Digital Marketing Guide for Authors & Online Entrepreneurs | Denise Wakeman
How to Get Better Visibility on the Web
I’ve been an Amazon customer since 1996. I was living in rural Ontario, Canada and I was thrilled that I could order books online and they would be delivered to my remote mailbox…the mailman had to drive 1 mile down a dirt road to but our mail in the box.
It was a major convenience for us since we were a 45-minute drive from the nearest small town with a small bookstore.
[Read more…]You're about to publish your fabulous Kindle ebook…will it stand out from the hundreds of thousands of other ebooks featured on Amazon?
One of the most important elements you need to add to your ebook is a cover image. While it may not be quite as important as your content, it is the first thing people will see, before they even read a description or review of your ebook.
You need to create a cover image and virtual book images of your cover you can use to promote your ebook.
There are a few ways to create your cover:
I'm frugal so I like to do it myself for low cost products like a Kindle ebook. When I create high fee products , I hire a designer (I highly recommend Heidi Frieder of ArtHead).
Back to ebooks.
For my $.99 ebooks I usually buy a royalty free image and create a simple cover. Make sure to choose a large image that is colorful so it stands out on the page. My favorite source of royalty free images is BigStockPhoto. I buy credits in bulk and buy images for blog posts, reports, and PowerPoint presentations.
You can see I'm not much of a designer. I create a simple cover with the image I purchased, title, my name and the URL for my website. The next step is to use the two dimensional cover image to create three dimensional images to promote your ebook. Take a screenshot of the cover image you've recreated so you have a jpg you'll need to create three dimensional promo images.
Kindle Fire, Virtual Book and Kindle Reader
Over the years I've bought several software programs to create 3D product images. They all required you to download software and then install it on your server. And, the results were not that great. Then, a few months ago I was introduced to a great online program called BoxShot King. Nothing to download, easy to use and more than 40 types of product images you can create in about 1 minute. Love it! The image above is a "package" of three product images I created with BoxShot King in five minutes.
BoxShot King also includes many extra graphics you can add to your image. In two of the images above, I added an badge that says "Free Bonus" since I offer access to free videos when people buy the ebook. Ellen Britt did a beautiful job on her ebook cover for The Littlest Angel, with an gold ribbon on the cover annoucing a bonus.
Product Images You Can Create with BoxShot King
Why is this important? The image reassures your buyer that your content is a "real" book and that they can consume it on their Kindle device. They don't have to imagine it, they can see it as it will appear on their reader. The 3D product image can be used on Amazon, your blog, social media sites and sales pages if you also sell your ebook on your own site.
While writing this post, I realize I need to update my ebook pages on Amazon to include the 3D images. I think they are more compelling and interesting than flate 2D images.
Would love to get your comments about using images to promote your ebooks. Do you create 3D images for your ebooks and digital products?
How do you get started creating a Kindle ebook? It's a question I frequently am asked.
This week I had interviews with two favorite colleagues and both conversations ended up being about how bloggers and business owners can save time by leveraging their exisiting content and get more visibility, in order words, repurposing their content.
There are many, many ways to repurpose your blog content and I've addressed that in previous posts. However, most bloggers and business owners rarely take action and do the steps necessary that will increase their exposure, drive more traffic and generate more leads for their business. After talking with Phil Hollows (CEO of Feedblitz) about how I advise clients to create Kindle ebooks from their blog content, he remarked that it seemed like a lot of work and wondered if most people will make the effort.
Interesting question. No, most people will not do the work. And, the people who do the work, are the ones who see results and are successful.
The thing is, it's not hard to create, publish and promote a Kindle ebook. It does take a little time and effort though.
The example I use with Phil is how bloggers can use "low hanging fruit" to quickly create an ebook.
I'll assume you're already blogging for your business and have a body of work to draw on. Congratulations! The hardest part is already done! Here's how to proceed with my formula:
1. Review your blog categories and select one with 10-20 posts focused on one topic
2. Select 5-10 posts that naturally relate to each other.
3. Compile the posts into a word document and arrange them in a logical order.
4. Add an introduction to the topic.
5. Add a Table of Contents to each section.
6. Add appropriate transition content between each section.
7. Edit and update the content as necessary. Blog posts are often written in a casual style and you may want to clean that up.
8. Add a strong Call to Action at the beginning and/or end of the ebook inviting the reader to get more free information from you. Send them to a landing page to get the info.
9. Add your bio.
10. Create a cover for your ebook. You can use royalty free images to create an attractive, eye-catching cover.
11. Follow the guidelines on the Kindle Direct Publishing site for formating your ebook for their platform (this is the part that gets a little tricky. My team and I can help you with this.)
12. Upload your ebook.
13. Promote your ebook to your email list, on your blog and on social networking sites. Kathleen Gage has an excellent program for helping you create a Kindle bestseller.
See? Not difficult, but does take some time and effort. You could make it more complicated and create a stylish, fancy ebook, but this is my "down and dirty" formula for getting your first Kindle ebook published. After that, you can hone your skills or outsource to design experts. However, I know the first book is where most people get bogged down and I don't want that to happen to you. Get it done and then move on to the next. Your sense of accomplishment will make a big difference in motivating you to build a Kindle ebook empire.
To further help you out, here's a list of some resources I use when I develop digital products like Kindle ebooks.
If you want mentoring and help getting your first Kindle ebook published, check out my Kindle Ebook Jumpstart program.
At the beginning of January I saw a lot of resolutions and intentions about getting an ebook published on Kindle this year. Is that goal on your list for 2012?
In the last few weeks, it seems like there's been a frenzy of articles about ebook publishing and the mind-boggling number of sales of ebook readers in December. Take a look at some of these articles and astounding numbers:
Top 10 Self-Published Writers Make 449% More Money Through Amazon Lending Library
Why e-books will be much bigger than you can imagine
Apple's War on Amazon Starts Thursday
If you truly want to get your first Kindle ebook published and need some mentoring and “do it for you” help, I have a new program designed just for you…
Take note:
This is an exciting time for you to begin self-publishing. While I'm not going to promise you'll get rich, you can build a solid stream of revenue, build your list and increase your visibility when you publish your content beyond your blog. You don't need to write The Great American Novel. You can compile content you've already written into ebooks that target your ideal client or customer. It's a great way to give new prospects a taste of your expertise and get paid! Take a look at the ebooks I'm selling on Amazon to get an idea of what you can do.
If you’re ready to tap into the Kindle goldmine, build your reputation, visibility, and business by becoming a published author on the most trafficked Internet retail destination worldwide, I’m ready to help you.
Click here to get the details and let's get started building your Kindle ebook empire now => https://denisewakeman.com/jump
I look forward to mentoring you!
Got questions about the program? Submit a support ticket and I'll get right back to you.
Did you miss the webinar with Kathleen Gage on how to create a Kindle #1 bestseller?
You're in luck. Kathleen gave me permission to share the replay while it's available for the next few days. Kathleen delivers more than an hour of great info on the exact steps she takes to create bestselling Kindle ebooks. She also stayed on the line for nearly an extra hour to answer very specific questions about book marketing.
Kathleen shared her checklist for creating a Kindle launch, pricing strategies, mistakes she made at the outset and what she learned to streamline her efforts. If you want to know what to do after you've got your Kindle book listed on Amazon.com, this is a great introduction.
NOTE: this is not a class about how to create Kindle ebooks. You can get that information in a webinar I hosted wtih Daniel Hall.
Amazon sold more than 5 million Kindle readers in December. There are millions more who read Kindle ebooks on their PC, Mac, iPads and smartphones.
Make 2012 the year you claim your status as a published author and get your content in front of millions of people who want your expertise. Watch the webinar now!
And, a head's up – if you need help, support and accountability, I'm creating a one on one mentoring program to help you get your Kindle ebook published fast. I'll be sending details in the next few days.
