SELF PUBLISHING SUCCESS =QUANTITY, NOT QUALITY?

[Arty]

-In which I question the volume produced by many self-publishers

So I've been lurking on the self-publishing section of the forums, and I've started to notice a trend.
Every single self publisher that is at least moderately successful is going about things in much the same way.

First they intensively research the market, to see what is currently selling the best, and what would sell best in the future, perhaps.
Then, they write many, many, many, MANY books, often on a variety of topics. Numbering in the thousands, in a few cases.
Now, I can't attest to the quality of these books; I haven't read them, nor do I presume to be an expert on this. I'm genuinely interested, as I myself want to delve down into avenue of self-publishing.
Are these books actually GOOD? Or are these writers just mass-publishing book after book after book, using clever marketing and clever book titles to get sales?
How good can a book really be if took under a week to write?

I was under the impression that the opposite is a better way to go about things.
1) Choose something to write about (i.e, do market research, amongst other things)
2) Research the topic you want to write about. If you aren't an expert, become one. While you're doing this, you can build up a following via a blog, or something similar. (like this website)
3) Spend anywhere from a few months, to years, writing a great book. I'm talking, KILLER content.
4) Publish it, market it heavily.

I hope this isn't taken the wrong way.
I'm very impressed by the success of the writers on this forum, and if I experience even a fraction of that, I'll be proud.
But I'm curious if the second method would actually work, because I don't see myself writing hundreds of books per year.

 

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[The Grind]

I think it's actually a good question. Looking forward to the answers.

if I write a book in 2 days, 50 pages, and title it " 10 quick and easy ways to get rid of belly fat that may shock you!"
And sell it for 99 cents, people might pay 99 cents just to find out!

Write 100 books like that, passive income.

Looking forward to answers from self publishing successors.

 

[AndrewNC]

I published over 25 different magazines with about 10 editions of each. Just passed 850,000 readers and I've been living off of passive income since early 2014.

I'd label some of them as "good". And if I went back, I would publish one of them and be - the best.

Lessons learned:

• Good is not great.
• Good is not something people rave to their friends about.
• Good does not hold 5 star reviews year after year.

Now I'm publishing my third book (taking the other 3 down because they are good...not great). This book is 4 years in the making. I'll let you know how it does, but I already know it's going to be greater than good.

 

[LifeTransformer]

If you can get your point across as fast as possible. You win.
If you get your point across fast. You win.

I always used to ramble on, strolling about the English language to find the best way to get my point across, most people don't like that. I kinda do personally, I like a long winded detailed speech, a lyrical guide, the kind of writing that sends you down a path, and leads you along like a guide.

That was one sentence. It looks like a story to others.
That was a sentence. It looks like a story.
That one sentence reads like a story.
That sentence reads like a story.

 

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[sija1]

How good can a book really be if took under a week to write?

Under a week, with no knowledge or experience, doubt it can.

However there are some people who spend years reading and writing stuff and have a great amount of knowledge on a particular topic. I believe if they chose to write a book, they could have some great content in a week. Not too many pages and straight to the point.

 

[Darko Jocic]

Of course it doesn't make sense.

You start off of the basic premise that:
1. People can distinguish between good and bad, and know what they want.
2. Quality = profit/quality is worth the effort.

Now, this is the fastlane forum. So I won't go off topic.

You're going the wrong way about this. You could invest a lot of time and effort, but in the spirit of capitalism, it isn't worth it.
You see, there's only so much scale you have when pricing a book. Tremendous effort and limited scale don't mix well.

As long as the book is not misleading, it can survive. Besides, people will always be wasting time, they might just get a little literate?
And a book isn't necessarily a waste of time, however, if you pay $0.99, it most likely is.

 

[EricZ]

-In which I question the volume produced by many self-publishers

So I've been lurking on the self-publishing section of the forums, and I've started to notice a trend.
Every single self publisher that is at least moderately successful is going about things in much the same way.

First they intensively research the market, to see what is currently selling the best, and what would sell best in the future, perhaps.
Then, they write many, many, many, MANY books, often on a variety of topics. Numbering in the thousands, in a few cases.
Now, I can't attest to the quality of these books; I haven't read them, nor do I presume to be an expert on this. I'm genuinely interested, as I myself want to delve down into avenue of self-publishing.
Are these books actually GOOD? Or are these writers just mass-publishing book after book after book, using clever marketing and clever book titles to get sales?
How good can a book really be if took under a week to write?

I was under the impression that the opposite is a better way to go about things.
1) Choose something to write about (i.e, do market research, amongst other things)
2) Research the topic you want to write about. If you aren't an expert, become one. While you're doing this, you can build up a following via a blog, or something similar. (like this website)
3) Spend anywhere from a few months, to years, writing a great book. I'm talking, KILLER content.
4) Publish it, market it heavily.

I hope this isn't taken the wrong way.
I'm very impressed by the success of the writers on this forum, and if I experience even a fraction of that, I'll be proud.
But I'm curious if the second method would actually work, because I don't see myself writing hundreds of books per year.

I just had a ridiculously interesting conversation with a real kindle customer the other day.

She said she doesn't buy "garbage" books that are under 4.99!

Now if you have been researching the big guns like Mark Coker, Steve Scott and the others, you will know that 2.99 is the Amazon "sweet spot" for self-published authors.

But what does the actual customer tell us?
She told me straight up (mind you - she does NOT know that I am an author) that everything lower than 4.99 must be "that kindle garbage that everyone else is making."

Hmmmm.....

I think you are on a very good path in pursuing EVERGREEN content.
In ten years, I guarantee you nobody will be buying Steve Scott's "change habits" book.

I have seen so many gurus pushing "escape your desk job" style book publishing programs where you 1.) target a profitable niche 2.) blast the hell out of it with ghostwriters and professional subcontracted covers.

My friend admitted that when it's about the "how to" books that she looks at the author less. But for science fiction etc. she only reads "top known" authors.

In this new age of internet where almost everybook, every written word is free or cheap, what the hell do you read? -- how do you priortize?

More important:
How do we as authors rise above "those kindle garbage books?"

=Evergreen content that we can be proud of for generations to come.

 

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[Arty]

In this new age of internet where almost every book, every written word is free or cheap, what the hell do you read? -- how do you priortize?

More important:
How do we as authors rise above "those kindle garbage books?"

=Evergreen content that we can be proud of for generations to come.

This is exactly what I was thinking about before I made this post.
I want to create something timeless that can be enjoyed long after I'm gone; be it fiction or non fiction.
Don't much like the idea of 'blasting the hell out of a profitable niche' as you so aptly put it, although it does seem to be working quite well for a lot of people. And that's the thing; everybody is doing it.
It seems to me that the best option for a new writer could well be to go against the grain a bit instead of entering into an over-saturated market, where your work will get drowned out, and in the eyes of the audience, blur and seep into the millions of other identical stuff out there.
Instead, I'd like to reach millions of different souls and having a profound impact on their lives.

 

[Maxjohan]

This is exactly what I was thinking about before I made this post.
I want to create something timeless that can be enjoyed long after I'm gone; be it fiction or non fiction.
Don't much like the idea of 'blasting the hell out of a profitable niche' as you so aptly put it, although it does seem to be working quite well for a lot of people. And that's the thing; everybody is doing it.
It seems to me that the best option for a new writer could well be to go against the grain a bit instead of entering into an over-saturated market, where your work will get drowned out, and in the eyes of the audience, blur and seep into the millions of other identical stuff out there.
Instead, I'd like to reach millions of different souls and having a profound impact on their lives.

I'm with you on this. And totally understand the things you say about going for quality.

I started to write 1½ week ago. I've only written 2 pages so far. But I don't plan to rush it. My goal is to write 2 pages a week. And finish the book 1½-2 years from now. It's going to be a novella.

You only need one kick a$$ book. And then marketing it like a m*ther f*cker!

 

[EricZ]

This is exactly what I was thinking about before I made this post.
I want to create something timeless that can be enjoyed long after I'm gone; be it fiction or non fiction.
Don't much like the idea of 'blasting the hell out of a profitable niche' as you so aptly put it, although it does seem to be working quite well for a lot of people. And that's the thing; everybody is doing it.
It seems to me that the best option for a new writer could well be to go against the grain a bit instead of entering into an over-saturated market, where your work will get drowned out, and in the eyes of the audience, blur and seep into the millions of other identical stuff out there.
Instead, I'd like to reach millions of different souls and having a profound impact on their lives.

If you want to reach millions, then I highly recommend you start monitoring and tracking all the people you help, in any little way.
Read this somewhere, (maybe here http://mwttfm.blogspot.com/2014/09/a-great-recipe-for-success.html )
I started doing it with a simple excel - it works wonders!
It keeps you in the entrepreneur mindset, it actually isn't necessarily about helping other people, but about adjusting your own mindset.
If you are helping people, you are filling a need - therefore on the right track.
Don't really know if this will translate into book sales -now-, but it WILL in the long run.

 

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[MTF]

Let me tell you how the self-publishing industry works, @Arty...

There are several types of approaches. Some rely on luck, some rely on having the right resources, and some rely on your work ethic. I prefer the ones that are about the work ethic, because they give you the best chances of success - and quickly.

Let's break it down into four most common approaches.

1. Outsource hundreds of books - the process you've described in your post. With the recent changes in the payout structure for borrows it's no longer as profitable as it used to be. Still, in some genres (most notably, romance and erotica), you can still do well with it. The problem here is that it's not sustainable and income drops by a lot if you stop constantly releasing new titles.

If you're releasing non-fiction, it's very likely it's going to be crappy. Outsourcing fiction is better (you can get some fairly good stories for $100-200 or so, while no expert will write a non-fiction book for you for so little).

2. Release a book as an expert with a substantial list/connections. Not going to work if you're not already established in your niche (which can take years), so not really applicable for most people. Also, world doesn't suffer from a lack of experts and there are thousands of extremely good books that sell zero copies. Sometimes the book just won't sell, no matter how good the content is.

3. Release a "killer" type of a book without an audience and market it heavily. Relies on the assumption that you can succeed with your first book. Sorry, not going to happen with fiction (nobody writes a great first story) and very unlikely to happen in non-fiction, too, unless you already have great writing skills and are an expert (or have something unique to say).

Also, you can't think of a book in terms of just another product to sell. You can't "market it heavily" by throwing some ads here and there. Two types of marketing that work best for books (I'd even say these are the only two types of marketing that really work for books in the long term) are word of mouth and releasing another book - which generates word of mouth, so it's really all about word of mouth.

4. Test different genres and niches, keep experimenting until you find something that works for you and stick to it - ideally by releasing as many quality books as quickly as you can. Can be applied to both non-fiction and fiction, though it's easier to write dozens of new stories than dozens of new non-fiction books with advice.

Virtually all successful independent authors follow this model because it's the only foolproof way to achieve success if you don't have any existing resources and don't want to spend years writing a book it's very likely nobody will buy in the end. If you have a strong work ethic, you can go from zero to solid four figures a month in 6-12 months.

Moreover, keep in mind that Amazon rewards new releases. They get more visibility, and consequently more sales. For most authors, the moment they stop releasing new books their income drops. You can't expect to live off one book unless you get lucky and get discovered by someone extremely well-known (and luck does play a huge part here - even one of the most successful independent authors says so).

Check the lists of bestsellers, look who's a self-published author (usually you can tell by their publisher name or its lack thereof) and check how many books they have out. I assure you most will have at least 5, and a lot of them will have more than 10 titles out (and that's not counting other books they likely have under different pen names).

To sum up, in a sense self-publishing is about quantity. However, it's not about a lack of quality. The more you can produce (without sacrificing quality), the more you'll earn - and the time you need to write a book isn't a good indicator of its value.

It takes Stephen King three months to write a new book. I wouldn't say his books are crappy just because he doesn't waste years writing 5 words a day (like many authors seem to do) and spending the rest of his day telling everybody else how great of an artist he is because he takes his time.

Writers write, and in the end that's what makes you money in this game. More output = more chances to get discovered. More chances to get discovered = more readers. More readers = more money.

 

[EricZ]

@MTF that's an excellent summary!

I like #4 the best.
Find your niche or strongpoint and then make it a process.
Continually optimize the process.
!

 

[Maxjohan]

You can't "market it heavily" by throwing some ads here and there. Two types of marketing that work best for books (I'd even say these are the only two types of marketing that really work for books in the long term) are word of mouth and releasing another book - which generates word of mouth, so it's really all about word of mouth.

LOL. Have you ever put any money into advertising? When I did online marketing many moons ago. The only real way to make money was to BUY TRAFFIC. Then convert those visitors into buyers. It's the same thing with every niche. You spend money to make money. Just my opinion though.

 

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[MTF]

@Maxjohan, you'll learn this lesson when you publish your first book. Most independent authors price their books at $2.99, $3.99, or $4.99. Even if you price it at $9.99 (extremely uncommon among indies), it will be still too cheap for paid advertising due to high CPCs.

Ask any experienced media buyer and he'll tell you that you can't even expect to break even with a product sold for a few bucks. Moreover, you can't drive traffic straight to Amazon because you can't track sales there (there's no way to place a conversion pixel or use any other type of tracking), so it makes very little sense to send paid traffic (if you can't measure it, you can't optimize it).

You can invest some money in the launch (I spend several hundred per each book), but that's only to build momentum and increase the book's visibility on Amazon - it's not something that will magically turn your book into a long-term bestseller. Also, most sites for book promos require you to discount your book (and almost never produce a positive ROI by themselves, but that's not the point of these sites, anyway). It's all about positioning your book for maximum visibility.

 

[Arty]

3. Release a "killer" type of a book without an audience and market it heavily. Relies on the assumption that you can succeed with your first book. Sorry, not going to happen with fiction (nobody writes a great first story) and very unlikely to happen in non-fiction, too, unless you already have great writing skills and are an expert (or have something unique to say).

And what if you build an audience beforehand?
I'd start a 'blog', for lack of a better term, and then build an audience. Get an email list going. Write quality articles. (the content of these obviously depends on what niche you're going to tap into, and if it's fiction or non-fiction). Lots of people in the fitness e-book writing niche do this.
I'm pretty sure I know a good way to do the same thing for fiction books too.
Then you can either release the book on amazon, if you want it to reach a wider audience perhaps, or just create a sales page like you would for any other product, and sell it directly from your website or the sales page yourself.

 

[Maxjohan]

@Maxjohan, you'll learn this lesson when you publish your first book. Most independent authors price their books at $2.99, $3.99, or $4.99. Even if you price it at $9.99 (extremely uncommon among indies), it will be still too cheap for paid advertising due to high CPCs.

I read a thread from this forum about a guy who I think priced the book at $2.99 and made good money from Facebook advertising. Just because you can't make it work. Or find creative ways to make it work. Doesn't mean other people can't. Besides that, there is also PR. Hire a reputable PR firm. If I had a book out right now. The last thing I would do is write one more book. Instead I would make sure I had enough to live, but I would re-invest the rest of my profits in either PR or advertising. Or both.

 

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[Maxjohan]

Then you can either release the book on amazon, if you want it to reach a wider audience perhaps, or just create a sales page like you would for any other product, and sell it directly from your website or the sales page yourself.

Yup. That's pretty much it. The Minecraft guys really gave it all away on how to do things. Create your own product, make your own web site. Then hire a reputable PR firm (which I am pretty sure they did) to get momentum. And sell an above average product.

 

[MTF]

And what if you build an audience beforehand?
I'd start a 'blog', for lack of a better term, and then build an audience. Get an email list going. Write quality articles. (the content of these obviously depends on what niche you're going to tap into, and if it's fiction or non-fiction). Lots of people in the fitness e-book writing niche do this.
I'm pretty sure I know a good way to do the same thing for fiction books too.
Then you can either release the book on amazon, if you want it to reach a wider audience perhaps, or just create a sales page like you would for any other product, and sell it directly from your website or the sales page yourself.

It takes years to build an audience, and it's an extremely demanding process. Few industries are more crowded than blogs. By the time you would build a big audience you'd write enough free content to fill up a few books. If that's what you want to do, then more power to you. I'd rather spend my time building my book catalog and getting paid to do so instead of giving it all away for free.

I used to believe it was that easy, too. Then I learned how the real world works for most authors. I prefer pursuing the approach that is more of a numbers game than a (extremely time-consuming) gamble.

I read a thread from this forum about a guy who I think priced the book at $2.99 and made good money from Facebook advertising. Just because you can't make it work. Or find creative ways to make it work. Doesn't mean other people can't. Besides that, there is also PR. Hire a reputable PR firm. If I had a book out right now. The last thing I would do is write one more book. Instead I would make sure I had enough to live, but I would re-invest the rest of my profits in either PR or advertising. Or both.

A reputable PR firm will cost you a few thousand bucks a month, if not more. If you have this kind of budget and are willing to risk it (it's not like they are magicians that will build a business for you - don't expect them to be your chauffeurs), then by all means do it.

As for Facebook Ads for books - and it's one guy out of thousands who have lost thousands on Facebook Ads. I'm talking about an approach that works for most people willing to invest their sweat capital to build their self-publishing business, not people who have thousands to blow.

I sense a strong event-focused approach here (vs a process-oriented approach). It's not as easy as you think it is, but that's something you'll only learn when you release your first book.

 

[Arty]

I sense a strong event-focused approach here (vs a process-oriented approach). It's not as easy as you think it is, but that's something you'll only learn when you release your first book.

I disagree. What I'm talking about is one long arduous process, the event is somewhere far off in the distance.

However, I agree with you on the second point. I don't actually know what I'm talking about; I've never published a book, this is just something I've been thinking about for a very long time, and wanted to see if it had any merit.

Thanks for your help! Great responses, and valuable information.

 

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[Maxjohan]

Here is the guy I was talking about. I digged to find the thread. It was a thread with a link though. I think I need to clarify that.

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/how-i-sold-978-fiction-ebooks-per-day-in-2014…-article.61045/#post-468043

Here is the direct link: http://www.mikeshreeve.com/sell-978-fiction-ebooks-per-day-complete-guide/

 

[MTF]

@Maxjohan - this article only proves my point.

About writing more vs trying to write a bestseller and "marketing it heavily":

The key to selling more books is to remove the pressure to write a bestseller and simply write more. The more you write, the more you make.

Regarding advertising (as I said, it can work with the proper backend, in this case a lot of books in your catalog):

Learn that you don’t make money with your first book.

Learn that you pour most of your first earnings back into the business to generate even more earnings and separate yourself from the pack.

Learn that you suck at writing at first, but if you keep showing up eventually you get good enough that people will give you money for what you write.

I rest my case.

 

[Malika]

I read a thread from this forum about a guy who I think priced the book at $2.99 and made good money from Facebook advertising. Just because you can't make it work. Or find creative ways to make it work. Doesn't mean other people can't. Besides that, there is also PR. Hire a reputable PR firm. If I had a book out right now. The last thing I would do is write one more book. Instead I would make sure I had enough to live, but I would re-invest the rest of my profits in either PR or advertising. Or both.

thats true! Should be the first thing done.

 

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[Maxjohan]

@Maxjohan - this article only proves my point.

About writing more vs trying to write a bestseller and "marketing it heavily":



Regarding advertising (as I said, it can work with the proper backend, in this case a lot of books in your catalog):



I rest my case.

But it proves my point too.

You might not like this. You might think that all you have to do is put your books up and their greatness will shine forth and riches will be showered upon you…

If your friends won’t snap you back into reality, allow me:

IT TAKES MONEY TO MAKE MONEY. PERIOD.

James Patterson’s Career Isn’t An Accident. Your Career Won’t Be One Either.
Consider for a moment the career of one of the most prolific and well sold authors of our current era: James Patterson.

If you were to argue that his books are below average quality, I would have no problem agreeing with you.

But realize this: James Patterson did not get to the position he is in by accident.

Early on in his writing career, he approached his traditional publishing house and asked that they purchase a television commercial to promote his most recent release. He was an ex-ad exec and he knew that people only buy what advertisers tell them to buy.

The traditional publishers balked at the idea of running a commercial for his book and turned his request down. So what did he do?

He forked over the $2000 himself and ran the ad on TV.

Now look at the man.

http://www.mikeshreeve.com/sell-978-fiction-ebooks-per-day-complete-guide/

I rest my case too. About the advertising thing. Besides that. The guy may not have all the answers. There are many ways to skin a cat.

 

[EricZ]

@Maxjohan @MTF
I think you guys are both right, you can't "save" a crappy book by just heaping money+marketing on it.
But...you can and must market your book; it takes money to make money etc.

The catch is, (and I think this is what you both mean but say it differently),
you MUST VALIDATE your book before you heap tons of marketing money on it.
This way you know you are spending your ad money on something worthwhile.
http://www.zbooks.co/2015/06/what-every-author-must-do_9.html

 

[Maxjohan]

@Maxjohan @MTF
I think you guys are both right, you can't "save" a crappy book by just heaping money+marketing on it.
But...you can and must market your book; it takes money to make money etc.

The catch is, (and I think this is what you both mean but say it differently),
you MUST VALIDATE your book before you heap tons of marketing money on it.
This way you know you are spending your ad money on something worthwhile.
http://www.zbooks.co/2015/06/what-every-author-must-do_9.html

Hi. Eric. Your stuff seems to be related to the Produt Launch Formula. You could check that out, if you don't know what I am talking about. It's good stuff.

 

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[Mattie]

Quality is being the real deal like M.J., walking the journey, knowing the ins and outs of the process. I notice this in the middle of other authors and authorities. And not to say some Entrepreneurs aren't authentic with knowledge, but it comes down to your experience along with the knowledge.

You have people writing books that have the knowledge and not the experience. Authenticity! It's great to have a product and think you're all that, because you may have the answers, but no way of relating to the experience and backing it up. That's why some people will buy the product, but see you're just selling it, and not the real deal.

The authors I see successful in non-fiction and fiction that make any kind of money are connecting with the audience, interacting, building over time, and the other is outsourcing and short term gains. There's a difference with plastering a nice photo,saying you're an expert, having information, looking pretty, and going through the experience and knowledge.

Seven books a week outsourced may give you money short-term. It's a growing process and doesn't happen over night. And I think people who believe it's built over night and think it will last will find it will collapse at some point. You don't have a strong foundation, but chasing money.

 

[Durete]

Hey there, just jumping in here:

And what if you build an audience beforehand?
I'd start a 'blog', for lack of a better term, and then build an audience. Get an email list going. Write quality articles. (the content of these obviously depends on what niche you're going to tap into, and if it's fiction or non-fiction). Lots of people in the fitness e-book writing niche do this.

They are doing it, but do they make any profit?

That's another question.... And to be honest, I do not think that many do.

Spoiler: Click here to read my personal experience

To create an audience with a blog takes a lot of time and dedication. Unless you hire a reputable firm to do the marketing for you, and then it still takes a lot of time and money.

Just to show:
I got an online fitness company that does few things:
- Content marketing (Atm only selling my newsletter.)
- affiliate marketing for a few high-quality products
- Creating my own product at this time.
- travelled the world giving workshops and seminars as part of my current day-to-day-job, promoting my own site at the same time.
- Validated my angle on the fitness world throughout those workshops and seminars.

So far I've been busy creating high-quality content for free. An article takes about 5 to 10 hours to write, and I spend another 5 on marketing it.

All best practices for small business blogging, copywriting, and SEO are followed.

Results for the last 8 months:
About 200.000 visitors
between 40% and 60% bounce rate
0 subscribers to the mailing list
$0 made

 

[mws87]

I just had a ridiculously interesting conversation with a real kindle customer the other day.

She said she doesn't buy "garbage" books that are under 4.99!

Now if you have been researching the big guns like Mark Coker, Steve Scott and the others, you will know that 2.99 is the Amazon "sweet spot" for self-published authors.

But what does the actual customer tell us?
She told me straight up (mind you - she does NOT know that I am an author) that everything lower than 4.99 must be "that kindle garbage that everyone else is making."

Hmmmm.....

I think you are on a very good path in pursuing EVERGREEN content.
In ten years, I guarantee you nobody will be buying Steve Scott's "change habits" book.

I have seen so many gurus pushing "escape your desk job" style book publishing programs where you 1.) target a profitable niche 2.) blast the hell out of it with ghostwriters and professional subcontracted covers.

My friend admitted that when it's about the "how to" books that she looks at the author less. But for science fiction etc. she only reads "top known" authors.

In this new age of internet where almost everybook, every written word is free or cheap, what the hell do you read? -- how do you priortize?

More important:
How do we as authors rise above "those kindle garbage books?"

=Evergreen content that we can be proud of for generations to come.

^ very good post here. The money chasers love to believe that customers haven't caught on to the whole market flooding approaching, but they have. You have to keep in mind: a lot of the customers on the kindle store have been there a while and notice trends just as the publishers do. I remember reading a review of an author who always ranks really well (albeit mostly from painfully obvious paid reviews) and couldn't help but notice the amount of 2 star and 1 star reviews that read "I was reluctant to buy this as most of these kindle books usually aren't that great. Thought this one would be better and I was wrong". Customers are starting to feel like suckers on Kindle.

Honestly, I'm beginning to think customer's see "$2.99" and "sign up for my mailing list" on the first page and bail.
And yes, everyone now has caught on to desperate money-chasing authors and have become self-publishing gurus wanting to sell you their program at only $99.99! Chalk full of info directly from Google.

I say we one up them and create a program on how to become a self-publishing guru who sells programs and sell them to the guys selling the guru programs.

Sorry, incoherent rant.

 

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[EricZ]

Hi. Eric. Your stuff seems to be related to the Produt Launch Formula. You could check that out, if you don't know what I am talking about. It's good stuff.

Oh yeah! Love his stuff, his idea about the "seed launch" is great. Then come the internal launch and the Joint Venture launch. His course is a little pricey though.

 

[EricZ]

^ very good post here. The money chasers love to believe that customers haven't caught on to the whole market flooding approaching, but they have. You have to keep in mind: a lot of the customers on the kindle store have been there a while and notice trends just as the publishers do. I remember reading a review of an author who always ranks really well (albeit mostly from painfully obvious paid reviews) and couldn't help but notice the amount of 2 star and 1 star reviews that read "I was reluctant to buy this as most of these kindle books usually aren't that great. Thought this one would be better and I was wrong". Customers are starting to feel like suckers on Kindle.

Honestly, I'm beginning to think customer's see "$2.99" and "sign up for my mailing list" on the first page and bail.
And yes, everyone now has caught on to desperate money-chasing authors and have become self-publishing gurus wanting to sell you their program at only $99.99! Chalk full of info directly from Google.

I say we one up them and create a program on how to become a self-publishing guru who sells programs and sell them to the guys selling the guru programs.

Sorry, incoherent rant.

YUP! You wouldn't believe it, but I sell more books on my blog now than on amazon, and I charge double on my blog!
We are still talking low numbers but the lesson is the same.
The "perceived" value is constantly moving and books below 4.99 are being slowly perceived by -ALL- as "low quality".
That's my opinion anyway, lots of psycholog going on of course.

But have you ever wondered why the big guns like Ryan Deiss and clickbank AND Guerilla marketing are offering their front end offers at SEVEN dollars?

Strange innit? It used to be 9.99 etc. and now exactly seven.
Is it coincidence, or did Deiss and clickbank team up, OR did they do a shit-ton of research on this to get the barrier to entry and the perceived value just right to get the impulse buy?

I know this stuff is a science and more psychology than facts goin on, but like said, I think we gotta do this for the books too, and it AINT 2.99 anymore!