How to Have a Successful KDP Select Campaign.

Are you Planning a KDP Select Promo Soon?

If you plan to promote your book through Amazon's KDP Select "Free" promotion, you can potentially receive exposure that is equivalent to a billboard standing in the middle of Times Square in New York City, or you might not.

There are several factors that can influence how well or how poorly your book fares when given such an incredible opportunity. Because the response to a promotion can vary from one title to the next, it is very important that you get everything right BEFORE you set your book loose. If you nail all of these elements, you will have a greater shot at success. If you are lacking in some or all of these elements, you might not experience the boost in sales/readership that you are hoping for.

The following is a list of key elements that will effect your biggest and best opportunity to FINALLY get noticed on the world stage:

• Your Book Cover is the very first thing readers see, so it only stands to reason that it better be AWESOME. Unfortunately, many self-published authors have an unprofessional looking cover, yet expect professional results. Your cover needs to grab a reader's attention, draw them in, or create enough curiosity to earn a "click". If your book cover is lame or screams "self-published" you might get far fewer clicks than if you spent a little bit of money on a sweet cover. And in the world of KDP Select promotions, a loss of clicks can mean a loss of several hundred to several thousand dollars. So it is definitely worth the expense.

• Your Book Blurb is your sales pitch, and you don't have much time to convince a book buyer to spend their dime on you. With so many books for free, and at affordable prices, your product description should be catchy, to the point, and professional. If you have misspelled words, or the layout of your product description is sloppy, too long, too short, or has bad formatting, a reader might assume that the book has similar issues. An ideal book description should include at least two quality reviews that build immediate credibility, followed by a brief, accurate, and compelling product description.

• Your Price Point is critical. I mention pricing in my forthcoming book, The Indie Author's Guide to the Universe, in detail. But my opinion of book pricing has nothing to do with the value of your book, it has to do with the size of your audience. Therefore, if you're a newer author, and if you do not have many reviews, or awards, I would not recommend pricing your book over $2.99 during a KDP promotion. Unless your book really catches fire, a newer author is at risk of losing sales when over priced. In fact, check out the top 100; you'll notice that there are more low priced books than ever before.

• Reviews sell books. The more you have, the more credibility you will have with your potential buyers. If you have very few reviews, you might not sell near as many books with your free promotion than if you had 10, 20, or more quality reviews. Likewise, if you have received poor reviews, there is a greater chance that you might not experience the same success as some authors have had with KDP Select. If you need more reviews, check out The Kindle Book Review among other sites. You can always solicit reviews from book bloggers.
• Layer your Marketing. The Select free promotion is the best shot you may have to get your book promoted on a world stage. You have to throw everything you've got into this promotion. I recommend scheduling multiple promotions on the day, and days following the moment your book returns to the "paid" store. I discuss the concept of Marketing Layering in detail and provide a few websites that will coordinate this effort in my book.

So here's the deal: You have 90 days to use your 5 free days with KDP Select. If you are lacking in any of the elements listed above, I'd urge you to utilize your time and resources to get as many of these points nailed down BEFORE you offer your book for free. If you don't, you could get a whole bunch of nothing from what I consider one of the best promotional opportunities in the history of publishing.

IF YOU NEED HELP, go to my my Author Services Page. I got skills.

Finally, I am officially doing a soft release of my publishing imprint, NexGate Press. It's been here for over a year, quietly sneaking up on the publishing industry, and it's getting ready to pounce. PLEASE spread the word! You can learn more here.

Get a Poncho. Barnes and Noble's Brains are Splashing.

Sell your Barnes & Noble stock! Seriously. Cash in your chips. Barnes and Noble is going to die. If you don't think it's possible, remember that we lost Borders in the not too distant past. 

Gone. 

Dead. 

Buried.

R.I.P

In my opinion, Barnes & Noble is next on the chopping block. I may be wrong, and I hope I am. But gosh darn it, there are just too many red flags flying for me to think otherwise. 

In B&N's recent announcement, chief merchandising officer, Jaime Carey said, "Their [Amazon's] actions have undermined the industry as a whole and have prevented millions of customers from having access to content," Carey said. "It’s clear to us that Amazon has proven they would not be a good publishing partner to Barnes & Noble as they continue to pull content off the market for their own self interest. We don’t get many requests for Amazon titles, but if customers wish to buy Amazon titles from us, we will make them available only online at bn.com.” 

STOP RIGHT THERE. Barnes & Noble has just announced that they are dying. Here's why:

B&N's shot in the left foot.

"Their actions have undermined the industry as a whole and have prevented millions of customers from having access to content,"

Really? If B&N is upset that Amazon has "prevented millions of customers from having access to content", then why would they refuse to sell books that Amazon publishes? Isn't that preventing "customers" from accessing content as well? I'm not sure if Jaime wrote that press release, but that is a serious contradiction. Does B&N really want to make all books available? Do they really care about availability? Answer: No, they do not. They just don't want to be put out of business and made to be fools by smarter Ivy League grads. 

The truth is, Barnes & Noble isn't the least bit concerned about freedom of content. In fact, they have continued to squeeze books out of their inventories over the last few years, and have been closed off to providing "customers" with content in their stores. Ask any bestselling independent author who has been refused into their closed-off club of select publishers. I hate to tell you this B&N, but what goes around comes around.

B&N's shot in the right foot.

"It’s clear to us that Amazon has proven they would not be a good publishing partner to Barnes & Noble as they continue to pull content off the market for their own self interest."

Wow! That is just laughable. Do the leaders at B&N actually think that Amazon and other book retailers are teaming up as a world-wide endowment of literature? No, they are not. They are in business to make money. Period. That's all they care about. That is their sole purpose. And duh, of course Amazon is in it "for their own self interest." What executive in his right mind would think otherwise. They sure as heck aren't in business for Barnes & Noble's interests. If that's the way the leadership at B&N thinks, their business is in serious trouble. Big business is not team work! It's about money and it's about trumping your competitor. 

B&N's shot in the heart.

"We don’t get many requests for Amazon titles, but if customers wish to buy Amazon titles from us, we will make them available only online at bn.com."

The bigger question is, is pulling the titles that Amazon  publishes from their stores a good business decision? Answer: NO, it is not. Just think about that declaration for a moment and let that sink in. Amazon is selling plenty of big name authors in their stores like King, Koontz, and Collins and titles like Steve Jobs  biography. The Hunger Games is Amazon's #1, #2, and #3 top selling books at this moment. And those titles are in BN.com's top six. King and Steve Jobs are in B&N's and Amazon's top twenty. The point is, the demand for books is mirrored in both stores. So if B&N chooses not to sell self-help author Tim Ferriss' books because he is published by an Amazon imprint, I 'd wager that readers will go somewhere else to buy it. This will not help B&N's bottom line. In fact, B&N will only exclude themselves from profiting from Amazon published titles. And that's their fix?

Let me get this straight. Amazon pushes for exclusivity, and B&N's response is to further exclude themselves from available and popular books? Is that a good business decision? No.

B&N's shot in the head.

"Their actions have undermined the industry as a whole…"

In my opinion, Barnes and Noble is committing suicide because Amazon is winning, and they're using a frickin' B-52 bomber. They are crying and pouting like little babies, when what they should be doing is figuring out what they are doing wrong, or perhaps use Amazon as a template for good business. They should look at Amazon's utilization of product cross promotion, author promotion, and customer buying patterns, and figure out how to implement those tactics in their own selling algorithms, not because they want to be like Amazon, but because it is working for Amazon. 

Businesses do this all the time; it's called benchmarking. It's called improving by looking at a standard, a point of reference. It's called getting off your rumpus, stop crying, and start reprogramming your stupid website! 

I hate to sound cynical about all of this, because I'm a very positive person, and I really want book stores to survive and thrive. I just hate cry babies. Is it really Amazon's fault that B&N is failing? Is it Amazon's fault that B&N's online book shop is not as attractive to authors? Is it Amazon's fault that B&N can't seem to make good business decisions. No. It is not. Amazon has made smarter decisions than Barnes & Noble, simple as that. 

All to say, I'm buying a poncho from Amazon for two reasons:

#1. Barnes & Nobles doesn't sell them.

#2. There's going to be a serious blood bath when B&N pulls the trigger.

What do you think? I could be wrong. Maybe you can convince me otherwise.

###

Jeff Bennington is the author of Twisted Vengeance, Reunion, Creepy and The Indie Authors Guide to the Universe. Please buy one of these; sort of like a tip. they are mostly 99¢!

Follow by email to get my weekly posts, and then check out The Kindle Book Review, my sister site. Then come back… The Indie Author's Guide to the Universe is coming soon and you won't want to miss it.

The Best Seller That Publishers Wouldn't Touch

After countless form letters, hair pulling, and fear of mass rejection, I was told by agents and publishers alike, "Thanks but no thanks."

Well I have news for them, REUNION would've been a good buy.

After several months of diligent blogging, tweeting, and review peddling, my breakthrough novel had sold over 6,000 copies without their help. I did everything a publisher could've done on my behalf; the editing (Jacque Penn/Neal Hock), the cover art (me), the ebook formatting (Ted Risk) etc. I didn't think I'd have to work as hard as I did. I spent hundreds of hours promoting and guest blogging. I built a platform through The Writing Bomb and The Kindle Book Review because I had started at ground zero.

Before I go any further, I have to thank the dozens of readers and writerly friends I've met on Twitter and facebook. Indie authors will never succeed without the underlying support of others.

Perhaps my lack of "Platform" was the only reason Reunion was rejected, but I doubt it. Maybe they thought the story was too risky. Or maybe they thought the masses wouldn't be interested in a supernatural thriller about the struggling survivors of a school shooting?


Whatever the reason, they passed. It wasn't good enough for them. And honestly, I DO NOT feel any bitterness toward the publishing system. They had their reasons, and a business plan, and I didn't fit.

No worries. No skin off my back.

But you know what? I'm really glad I didn't let the old-publishing system discourage me, or make me reconsider whether Reunion could succeed. I guess I just don't like to hear "No". I never have. So I wasn't about to let their decision stop me from moving forward.

Being the industrious person that I am, like so many indie authors, I put my nose to the diamond-grit grindstone and started to figure out how I could get this book out to readers without a publisher. It took many hours of study, and blog reading, and online research, but it was so worth it. I discovered that "pay to publish" is just wrong. I discovered that the steps required to get a good product is much easier than I was led to believe. And I discovered that I didn't need a publisher to sell the story I needed to tell.

I believed that the life of a school-shooting survivor would be difficult. I believed that these teenagers lives would be dramatically altered. In my heart of hearts I felt a deep concern for the pain and hurt and scars that they must have endured. And I knew they would carry the pain with them, affecting every aspect of their adult lives.

My research proved that I was correct. Did you know that when young people go through school shootings, the effects (as in level of post-traumatic stress) are often far more severe than those of trained soldiers who experience military combat? It's true. The reason is because adolescent and teenage frontal lobes aren't always fully developed, among other reasons, so the impact of the experience is magnified, causing severe cases of ptsd. In fact, I communicated with one of the survivors of the Columbine shooting before I published and he told me that it took him 10 years before he began feeling "normal".

Interesting isn't it? Imagine the variety of experiences. Imagine the countless twists of fate?

As a writer my mind took my concerns and went wild. The result was Reunion, a supernatural thriller that has since become an Amazon best seller as of yesterday (December 24, 2011), a day I will never forget.

That day has changed my life, but not for the reasons that you might think. Yesterday is so special because it proved that I'm worthy of respect as a writer no matter what the publishers say. AND because it proves that YOU are too...if you are diligent.

Every time an independent author makes the best seller list, it proves that the old system is broken. Best selling indies are clear evidence that publishing houses don't always have the best eye for what will sell. Making the Amazon Best Seller List also proves that publishers do not know how to weigh the value of an author's level of determination, and commitment.

I think I have a great story, and I know I have determination. Had they only but asked, I could've communicated why I was going to be a best seller with or without them.

But Amazon Select did it? Never mind Amazon Select. I made the decision to join while others didn't . I made the decision to go on a 45-day blog tour. I made the decision to price my book at 99¢ until the time was right to change. There are many great books and Amazon and an agent will never never help fate choose who wins. Publishing success is more complicated that one simple program. It's my beief that prayer and God's good graces have more power than any online program. And I know there was plenty of that over the course of the last several months.

All to say, I feel like I won the wager between me and the publishing industry. I don't care if Reunion falls out of the Top 100 before I finish this post. I still won. Indies everywhere won in 2011 and 2012 is looking even better.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

~ Jeff Bennington is the (Best Selling) author of Reunion, Twisted Vengeance & Creepy.

4.4 Stars

5 Stars

5 Stars

The Indie Book Blowout is BIG NEWS!

I'll get straight to the point. The Indie Book Blowout sponsored by the wonderful folks at The Indie Book Collective have done something amazing. They've gathered the best Indie authors out there, convinced them to price their books at 99¢ and then they do this huge, massive, mammoth event that is quite honestly, mind boggling.

They reach out to the four corners of the earth, holding a Zeppelin-sized megaphone shouting, "Look over here. We've pulled out all the stops to bring you the best indie ebooks at rock bottom prices."

With indie publishing hitting mainstream news, this is a story that needs to be shared. Is CNN hearing this? The Wall Street Journal? New York Times? Are you media peeps even paying attention here? Readers are making a turn. Readers are accepting indie authors, because the old stigma of the poor quality "self-publisher" is beginning to fade... still there some, but fading.

This event is comprised of ebooks of all genres including BRAIN RUSH from the Amazon best selling author Richard Bard, SUNDERED by Shanon Mayer, BRILLIANT PREY by Brenda Wallace and many other best selling indie authors! Did you hear that? Indie authors are on the best seller's lists.

Yeah it's big news when an indie author sells a million copies or hits the New York Times Best Seller list. But take a closer look at Amazon's top selling ebooks. Indie authors have invaded Amazon's Top 100 ebook list, and especially in the category Top 100 lists.

Trust me, I know; I have three books in the Top 100 suspense, ghost and occult categories.

And yes, I too am participating in the Indie Book Blowout. Why wouldn't I? This is the most professional and dedicated group of authors I know. They pay for quality editing, have great book covers and they know how to tell a story... just ask their readers and reviewers. Isn't that who we're writing for? Isn't the bottom line of book quality, the smile, or tear, or laughter that readers get from a good book? Yes, it is. Quality is not determined by who publishes it, but rather, by reader response.

Alright, that's all I want to say. Go to The INDIE BOOK BLOWOUT Now!

Look for CREEPY, my collection of scary stories; REUNION, my #1 Amazon best selling ghost story; and TWISTED VENGEANCE, my brand new supernatural thriller that will leave you guessing until the twisted conclusion. Also, check out my FREE short-suspense,  MURDOCH'S EYES.

Supernatural/Suspense

True Ghost Stories

Paranormal Thriller

Go now... the INDIE BOOK BLOWOUT is celebrating the 12 days of Christmas from the 12th -24th of December, so it won't last forever. After the 24th, many of these titles will go back to their normal pricing.

~ Jeff Bennington (writer dude).

*** Do you like my covers? I made them and I'll make one for you too. See my "Author Services" page!