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Kindle publishing and inferior competition

by mounds
3 replies
I've been thinking about getting into some Kindle publishing, starting with the pest control niche. My assessment of the competition has consisted of going to Amazon and typing in, "How to get rid of x" (replace x with ants, bats, gophers, mice, bed bugs, ect.).

Predictably, there's a boatload of books already for sale. Some of them even have product descriptions that sound well-written. The horror begins when you click the "Look Inside" button...

To be frank, the books are badly-written and contain a lot of irrelevant information. The bed bug extermination books gave me a chuckle. In each sample, I was treated to a taxonomy lesson, showing me where bed bugs fit into the animal kingdom. If I had insects drinking my blood in my sleep, there's only one thing I would care about: how to get rid of them.

So anyhow, my question is... should I be scared off by the sheer number of competitors? I know I can easily create something superior, but how can I avoid getting lost in the sea of books?

-Tim
#competition #inferior #kindle #publishing
  • Profile picture of the author Robin3972
    There are a lot of books on Kindle and there are certainly many that are not that great. And there are lots that are the same as the others because a bunch of us marketers uploaded the same PLR books without making any changes to them. I know, I was one of them. I was testing Kindle out and I got my hands slapped by Amazon and had most of the books taken down because they were the same as many others.

    When I get around to putting up new books in the future I'll make them very unique and as personal as possible.

    As far as making yours stand out from the crowd what I found to get mine to rank well was to have a great title and some feedback. That made a world of difference. Also, have a cool looking cover. That makes it seem unique and different.

    Other than that check out a few of the courses that are offered over on the WSO pages. They have a more detailed list of what to do.

    Good luck,
    Robin
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  • Profile picture of the author Kecia
    From what I have been reading lately on Kindle publishing, the best thing you can do after uploading a book is market the heck out of it. I think many people try to sell you on the idea that you can just "upload the book and Amazon will promote it for you!" While this may be the case if you book ends up in the recommended sections, you usually need sales and reviews to get it there.

    Try targeting keywords in your title to help your books be found when someone searches the Kindle store. Also, give free copies to people (preferably in your niche or that can actually benefit from the book) so they can review it for you. Also, there are Kindle book review blogs online that do nothing but read and review books for publishers.
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    KeciaHambrick.com - Blogger. Content Creator. Social Media Enthusiast.
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  • Profile picture of the author AprilCT
    Marketing is the answer. I agree with Kecia. You already said you can create a superior product, but not many will know about it IF YOU don't actively market and push it along. Don't forget there are more outlets than just Amazon to place your ebooks, try creating a catchy video for You-tube (and other video-sharing places), blog about it, RSS feed, press release, and so on. Lots of work, but if what you have is interesting and can stand out from the rest with information people want, you could do well. ebooks are not a put it up and forget about it method of income.
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