Project Amazon- My eBook Journey

[csalvato]

What is an "average american" and will this speak to them more than what you already had before?

Emphasized "speak to them"

Pick a niche, and then talk DIRECTLY to that niche. Ideally, that niche is a pretty big constituent of your total audience.

Let's say you pick "Skinny Bastards". The copy almost writes itself for your blurb:

"Skinny Bastard's Guide to an Althetic Body in 90 Days: Become An Object of Desire

You're skinny. I get it. It sucks, doesn't it? Well, just because you were born that way doesn't mean you need to STAY that way. Even if you tried "working out" before, I guarantee you can TRANSFORM your body in just just 90 days.

You will start to see veins popping from your arms. For the first time, you will feel your muscles stretch the sleeves in your chest. You will finally be an object of desire. For the first time in your life, YOU will be the one turning heads.

Suddenly, making eye contact with that cute blonde across the bar won't seem so hard.

Whether you're skinny because you sit inside playing video games all day, because you've never worked out, or because you have some weird congenital disease, THIS BOOK WILL HELP YOU TO TURN YOUR BODY AROUND."
​

Let's swap it for fat people now:

"Fat Bastard's Guide to an Althetic Body in 90 Days: Become An Object of Desire

You're fat. I get it. It sucks, doesn't it? Well, just because you have been fat for years doesn't mean you need to STAY that way. Even if you tried "working out" before, I guarantee you can TRANSFORM your body in just just 90 days.

You will start to see your belly go down. Veins will start popping out of your arms. For the first time, you will feel your muscles stretch the sleeves in your chest...and it won't be because you're putting on weight again.

You will finally be an object of desire. For the first time in your life, YOU will be the one turning heads.

Suddenly, making eye contact with that cute blonde across the bar won't seem so hard.

Whether you're fat because you eat donuts all day, because you've always been that way, or because you have some weird congenital disease, THIS BOOK WILL HELP YOU TO TURN YOUR BODY AROUND."​

That took me 5 minutes, so it could probably be tightened up. But it's likely a lot better than your existing, feature-filled copy; rather than specific benefits driven copy:

"Get an athletic body in only 90 days with calisthenics aka body weight exercises. No need for a gym.

This book has programs for the beginners, intermediate, and advanced. For guys and girls. For the young and the old. Calisthenics exercises for beginners, intermediate, and advanced, how many sets and reps to do, how often to work out, it is all in the book. The book is short, simple, and straight to the point. It has an introduction to calisthenics, why calisthenics will get you an athletic body in 90 days, and 3 programs in full detail.

Buy now and get an athletic body in 90 days from the comfort of your own home!"



​

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[1step]

With Calisthenics averages out to 1-2 sales a day (no marketing); It's not a sub niche, explain that.

The word calisthenics is the keyword in that title.

People interested in calisthenics are more interested in buying your book because is speaks to them. This is the most specific of your titles which is why it sells the most.

With that being said 2 sales a day is like $5 a day so lets not get ahead of ourselves and act like this is earth shattering results that prove you are doing it right.

Targeting niche markets via demographics (as has been recommended) is only one way to niche down, including keywords in the title (as you have done here) is another. Your second best seller is the pullup book, the reason is "pull ups" is your keyword that is getting people to buy the book. Both of these titles are better than the other book because they more specifically callout to the target audience who should purchase the book.

With all that being said your results are minimal because theres still a lot you can improve on.

If you want to pay for traffic (etc.) you could make your generic titles work, other fitness gurus have already proven this can be done. However on amazon that strategy isn't going to work for you right now. You need to be more specific and really speak to your audience, this isn't going to happen using "Average joe" and other terms that you are currently going for.

 

[GuestUser116]

Ciao, I self published 3 eBooks on amazon. All 3 in the fitness niche. I've modified my first eBook "Gladiator Training Routine" the new title of that book is "Athletic Body in 90 Days with Weights" I changed it because I want to walk the walk. I have an athletic body, not a gladiator physique (yet )

These are my 3 eBooks (with links)
1. Athletic Body in 90 Days with Weights
2. Athletic Body in 90 Days with Calisthenics
3. From 0 to 30 Pull Ups

All 3 are freshly published, I'll post the sales count later.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Jonleehacker]

1. Athletic Body in 90 Days with Weights- 1 (???)
2. Athletic Body in 90 Days with Calisthenics- 15 (and first customer review)
3. From 0 to 30 Pull Ups- 4

Try having the benefit in the titles, rather than just "athletic body"

So for example, why do I, your target consumer, want an athletic body? Nobody really cares about having an athletic body, what we care about is: impressing our friends, attracting women, beating our friends at racquetball, showing off at the beach... etc

You'll sell more books with an emotionally based result in of using your book in the title, especially in that niche.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[MJ DeMarco]

Really surprised "calisthenics" is the leader here. Seems like a word from the late 70's ... like "Get a rocking body with Jazzercise!"

That's why the market is such a fun toy, it always surprises you.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[theag]

well that escalted quickly. lots of roid rage in here

 

[1step]

Idk which sub niche will have buyers, making it less specific will pull more buyers.

Hows that working for you so far?

Alright, "Athletic Body in 90 Days- Get a body that turns heads. A guide for the average American"

So your sub niche is "average american"... ? What is an "average american" and will this speak to them more than what you already had before?

 

[csalvato]

I tried a few different people on fiverr before, amateurs and "pros" with like 2k orders and mostly all positive reviews, they made garbage covers.

On what site can I find legit cover designers for $5 /cover?

I hate fiverr, personally. Filled with a lot of noise. Very little signal.

If I were you I would shoot over to oDesk or eLance and make a post saying you need book covers designed.

Say you will be rolling out a lot of books, and testing different covers over time and need someone who can work with you to make the initial design, then make tweaks over time.

Put in that you will need 20+ hours a week.

A good designer, with a good grasp of english can do a cover from scratch in a couple of hours, and make minor tweaks within minutes.

I suggest sticking to Filipinos. I had the most success there. Say you will only take Filipinos in the posting title.

See what kind of bids you get in terms of hourly rates. I just hired a Filipino at $2/hour for 20 hours/week.

Remember, these people are looking for regular work so they will happily take a lower hourly wage ($1.50-$2.00/hour) to have a regular project and employer.

My opinion: make the post, see what bids you get. Look at their previous book cover designs and see if they're good. Make sure their english is good. Pull the trigger and hire them for a trial project and see how it goes.

 

[Jakeeck]

It's not a F*cking poem, it provides the info you need cut straight without all the bs studies and stories.

The Myth Buster chapter could be taken out of the book and it won't make a difference, it's just something additional I added to make the book longer.

So you don't want advice, you just want people to tell you how great your books are? And you add content to your book that doesn't make a difference just to make it longer?

Good luck.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Jakeeck]

You're just pointing out the flaws. If you mean to give me advice, take a paragraph from my book, rephrase it, and add flow to the sentences.

I'm pointing out things that need to be improved.

I don't have your book on my kindle anymore, but you're ignoring my other more important points completely. The content part is the most important and the grammar and spelling mistakes costs you your credibility imo. I understand you want your books to be longer, but you basically admitted yourself that the mythbuster part "doesn't make a difference," which means it doesn't add any value to the reader. Why would you end your book on something that doesn't matter or that is more poorly written than the rest of the book? That's a bad last impression guaranteed to turn off a reader from buying your other books.

I like the part where you state that a person should build a good strength base before worrying about the little stuff like isolation exercises, but then you go on to say you should use 15-25 reps to get a lean and shredded physique? Do you actually train that way? That isn't how getting shredded works and it makes me feel like you are trying to put something "different" in the book to readers who don't know any better. Seems gimmicky. Anyone who has any kind of lifting knowledge would put the book down right away. It feels like a slap in the face. My overall point is that it doesn't seem like you are trying to give people actual value and is written in a way that gives me a black hat kind of vibe.

Just my .02

 

[csalvato]

Alright I'll be the bigger man, I'm outta this thread.

Me too.

@Chase Bristow , I have a fitness book I sell on Amazon and my own site for $35 or $75. I make about $1k/month from it and had only put in a couple months of work. If you're interested in getting a start on fitness books I would be happy to help.

OP seems to think he is bigger than he is.

@Jakeeck , great advice in this thread.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Newbophobia]

I don't mean to be a hater or start problems since this is my first post, but you are being ignorant glacier. As Tai Lopez would say "if you want success in life, you have to be a humble person". I personally would kill for the advice the above posters gave you. They took time out of their day to help you out rather than just ignoring your thread. You look at the most successful people in the world and they tend to be the most humble people you will ever meet. Take for instance Sam Walton the founder of Walmart. He was arrested in Brazil for crawling on his hands and knees in the local supermarket there. When his host family that was there arrived in the prison and asked him "why were you crawling on the floor Sam"?

His response was "I was measuring the width of the aisles". "I was trying to see if the people in Brazil knew something that I didn't". Here you have a billionaire on his hands and knees trying to learn how to be better. Then there's you who was served great advice on a silver platter, and all you do is insult the people who are trying to make you better. Unless your attitude changes you will not go far and no one will feel sympathy for you.

I know this all may seem harsh but it's something you need to hear.
And by the way I will gladly take any advice you guys would be willing to give me on my website nattybodybuilding.com that the website that I just started up with the goal of helping people achieve better bodies and stronger minds. Eventually i plan to monetize the site through some affiliate marketing and possible e-books once I build up a fan base. I will be glad to take any advice, ideas or questions that you may have for me. Hell I will even pay some of you to coach me once I start accumulating some money. At this point I'm just a broke 19-year-old trying to make a name for himself. Thanks so much for the help guys, and I am sorry if you're not allowed to post links on this forum. I'll read over the rules after this post.

-Ty Graber

 

[theag]

Where can I market for cheap?

Where your audience is.

 

[GuestUser116]

Sales count:
1. Athletic Body in 90 Days with Weights- 1
2. Athletic Body in 90 Days with Calisthenics- 14
3. From 0 to 30 Pull Ups- 1

with Calisthenics was published 10 days ago, the other 2 are fresh.

 

[csalvato]

http://chrissalvato.com/28-day-handstand-challenge-how-to-do-a-handstand/

Check your PMs.

 

[jon.a]

Yes, dumbbells and barbells mostly.

I didn't make my point clearly. I was suggesting adding the word "Free" without the quotes to the title.
Did you try using the cover style of the Calisthenics book? It seems to be selling better.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[1step]

My most profitable demographics are older men 55+...yours may vary.

Why not try to title your book for a subset of the audience such as the example above?

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[csalvato]

Idk which sub niche will have buyers, making it less specific will pull more buyers.

Go niche to get rich.

"If you try to be everything to everyone, you won't be anything to anyone!"

It's just an experiment anyway. Can you literally take the same book and republish it under a different, more niche title? Then it will be no harm no foul, right?

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[MoneyDoc]

Mind giving us an update on the dollar amount sold?

Looks like you're making amazing progress!

 

[MJ DeMarco]

earch "athletic" my book is the first on the list. Search "calisthenics" it's the 4th on the list.

This is really a great opportunity you shouldn't miss, all the more reason why you might want to think about taking a benefit oriented approach with all of your titles/subtitles. Right now, IMO, they're just kinda flat. That type of change could spell % gains in the 100's, perhaps 1000's.

Some of the suggestions made above are good, such as...

The Skinny Dude's Guide to an Athletic Body in 90 days or Less.

 

[csalvato]

New release- Hollywood Physique (link coming soon)
View attachment 8065

Re: Titles/Images/Market
Are you intending to target males only?

This cover in particular is very male driven. Women also want a hollywood physique, and women tend to dominate the self-help book customer base. I believe the last statistic was ~70% of all self-help products are sold to women. The actual statistic is in this slideshare somewhere.

(EDIT: To be clear, I am not saying to NOT target a certain gender...only trying to get you to affirm one way or the other. Women buy these kinds of books more than men, and tend to be a good demographic overall in self-help.)

Re: Covers
I think the designs can be improved. They look a bit amateurish, which may be off-putting. Don't know if you can get covers designed professionally without a budget though.

Re: Copy
Try to be more specific in your copy.

Compare:

"Learn how actors rapidly get fit before a movie and how you can too"

TO

"Learn how actors like Christian Bale can lose 50 lbs in a few weeks, and how you can too."

 

[ChasingPaper]

Alright I'll be the bigger man, I'm outta this thread.

 

[csalvato]

To clear up the science stuff: from Rippetoe's practical programming...

You can promote whatever you want though. It's your book.

In my book on handstands, I purposefully went against the grain and told people something called the "hollow body position" is useless for beginners -- when it is something most acro gurus focus on first thing.

A lot of popular books go WAY against the grain and even tout total bullshit (that the author honestly believes) and make tons of money, and actually help tons of people (because anything is better than being sedentary.)

People who use my book get amazing results. I have tons of testimonials. That's what matters.

But this method of processing critique/input is unacceptable from an entrepreneur IMHO.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Writer]

So an update, sales average out to 2-3 books /day. I make almost nothing, around $150 /month 100% passive income. It's pretty slick tho, I do nothing at all and get that $150 /month. There's nothing to do, not like I'm just going to stare at the screen and wait for more sales. Actually these past weeks I didn't do shit at all.

Honest question. Shouldn't you be working on new products or improvements for the old ones?

 

[Yasai]

Heh. I like the fact that you're really straight-forward with little to no fluff (in this thread. Haven't read your books/pamphlets yet ;P)

You have "proof of concept": You created a product, published it, got money out of it.
That's usually the backbone of a business. You can basically use a cookie-cutter approach now. That stuff worked once -> It will probably work in the future. Just rinse/repeat until you're satisfied with the profits, improving/adjusting stuff in the process.

Did'cha notice that people are almost rioting over something like rep-counts (in this thread)?
That's usually a good sign (it means that potential customers are almost irrationally passionate about a given subject. Many emotional hotbuttons you can press there to boost sales, if necessary).
But I would be a bit careful with the provocative stuff, though. You might drive away people that would have otherwise liked/purchased your other products, if they (read: you) didn't hit the button on their ejector seat.

Be lighthearted and balanced about certain stuff. No need for antagonism, really (unless you target hardliners). This way, you won't cripple your sales and still make your point.

 

[Hicks]

Only half are paid reviews.

Pretty short, 12-20 pages.

None my business, but paying for reviews is a slippery slope. I see this in my genre and people often actually write and 'call the author out' on it. Pretty off putting for prospective customers. Non-fiction is a world based on 'reputation'. They are buying because they trust that you are the expert. Just something to think about.

Also there are ways to pad the page count. Depending on price, page count does affect a customer's decision to purchase your book. Definitely something to consider. I've seen lots of people on this forum saying that 'as long as it's got the info in it that's all that matters' then when the book doesn't sell you never hear from them again...sounds harsh but you see it a lot. My view is that with non-fiction you can get away with 10-12000 words for a $2.99 others may disagree but that's what I've found.

Hope this helps

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Gale4rc]

No marketing.

I get the sense you're proud of this.... It's definitely not something to be proud of.

I read another thread that said you want to work 24/7 - Clearly you're not working hard if you're only publishing 10-12 pages books and hoping they magically become successful.

 

[csalvato]

I'm assuming you collect a list; what do you use?

I use MailCheat(Chimp). It does a good enough job. I have links in my print book to drive signups, but 99.9999% of my signups come from a 28 day challenge I put together for potential customers.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[csalvato]

My most profitable demographics are older men 55+...yours may vary.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[jon.a]

My most profitable demographics are older men 55+...yours may vary.

If so, are they buying for themselves or their grandchildren?