If you want to make your book a #1 best-seller on Kindle, you’ve got to find the right title, keywords and categories and the way you do that is by doing the marketing research, preferably, before you write your book. This is crucial for people to be able to find it, and then want to buy it!
Plus, if you don’t get it right, it can be very difficult to get your book to number one and get it on the new release list, so it gets as much exposure out of the gate as possible.
But, there are other reasons to do the research as well. If you don’t set your book up properly, you may write a book that nobody wants to read! Or, you might have a great idea, but if you approach it the wrong way it won’t fly.
For instance, let’s say that you want to write a book about being fearless. But people aren’t buying books about being fearless in big enough numbers. Instead, you might consider approaching it from the angle of being fearful or courageous. But, you won’t know for sure until you do the research!
In another scenario, you might write a book that you think is going to be a blockbuster because there isn’t any competition. But, it may be that there is no competition because it is not something people are interested in.
Or, you might write a book and not position it properly; it’s got the wrong keywords! This happened to a client of mine where her book title talked about death but the book was actually about the afterlife.
And finally, if you don’t get it right, your book may not stand out from the competition and let your ideal buyers know that this is actually the book they want and need. For example, I had a client who had written his book before he hired me. At one point, we went into Amazon to do some marketing research after the fact and I saw another book that sounded identical. But, when I mentioned it, my client told me all the reasons his book was different, at which point I had to explain that his buyers wouldn’t know that since he didn’t explain it in his title. And since the other book was from a well-known and well-respected author in the field, his ideal buyers would most likely choose the other book. So, he changed the subtitle to reflect the differences.
The bottom line is that you won’t know the best way to position your book, choose your keywords and categories, and write a bestseller title until you do the research! But, too many authors write first and only start looking at marketing once they have finished writing. Doing it that way is a crapshoot!
If you get lucky, it will be easy to change if necessary. But if not, it could be very time consuming and expensive. And in the worst-case scenario, it could sink your book before you even publish it.
So, doesn’t it make more sense to do the research first and KNOW that your book has the potential to be very successful than to take a shot in the dark?
The challenge is knowing what to look for in Kindle. Amazon doesn’t tell you what keywords and categories to choose. And they don’t tell you what keywords your competitors are using either. You have to figure it out.
And many authors can’t tell whether their title is working or not. Sometimes, they have been thinking about it for so long that they forget their audience doesn’t have access to the information that’s in the author’s head; their ideal buyers can only decide if the book is for them from what they see on the sales page. And it has to connect with that audience and catch their attention.
That can be a tall order for many authors. But, the good news is that you can learn how to write great titles and set your book up for success.
To get started and get instant access to my Bestseller Book-Title Checklist, go to: www.booktitlesecrets.com
Ellen Violette is an award-winning book and business coach & Grammy-nominated songwriter, who works with creative visionaries who want to write a book because they have a tribe and following who are hungry and waiting for it, and want open doors to bigger opportunities and make a bigger impact in the world.
