consider the genre of your book and identify any applicable sub-categories. Search through the books which are similar to your own and look at the categories they are placed in. You have two category options so choose them wisely. Remember, if you don’t seem to be getting anywhere with the categories you’re in, they’re not set in stone. You can go back into your KDP account and alter them even after you’ve published. So do that … play around with your category choice and monitor the results.

Make Your Book More Discoverable with Keywords

There’s more to it than simply coming up with a few random keywords which people might put into the Amazon Kindle search bar to find your book. Check out this advice from the KDP Amazon Help pages. It offers a much detailed insight into keywords, which means you can dig deep and test what works best for you, and maximise your Kindle book’s selling potential.

Opt Into Amazon KDP Select

Amazon’s publishing platform is very much geared to help self-published writers position themselves in the Kindle market. Part of their promotional toolkit is KDP Select. By subscribing to KDP Select you can price your book at your desired price point, offer free downloads for a limited period of time and time-limited price discounts. This is great news for self-published writers who want to boost readership and skyrocket their downloads – and improve rankings in the Kindle store!

Furthermore, you can increase your exposure by opting into the lending library, and taking advantage of the wider global ebook market KDP Select offers. These are time-proven strategies towards building readership which in recent years have served many astute self-published writers well.

Add a Smart Link to Your Book

Another big benefit of digital publishing is the ability to utilise the perks of internet-enabled devices. By adding a smart link to the back of your Kindle book (and driving traffic to your social media pages or website, for example) potential opportunities are aplenty for ‘free’ Kindle marketing! Make it easy for your readers to leave a review and share your book on social networks such as Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

Write a Series of Books

Many successful writers who have published on Kindle have done so by understanding that sales and a loyal following often go hand in hand. Exposure can sometimes be gradual (and requires plenty of patience) but writing a series opens up the opportunity for increased sales and kudos via current readership loyalty. Don’t forget to tantalise your readers with information about up-and-coming releases in the back of your Kindle book, and update each book in the series as your author career progresses.

Within my role as an e-publisher many of my new clients are excited to finally realise that the world of self-publishing has gained momentum. For many, the journey of self-publishing on Kindle is a rewarding experience in itself. The world is a-changing, and in this respect we need to change our perceptions too. Gone are the days when succeeding as a writer looked nigh-on impossible. Take the world by storm, grab these opportunities, and get your book noticed on Kindle! I promise you’ll never look back.