10 Things I Learned on my journey From Hitting 'Publish' to Making #1 on Amazon

Our guest post, Nicholas Rossis, has published 8 books and reached #1 on Amazon in his category within the first 3 months.  Today, he graciously shares his marketing experience with us:

I’ve been reading contradictory opinions about book marketing and what does and doesn’t work, so I thought I’d share some things I've learned, warts and all.  In a short three-month period, I’ve become a best-selling published author and climbed one of the steepest learning curves I’ve encountered in my life. 

So, what ten conclusions have I drawn from my first 3 months of marketing efforts? 

1. Have more than one book out there.  One book’s free days led to the sales of the second book picking up substantially.  The effect seems to grow exponentially, from what I’ve heard.
2.  Don’t let marketing distract you from your writing.  My marketing efforts distracted me from my writing for a while, but also allowed me to make new friends who have offered to beta-read and help out with my next book.
3. Use your free days on KDP.  Because of the free days, 5,000 people will now influence where Amazon displays my book.  That, to me, is the most important thing I’ve gained; the “people who bought this also bought Pearseus” recommendation is a huge asset.
4. The fact that both books have reached #1 at some point is a great selling point.  Buying a book from an author you’ve never heard before is a risk.  We all have limited time, and too many books to read.  “Author of the international best-selling series Pearseus” sounds much more convincing, than “new author”.  It doesn’t sound too bad as an answer to the dreaded question, “So, how’s your book doing?”, either.
5. Get involved with Goodreads, Reddit and KBoards.  But as Rayne Hall said, you can only manage one social medium properly at a time (she’s considered somewhat of a Twitter guru, so be sure to follow her).
6. Place some (mostly free) ads on websites.  A problem can be that they get lost among the hundreds of other ads there.  So it's better to focus on sites and newsletters that feature no more than a couple of books at a time.
7. Have the right expectations when using your free days on Amazon.  If your expectation is
   that you’ll publish a book, give away a million copies and sell hundreds of thousands because of that, you should probably prepare for disappointment.  Free days are part of a greater strategy – it’s a marathon, not a sprint, as I’m fond of saying.
8. Make sure you have some reviews from your friends and beta-readers ready as soon as you publish – and certainly before you start your giveaways.  Readers these days an inundated with free books, so now they won't download something just because it’s free.  They also need to feel there’s at least a chance of reading it eventually.  Also, it’s a good idea to ask for a review at the end of the book (Kindle now does it automatically).

   

   One of my dignified and tasteful promotional posts

9. Do something everyday to promote your book – be it a tweet, asking for a review or telling someone about your book.  But don’t forget you’re a writer, not a marketer (I know I’ve said this already, but it bears repeating.  Too many Indie authors publish one book and market it ad nauseum, losing their focus).  From what I’ve read, most authors need at least ten books before being able to live off their books.
10. My number one conclusion?  Before starting any marketing, be sure you have the best possible book you can.  I had a dozen people read it, to make sure we had weeded out as many typos as possible.  I’m not saying you should wait until your writing is perfect to publish – for there is always room for improvement – but that you should confident it’s the best possible book you can write.  Just because it’s so easy to get published nowadays, you shouldn’t rush to do so without checking thoroughly.  Typos may be inevitable, but make sure they’re as few as possible before you publish.  

Self publishing has been a roller coaster experience, but I’ve loved every minute of it.  Along the way, I’ve met some great people, people who share the same passion as me, either as readers, reviewers, editors, proofreaders or authors, and this may well be the best part of this journey.  It is these and the many friends I’ve made online that prompted me into writing this post, in the hope of helping others who wish to publish and are worried about making it, and it is to them that my final words are addressed: Take the plunge, and I promise; there’s a lot of people waiting to help you.

To read the full article, where he gives a much more detailed account, click here.
Read more about Nicholas Rossis here.