How to Market a Kindle Book  

Publishing a book on Amazon Kindle is a great way to establish yourself as a serious author. And in order to run a successful book marketing campaign, you have to understand how to market a Kindle book.

Marketing your e-book on Kindle is different than marketing a traditional book. KDP Select marketing requires keyword research, setting up your e-book metadata, and organizing a virtual book tour. Your target audience is searching for their next book on Amazon. And when you market the right way with Kindle, your book can be their top search result.

How Kindle books are different in book marketing

Every author dreams of making money on their books. And whether you’re an indie author just getting started or an established writer with a large following, book marketing is crucial to your success.

If you’re new to Amazon Kindle publishing, it’s important to familiarize yourself with how Kindle works. Kindle uses a different process than traditional publishing, but it can really help launch your book—and your writing career.

What are the biggest differences between Kindle book marketing campaigns and traditional book marketing campaigns?

Traditional books are printed. And traditional book marketing campaigns generally involve events like a book launch, a live book reading in a bookstore, and even a book tour. But since Kindle publishing is only for e-books, your Kindle book marketing campaign will look much different than a traditional campaign.

Amazon offers several book marketing services for your Kindle book. For instance, you might want to take advantage of their free Kindle book promotion or their Kindle countdown deal, which puts a countdown clock on your book’s page showing your readers how long the book promo lasts.

The key to successful Kindle book marketing is to cast a wide net online. Here are a few ideas to help you earn each book sale:

• Create a website, either for yourself as an author or for your specific book. Include your author bio and links to where your readers can purchase your e-book.
• Start a blog to increase awareness about your book.
• Post about your e-book on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
• Review the Amazon advertising offers and pick the ones that are right for you. These marketing services are designed to work within the Amazon algorithm, which means that Kindle shoppers can find your book quickly and easily.

Why is it important to understand that Kindle books are different when it comes to marketing?

Book marketing is only successful if you target and cater to the right audience. So it’s important to understand that marketing Kindle books is different than marketing traditional books.

Readers searching for their next e-book purchase are scouring Amazon and the rest of the internet. They’re not visiting bookstores or attending book fairs. When you publish a book on Amazon Kindle, you should market your e-book through Amazon ads and other online platforms. So get online and find your audience!

What can happen if you don’t consider the unique aspects of Kindle book marketing when you market your Kindle book?

Kindle publishing has established itself as a leader in the e-book industry. If you successfully market your book on Kindle, you’ll ring up a lot of book sales. And in order to use Kindle’s marketing tools successfully, you have to understand how they work—and how they’re unique compared to other marketing tools.

One of Kindle’s marketing tools is its free book promo. You want to make money on your book, so giving away free copies might sound counterintuitive. However, giving your readers a chance at a free book helps get your name and your work out there. Think of the online reader reviews you’ll get! And if you want to increase your readers’ excitement even more, Kindle can also put a countdown clock on your book’s web page.

As you consider the resources that Kindle e-book marketing offers to its authors, be sure to research the options and how they can help your book marketing campaign.

How to do keyword research

Your target audience is searching through Amazon for their next book. They type keywords related to their preferred genre and subject matter into Kindle’s search bar. And for them to find your book, you have to include these keywords in your book metadata.

Book metadata includes your book description, summary, author bio, and additional information you want your readers to see at a glance. When you perform keyword research and incorporate the most relevant keywords into your metadata, your book will come up as a top search result.

What are the steps to finding keywords?

First and foremost, it’s important to understand the terms you’ll come across during your keyword research. Here are a few search terms to familiarize yourself with:

• Long-tail keywords, which can be a search term containing three to five words
• Short-tail keywords, which only have one or two words
• Keyword strings, which contain multiple keywords (For example, if you’re marketing children’s books, you can use a keyword string like “colorful picture books for toddlers.”)

Once you understand the keywords you need, you can create a high-SEO book description. And this will help your readers find you!

What tools can you use to help you research keywords for marketing your Kindle book?

Keyword research is important. But depending on how much money you’ve set aside for marketing expenses, some keyword research tools might be outside of your price range. Fortunately, you can find strong Amazon KDP keywords on a tight budget.

You can save money by performing your own keyword research. Look at the top-selling e-books in your genre. What keywords do they use, and how can you apply them to your book?

Also, as you type into the search bar, the Amazon algorithm will offer suggestions for similar search terms. This means that people have been typing in those keywords to find their next book to read. If any of those apply to your e-book, include it in your book metadata!

Why is it important to find the best keywords?

When you find the best keywords and incorporate them into your book metadata on Kindle, your potential readers will be able to find you. You’ll be a top search result in the Kindle store. And because the top few results get the most clicks, you increase the chance for another book sale.

Tips for setting up your Kindle e-book metadata

KDP Select is a powerful e-book publishing service that can help you earn a lot of book sales. One of the most important aspects of publishing with Kindle is your e-book metadata. This is key information about your book that will help your target audience find you.

Setting up your book metadata might not be at the top of your to-do list. However, it’s crucial to your success. So set aside a little time and create that metadata!

What information must always be included in your Kindle e-book’s metadata?

Kindle provides helpful guidelines for your e-book’s metadata. And as long as you follow those guidelines, you’ll make the Amazon algorithm happy and appear as a top search result. Here are a few things you’ll need to include:

• Book title
• Author name
• Book description
• Publisher, if you’ve already published your book
• Keywords
• Book cover image

Although Kindle’s requirements might seem strict, they’re actually designed to help you succeed. So create your e-book metadata according to the guidelines. And then sit back and watch those book sales come in!

Why is setting up your Kindle e-book’s metadata the right way so important?

When it comes down to it, Kindle’s e-book metadata is one of the book marketing services that Amazon offers. Amazon Kindle is a huge e-book company. And in order for your readers to find your book among the millions of other options, you have to tailor your metadata to the Amazon algorithm’s requirements.

In other words, setting up your Kindle e-book metadata sets you apart from the competition.

What are the steps to setting up your Kindle e-book metadata?

KDP Select makes it easy to upload your e-book and set up your book metadata. All you have to do is follow its guidelines.

The first step is easy. After all, you already have the information! Just gather your book title, author name, book cover, and publisher, if applicable.

The second step is a bit more labor intensive. Perform some keyword research to find out what your target audience is looking for. And then write a book description to grab your readers’ attention. If your book metadata is strong, your audience will easily find you!

How a virtual book tour works for promoting your Kindle book

Virtual book tours allow you as the author to connect with your readers. It’s a chance for you to be creative and have fun with your marketing! And because a virtual book tour increases interest in your e-book, it can also be a great marketing campaign.

What events are part of a virtual book tour when it comes to promoting your Kindle book?

You can host and participate in a variety of book promotion events during a virtual book tour. Here are some examples:

• Virtual book launch. Invite your readers to an online book launch party to celebrate publishing your Kindle e-book. Post the event details on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms to get your audience excited. You can even lure them in with a free book giveaway contest!
• Book review. People love to share their experiences and viewpoints. And what better way to connect with your audience than to share book reviews? You can even ask the public for recommendations on what books to discuss.
• Online book club. Readers want to read—and that’s a great way for authors to connect with them. Start up an online book club to get to know your audience.
• Blog tour. Once you know the date your e-book will be available on KDP Select, create a blog tour. This is basically promoting your book on various websites and blogs. You can even ask a fellow author for a guest post to boost your blog tour success!

How should you organize and promote a virtual book tour for promoting your Kindle book?

Amazon Kindle includes some book marketing services in its self-publishing costs. And you can boost your marketing campaign by organizing and promoting your virtual book tour.

The best place to start is to research how other authors have succeeded in virtual tours. What types of events did they start with? How did they advertise their tour on social media? Many established and indie authors have paved the way for your virtual book tour. So read up on their successes and add your own flavor to your tour!

How is a virtual book tour for a Kindle book different from a standard book marketing campaign?

A standard book marketing campaign involves in-person events like book readings and book launch parties. Conversely, a virtual book tour for a Kindle book is all online. It’s focused on things like the SEO strength of your book metadata, your Amazon ads, and your social media activity.

Keep in mind that KDP Select offers book marketing services. So if you’re an indie author publishing your first Kindle book, take advantage of their resources. It’ll pay off when you start ringing up those book sales!

Let Elite Authors help prepare your Kindle book!

We make beautiful books. And we specialize in helping authors prepare their masterpiece for publishing. From ghostwriting to editing to book cover design, we can help prepare your Kindle book  for success.

Contact us today to learn more!