How To Rank On Amazon Kindle

I've noticed several threads on putting an eBook on Amazon in Kindle format.

Now the next question becomes: how do I rank within Amazon?

Well, you guys have helped me out so much, I hope I can return the favor to some of you here. Below I describe how I moved from page 3 for my keyword to page 1. (I still have a long ways to go as I fall back to page 2 quite often!)

1. Begin by joining a tagging thread. This is painful and rote, but you will find that it gives you a little ranking juice when you first start out. This bumped me up about a page.

2. Get a few mutual reviews from other authors. This will bump you up another half page or so. Good reviews are more important for your customers than your ranking. If they see a review that looks like it is from a non-spammy source, this makes them feel comfortable.

3. Get some sales going on your blog/homepage. Almost all of your ranking on Amazon comes from raw sales. In fact, you will see your ranking moving up and down by the day based on your Kindle sales.

Here is an idea for #2: In your Kindle book, put your email and/or ask for a review. I got a nice review from a guy who wrote in with questions. I answered his questions and then asked him to do a review, which he was more than happy to do.

Here is an idea for #3: Lower your price to drive up sales. I have suspicions that Amazon's algorithm weight not only sales per day but sales dollars per day. However, I moved onto page 1 when my sales went up and this moved my book more than anything else.

Finally, don't forget to submit to Smashwords. That's a whole 'nuther subject, but they will get you into Barnes and Noble, Sony, etc.

You can do VERY well by ranking within Amazon. Here is an interview on my site that I did with an author that is now making over $200,000 per year in eBook sales:

Interview Brian Pratt

NOTE: If any of you has started over in middle age and has an inspirational story in middle age, let me know.

I want to encourage all you budding authors out there: ebook authors are turning the publishing industry on its head and revolutionizing everything much the way the music industry is transforming right now.

It's a fascinating phenomenon to watch. It's time to jump in and get carried downstream!

Any ideas from others more experienced than me is much appreciated...