AMAZON

Amazon

Amazon

As a small publisher, I would sell only a few books if it weren't for Amazon.com. I've put a lot of effort into maximizing my sales with them, since I don't yet have many other useful sales channels. I want to share what I've learned about Amazon's three programs in hopes that other small publishers can reap similar benefits. For details on Amazon's programs, go to: http://www.amazon.com, scroll down toward the bottom of the page to "Directory of All Stores," and click on "Sell Items."

Amazon Advantage

In the Advantage program, you sell on consignment with a 55 percent discount and pay a yearly membership fee of $29.95. When Amazon sells the books, it pays you. Why would a consignment arrangement benefit you? Because it means Amazon orders plenty of books and usually has sufficient stock. In my experience, online retailers who do not buy a book on consignment either don't stock it or don't do a good job of stocking it. If your book isn't in stock, the chances of making a sale are greatly decreased.

Returns in the Advantage program are negligible. In the year and a half that my company, Pete Publishing, has participated, we've had only two copies of my book, "There Is Eternal Life For Animals" returned, and they came back because of damage during shipping.

To optimize your listing as an Advantage participant:

Ask satisfied customers to write a review. Good reviews sell books.

Review Amazon's "Look Inside" program to see if it's right for you. This allows a customer to search for a subject not only by title, but also within a book's pages.

Provide a good description and table of contents.

Take advantage of the 20-word editorial quotes Amazon allows you to include.

Pay attention to ranking. Customers may not watch the ranking system, but Amazon does, and so will bookstores, libraries, wholesalers, and distributors. The lower the number, the better. When you get some PR, you'll usually see your numbers improve for a day or two.

Look at the bottom of your book listing and you'll see "Favorites." Create some favorites and add your book along with a couple of other complementary books.

Use the "Make a Recommendation" tool to help drive your sales up. Review the top 100 bestselling books on Amazon to see if any of them link logically to your book. Then suggest that your customers recommend your book on the related books' pages, and on pages for other related books. All they have to do is copy your book's ISBN, paste it in the "Make a Recommendation" box, and hit "Submit". Lots of people don't know about your book, so take advantage of this free advertising!

Use the "Rate This Item" function on left-hand side of the screen. Ask your customers to give your book a five-star rating!

Amazon Marketplace

Using Amazon Marketplace, any person or business with an item to sell can offer that item directly to Amazon customers alongside the same item offered by Amazon. You can sell your own books, as well as other books and products, ...