Creative Commons License Graph by 401(K) 2012

If your book has been out for a while, you may have noticed sales are diminishing … or they never got to the point you wanted in the first place. There are four knobs on Amazon KDP you can change that might make a difference.

These four knobs have to do with the book’s metadata. What is metadata? Strictly speaking it’s data about data. In this case it’s data about your book. This information is key to your book’s discoverability. Underlying these choices is a knowledge of search engine optimization (SEO) and publishing categories. Also important is a deeper understanding of how to leverage Amazon’s categories.

All of this knowledge is gained over time, through reading on the web, industry publications, and trial and error. If your book sales are flagging, it’s a great time do some testing with your metadata.

Category: You are allowed two categories on Amazon. Experiment with changing one to see what happens. Learn more about categories by clicking here.

Tags: Check out the tags you’ve used and search for them on Amazon. Is there a lot of competition? For example, if I search “California Romance,” I find 21,528 entries.  Search for “California Wine Romance,” and I get 336 entries. My book is second in the list. (It’s also my top seller.)

Description: Almost everyone’s description can use some work. Have you taken full advantage of 4,000 characters? Does the first paragraph encourage the browser to read more? Have you used your tags in your description? Study highly ranked books in your category to see if your description measures up. Take a look what Amazon actually shows for your book. In the California wine book only the first 60 words are shown. After that, the browser must click “Read More.” Often they won’t. Are your first 60 words the most powerful you can make them?

Price: Like it or not, Amazon has driven down book prices. If you have a well-known name or a pre-built audience, you can charge a little more. If not, you have to help people discover you. Play with price–lower it for a few weeks then bring it back up. Change it again and put some social media or advertising behind it. Ironically, if you’re priced too low, raising the price may help.

Finally, if you have few reviews, get some. Have some? Get more. Amazon has thresholds for reviews and hitting one of those may give you a bump in sales!

Considering a new book in 2018? Please contact casey@ConciergeSelfPublishing.com to learn how we can help you create a book you can be proud to publish.