WARNING: The Kindle Magic Bullet...
I wasn't sure if I should start this thread or not, but my conscious said yes.
I have noticed an ever increasing amount of products based on how to make money on Kindle. And frankly, it has me a little disturbed that we are now seeing Kindle being promoted as the next big thing and easy money maker.
Along with this supply, we are also seeing the inevitable spike in demand on how to promote a Kindle book etc.
So I am writing this as a reality check and to perhaps expose a few myths.
Before I get into it, I'd like you to know a bit more about me...
I wrote and self published my first paper book in 2004 - Renovate For Profit about renovating real estate. This went on to become a best-seller down here in Australia. Now to be honest, that equates to just over 10,000 copies (the volume for best seller is lower down here than in the USA).
Never the less, something that I am proud of. This led to me creating a digital version for the USA market which was then always a top 5 seller on Clickbank in the real estate category.
And then came the GFC and my publishing empire collapsed.
Late 2006 I was a coaching student for a 2 times NYT best seller and with him, we set up his Automatic Bestseller Inner Circle - a $397 per month membership and training program for aspiring authors. I believe that this is now just a subscription membership site.
Anyways, that's a bit about me... back to Kindle.
I don't wnat this to be a negative thread. In fact, I am compelled to writing it because I want to help, and hate seeing people being consumed by false hope.
Kindle is no doubt transforming the way ebooks are delivered. It has amazing benefits for sure because of the ease of publishing and of course the targeted free traffic provides. Almost anyone can become an instant Author.
Now that's the good news.
The reality for the majority is that they may never sell enough books to fulfill their income and business goals. Once again, this isn't to discourage you, it's just reality.
I'll give you some suggestions in a moment.
Just do a search on a topic and you will see how many competing books there are in your category.
It's staggering, and let's face it, you cannot sell an ebook on kindle for the same amount as you would on clickbank or online as we know it. This means that you have to sell more and more books, if you are in it for the money.
Sure, you can churn out books by the dozen and forge an income resembling adsense revenue, but like anything, you have to check your metrics... ie the time and cost to publish and then how much return you get on your investment.
So here is my take (based on my experience) for what it's worth, and hopefully it will help you in some way/s...
-Kindle is an awesome, inexpensive way to test if there is a market for your book. If you have aspirations to have real book published - which I hope you do - then kindle is the answer. when I wrote my first book, I paid $13k for a print run of 10,000 books. Luckily, they sold and most times I sold them wholesale for $5 to $15 per book. but it could just as easily flopped and I would have been stuck with a garage full of books and a $13k debt.
That of course came later with 1000 VHS cassettes - another story - doh!
- The same rules apply to Kindle as they do to paper books: First and foremost you need a great book and you need a great hook.
Look, if you really want to maximize your success chances then you have to fully research what you are going to write about. To put yourself in front of the 10,000,000 other titles then you want to be fresh, unique and interesting.
Ask yourself why would someone buy your book? What makes it unique? What problems are people looking to solve?
- As mentioned above, on it's own a kindle book won't be a massive money spinner for most, so you might consider using it as part of an overall strategy to sell higher priced products.
- Consider planning and creating a series of related books that you can promote to existing customers.
- Consider publishing small short books for 99c and using them to generate leads for your business.
There are many ways that you can use Kindle. I am only scratching the surface here and I have no doubt that there are other Warriors who are doing well... but I can almost guarantee that it isn't with just one book.
Finally...
Becoming an Author in print is one of the quickest and best ways to build credibility and Authority. One of the biggest blocks I found with my students was a lack of self-belief in what they wanted to write about.
I don't care who you are or where you've come from... everyone has a story to tell... anyone who has suffered adversity and come through has a message to tell the world and help others.
Wanna write a great book? Easy - PASSION!
write about something that you are passionate about, like I did with my book.
If you are passionate, you can bet that someone else is also as passionate. Tell your story then find them on Kindle.
If you area speaker or want to build your market offline, then write a book about your area of expertize.
Anyway, enough of me.
Hope this helps some. if not, that's cool. Feel free to add your thoughts.
Best of success,
Sal
Disclosure: I have not yet released a book on Kindle, but will be early this year. This post has been a brain dump of ideas. I honestly believe that what applies to paper books also applies to Kindle books. Different medium, same principles.
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Kindle Self Publishing Supersite - Kindle Templates, Book Covers & Trailers, Marketing Tips, & More
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You Won't See The Light Until You Open Your Eyes.
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Publish Coloring Books for Profit (WSOTD 7-30-2015)
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You Won't See The Light Until You Open Your Eyes.
You Won't See The Light Until You Open Your Eyes.
Kindle Self Publishing Supersite - Kindle Templates, Book Covers & Trailers, Marketing Tips, & More
You Won't See The Light Until You Open Your Eyes.
You Won't See The Light Until You Open Your Eyes.