Celebrating Independent Authors
Amazon rolled out a new advertising option in the last few days and, as with all things Amazon related, it set the author blogosphere abuzz. If you have published books through Amazon’s KDP Select program, when you go to your KDP bookshelf, you should see a link that says “Promote and Advertise.”
If you are interested in giving this new option a whirl, click that button and you will be taken to a page that looks like this: Continue reading “Amazon Marketing Services for KDP Select Titles”
Guest Post
by Shawn Inmon
By now, I think everyone’s heard of BookBub. There are no sure things in self publishing, but a BookBub ad is pretty close. The question isn’t whether or not it’s likely to work for you – it’s, how do you get accepted by them. It can be frustrating to stand on their virtual doorstep, holding a fistful of cash, and get turned down, time after time. It’s not unusual, though. In fact, it’s so commonplace that there’s an entire thread at Kboards titled “BookBub Rejection Club,” where authors bemoan their ability to get accepted.
I don’t have any special contacts or magic juju, but I have been accepted to run seven times, and I think I’ve figured out some things that can help you get accepted. The first thing to keep in mind is this: BookBub is a business, and their primary goal is to send out an email every day that results in the most click-thrus. With that in mind, here are some things you can do: Continue reading “BookBub: Tips for a Successful Submission”
Recently Martin Crosbie wrote a post where he talked a bit about money, communes, and paying it forward. In that article he raised some questions about the fine balance between ethics, money, and the reasonable desire to make a buck or two. The article generated some good discussion in the comments. Another discussion away from IU about the economics of running a website made me realize that many people don’t understand the financial reality. This post is going to discuss this, a bit about monetization of a blog or website, and give a hint for what readers can do to support the websites they like and frequent. Continue reading “How I Didn’t Make a Million Dollars Running a Book Blog”
Love may make the world go round and money can’t buy me love. Even though some call it the root of all evil, I still find myself looking for ways to obtain more of that filthy lucre. If you have a website or blog, the eyeballs of your visitors are worth money. There are various ways to monetize your website. The most obvious and least intrusive is as an affiliate of Amazon or other vendors. If you have links to products on these websites, getting a cut when you send someone from your site who subsequently makes a purchase, seems like a no-brainer. But what about other options to pick up a little extra? Today I’m going to discuss advertising, focusing on Project Wonderful, one specific option to sell ad space on your site and also a way for authors and publishers who want to advertise to find potential sites on which to advertise. Continue reading “Maybe Not Wonderful, but Okay”