Most Christian self-publishers are selling their books on Amazon.com. They use the Amazon.com Advantage program which lets them sell on consignment for an annual membership fee. Amazon.com pays you every 30 days for books sold.
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There is one major disadvantage in the Advantage program, and that is the people who buy your book are Amazon customers, and not your customers. One of the best ways to build up a self-publishing business is to have the contact data, particularly the e-mail addresses of people who buy your book, so that you can up sell them or offer new products in the future. The Advantage program eliminates that possibility.
That issue aside, you can benefit from optimizing your Amazon.com book listings. Here are five things that will help increase your sales.
• Ask satisfied customers to write and post a review on Amazon.com. There is no question about it -- good reviews sell books. Get as many good reviews as you can. Christian authors may sometimes suffer the indignities of bad reviews that are totally unwarranted. If you get reviews from people who look not read the book, or who express bigotry in any way, you should contact Amazon.com because they will remove inappropriate reviews. Notice I did not say they would remove bad reviews -- only those that are derogatory and other ways.
• Make sure that you provide a sensational description of your book and a detailed table of contents. Be sure to include the publisher's quotes that Amazon.com allows you to include.
• Pay attention to the ranking of your book. Consumers may not care about it but you can be sure that bookstores, libraries, wholesalers and distributors have their eye on it. The lower the number, the better. Generally, if you're doing any kind of book promotion, such as radio interviews, you will see your book rise in the ratings almost immediately.
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