Archive for February, 2009
Search Inside Self Publishing on Amazon.com
We realize that publishing the book is just the beginning, which is why we offer such a wide variety of marketing products and promotional services to our self-published authors.
Such as the Global Book Tour, the PR Publicist, and most recently, the launch of the Amazon Search Inside Submission Service.
Studies show that a good number of consumers shop for reading material on the Internet. However, many may not purchase online because it’s hard to browse through books when you can’t physically flip through them and take a closer look.
Amazon’s Search Inside the Book program promises to change these statistics.
In 2001, Amazon.com offered the Look Inside the Book program, allowing consumers to view the inside cover, table of contents, back cover, and even a select few pages from inside the book. Search Inside the Book is the new and improved version, where consumers can still take a peek inside a book and preview certain pages before they buy it.
But even more importantly, this new program now includes a keyword search tool that allows customers to conduct additional searches within the book, which helps them confirm that the title is what they are looking for. When customers search for books on Amazon.com, actual words and phrases from the books—not just the author and the title—are engaged to return the best possible matches. With this powerful new feature, customers can find books that may never have surfaced in previous search results. It also widens the circle of readers for a particular book.
Imagine the kind of effect that can have on a book’s sales ranking!
Those interested in exploring Amazon’s digital database will find the search feature very easy to use. Enter a search term into any of the Amazon search boxes, and along with the listing of authors and titles, the consumer can now find excerpts from titles containing the search term. One click on the hyperlinked title leads to a scanned page with the search terms highlighted. Consumers can also choose a particular title and then perform a search within it. This kind of information gives the consumer a much better basis for deciding whether or not to purchase the book.
Searches can also differentiate between similar books. Suppose the customer is trying to decide between two very comparable cookbooks. A quick search will reveal that one contains fifteen references to “Southwest” recipes, while the other contains only three. This information helps the reader make an informed decision, ultimately creating happier customers.
But this additional functionality, and improved search results rankings, is only available for books participating in Amazon’s Search Inside program.
For this and other reasons, Search Inside the Book can help improve sales for many books that might otherwise languish on Amazon’s virtual shelves. As any author knows, marketing and publicity are what drive sales; and nearly all authors nowadays (traditionally published or alternatively published) are responsible for their own marketing efforts, whether or not they have any experience in marketing themselves.
Outskirts Press already offers a variety of marketing services to help authors in their promotional efforts. Authors will find with this new Amazon Search Inside the Book Submission Service, Outskirts Press makes getting set up with Amazon’s Search Inside the Book program easy and convenient.
To order the Amazon Search Inside Submission Service, visit the Marketing Options screen of your Author’s Center at www.outskirtspress.com
Not published yet?
Add comment February 27, 2009
Self Publishing Authors Get an Amazon Boost
Amazon’s “Search Inside the Book” feature allows potential book buyers to peruse the front cover, back cover, table of contents and featured excerpts of the book, just as if they were shopping in a brick-and-mortar bookstore.
Up until now, submitting a book to Search Inside has been a somewhat cumbersome ordeal, starting with sending an email to the appropriate autoresponder at Amazon, waiting for a reply and then either creating an alternate log-in account through Amazon’s Seller Central, or mailing a hard copy of the book to Amazon’s offices in Seattle.
Announcing great news for self-publishing authors!
At least for those authors published through Outskirts Press, who today announced the launch of their Amazon Search Inside Submission Service. Now Outskirts Press authors can simply request this service through their Marketing Center, conveniently and efficiently. Typically within 5 business days, their Search Inside is activated on their Amazon Product Detail page, depending upon Amazon’s turnaround time.
“Search Inside is an oft-misunderstood and highly valuable component of Amazon,” states Outskirts Press CEO Brent Sampson and author of SELL YOUR BOOK ON AMAZON. “Not only does Search Inside allow potential buyers a more comprehensive view of the book they are considering, but it populates Amazon’s database with valuable information about the book’s content, which improves Amazon’s search results and customer targeting for the book. These can all add up to improved sales performance.”
Look at the image to the right for an example of how a book looks on Amazon.com once “Search Inside” has been activated. On the actual Amazon page, click the “Look Inside” logo above the book to experience it.
Amazon.com claims that, statistically, books with “Search Inside” sell better than books without. Of course, self-publishing authors would do well to use every resource and tool at their disposal to tip the scales in their favor. To that end, Outskirts Press has assembled a team of marketing support experts offering their published authors a wide range of marketing and promotion services/products, now including Amazon’s Search Inside Submission.
The service could not come at a better time, with so many businesses and individuals struggling to find success during the weakened economy. Online resources such as Amazon.com make it convenient for consumers to locate and purchase their books with specificity. This also gives a self-published author the same platform as any traditionally-published author to sell their books. Cutting out the middle man enables the self-published author to keep a higher percentage of their books sold and retain all their rights. In this economic climate, it is no wonder so many authors are seeking to take charge of their own publishing fate.
To add SEARCH INSIDE to your Outskirts Press book, visit the Marketing Options screen of your Author’s Center and select the Amazon Search Inside Submission Service.
Not yet a published author experiencing all the convenience and service of marketing resources like this?
Click here…
1 comment February 26, 2009
Self Publishing Simplified, 2nd Edition Book Teaser
The second edition of Self Publishing Simplified is ready, so we thought we would reveal the new Book Teaser here.
Press “Play” to watch
New Diamond and Pearl authors starting their publishing process in February with the valid promotion code will receive a free Book Teaser for their book, too.
Ready to self-publish?
Add comment February 25, 2009
Top 5 Self Publishing Writing Tactics for a Sour Economy
The global economic situation is enough to make anyone anxious. Fortunately, a cathartic exercise has existed for centuries to help mankind through tough times; it’s called “writing.” In this day and age of Web 2.0 technologies and 2,000 channels of cable television, it is difficult to remember that some of the oldest “technologies” are often the best.
In fact, with ebooks, iPhones, Kindles, and the like, it is becoming harder to remember that the most amazing technology for delivering words has yet to be improved upon. Often weighing less than 10 ounces, this fascinating piece of “technology” features between 100-600 “screens,” each one capable of holding roughly 300-400 words (on each side!); each “screen” weighs next to nothing and is no thicker than an average piece of paper. It’s easy to transport, inexpensive, and doesn’t fry when you spill coffee on it.
What is this amazing tech? It’s called…. a book, and there has never been a better time to publish one yourself. Stop concentrating on the economy and start concentrating on writing and publishing a book. Already have a finished manuscript? Get it into people’s hands.
Here are the five top things you should do if the current economic climate has rained on your parade:
1. Take care of your future: It’s easy to become unsure about your future if you’ve suddenly found yourself let-go or laid-off from your job. Before you can worry about writing or publishing, you need to make sure basic necessities (like food) are taken care of. The Internet has made job seeking more efficient than ever before. Forget the local paper; sites like Monster (www.monster.com), Career Builder (www.careerbuilder.com) and Craig’s List (www.craigslist.org) offer sophisticated searches to find exactly what you are looking for, quickly and easily. And that leaves more time for … writing!
2. Turn off the news: Right now, the daily news is almost entirely bad news (even more so than usual), and regardless of whether you get your news from the newspaper, the television, or the Internet, there are better things you can be doing with your time than re-reading the same AP News article or CNN broadcast about the stimulus package. Make your own stimulation — start to write again!
3. Start a blog: Blogging is an incredibly cathartic exercise because it offers you an unfettered platform in which to voice your feelings, thoughts, opinions, and responses to what is happening to you and around you. It has been said, “A writer writes.” Blogging makes writing easier than ever. After you’ve been blogging on a particular topic for a while… who knows? You may just discover you have a book on your hands. Our favorite blogging platforms are Blogger (www.blogger.com) and WordPress (www.wordpress.com) but you can find others all over the Internet by conducting a Google search. Already published? Keep on blogging — a blog is a great way to promote your career and your book. For an example of a blog, visit ours: http://outskirtspress.wordpress.com — oh, wait. You’re already reading it.
4. Get published: Self-publishing is getting a lot of press these days. From the recent article in the New York Times which announced self-publishing’s arrival as a legitimate recourse for writers, to the resulting response, there’s no doubt that self-publishing is a far more uplifting topic than the economic downturn. Self-publishing is just starting its climb toward the zenith of public awareness. Even the most prolific self-publishing companies publish less than 20,000 books annually. With 7 billion people on this planet, there are a lot more books out there to publish. Are you holding one of them? Now is the time to publish your book. Click here to start with your own free Author’s Resource Center and 2 free publishing ebooks.
5. Enjoy the fruits of your labor: Different people have different purposes in publishing a book. Some have advice and information they want to share, like Outskirts Press author Sally Shields, who recently appeared on Fox television discussing her book’s connection with President Obama.Yes, some make a lot of money, like our most recent group of Top 5 authors from the 4th quarter of 2008, including Gang Chen, who made a lot of money while sharing a message.
And others want to win book awards. For instance, yesterday’s posting listed our finalists in the 2008 Literary Awards. Check out the posting by clicking here. Then, get excited to enter your published book into the rest of our Spring Awards season (like last year’s Writer’s Digest finalist, Outskirts Press author Daril Bentley).
Whatever your purpose for publishing, Outskirts Press can help you reach it. And if you don’t choose Outskirts Press, at least choose somebody, because writing and publishing a book is so exciting and uplifting. Just read the comments from Tunji Ajayi to the left. We all need some magic. Especially nowadays.
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Add comment February 24, 2009
2008 Self Publishing Literary Awards Finalists
The 2008 Literary Awards Finalists have been announced. Congratulations to the following Outskirts Press books and their authors.
Now the finalists are in the hands of the second round of judges and the winners in each category will be announced in March.
Following Joe, by Alvin Ureles
How to Heal Your Heart and Soul From Divorce, by Tammy Lynn
Patterns of Perception, by Nicholas J. Cipriani
Sunaru, by Lawrence Lueder
Queen Vernita's Visitors, by Dawn Menge
Never Assume, by Patricia McGuire MD FAAP
Interested in being an award-winning author? There’s still time to enter more contests in our Spring Season of Book Contests, including your chance at $3,000 with the Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards. The awards in our spring season include:
- Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards – Option Deadline: March 1, 2009
- USA Book News Best Books Awards – Option Deadline: June 30, 2009
- Indie Book Awards – Sorry, the Options Deadline for this Submission has expired.
To participate in the Spring Season Book Awards Submission, visit your author’s center Marketing Options screen.
Already self-published elsewhere but don’t have access to convenient marketing support like this? For the cost of some options at other publishers, you can republish with Outskirts Press, increase your distribution, improve your royalty, AND have money left over.
Add comment February 23, 2009
