OLD POST ALERT! This is an older post and although you might find some useful tips, any technical or publishing information is likely to be out of date. Please click on Start Here on the menu bar above to find links to my most useful articles, videos and podcast. Thanks and happy writing! – Joanna Penn
I was absolutely overjoyed by the news! I put it on Twitter and also received the tweet below showing that Pentecost is being shown in the list of books that other people have bought. Subsequently I have seen it come up myself when I've gone in to look at other fiction books of a similar type.
This is evidence that the Amazon algorithms are kicking in and they are starting to market Pentecost themselves. These algorithms are top secret and no one knows for sure how to ensure this type of thing happens, but here's what we can infer.
- Rankings get you noticed. Pentecost has been in the Religious Fiction rankings since Feb 7th when it launched. It goes up and down but basically has been in the Top 40 or so for that bestseller category and around 2500 overall in the Kindle store. It has also been in the Top 100 of the same ranking in the UK but that site seems to run entirely separately from the US store.
- Ratings and Reviews make a difference. Pentecost has 32 reviews as I am writing this with 4.5 star rating on Amazon.com. This is more than a whole lot of big name authors and clearly Amazon pays attention when readers are enthusiastic about a book. (THANK YOU so much if you have left a review – it makes such a difference! If you love a book, the author will be very grateful for a review!)
Why is this important?
Amazon have an amazing amount of information on readers. They target you with offers that you often find irresistable! They know the types of books you read and offer you similar ones. This is gold for authors as it means that Amazon can reach people with your book who would never have heard of it otherwise.
Why do Amazon do this?
Clearly it's not for your benefit! They are a business and want to make more money so their algorithms look for the books that are selling in specific genres and they try to sell more of them. It's an entirely business point of view but it benefits authors who are selling well – regardless of the publisher! That is a very key point because I can't hope to get into a bookstore near you with my novel, but I can hope that you'll get an email from Amazon recommending my book (if you currently buy books in this genre anyway).
As an author, have you seen evidence of this recommendation algorithm and do you have any ideas on how it works? As a reader, do you pay attention to Amazon's recommendation emails?
View Comments (41)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1 2 3 … 5 Next »This is great!
It's fantastic to know that Amazon can help with your fans find you.
Thanks for the post!
I loved this post. Amazon can be a mysterious entity when it comes to how it promotes books, but you're living proof that it can work for anyone who has a great book that people want to read. It's nice to know that Amazon caters to readers looking for great books and not only to large companies with the big bucks to promote their authors.
Well done! Thanks for sharing.
Hi Tony, I really don't think Amazon even considers who the publisher is. I think it's all done electronically based on rankings & ratings, which means it really is a level playing field!
Since these algorithms are ultimately business-driven to maximize Amazon's revenues, one would actually expect that the price also play a role. Clearly, Amazon would rather sell 100,000 of a book at $9.99 than one priced at 99 cents. I wonder if anyone has noticed such a bias, that Amazon is giving higher priced books more exposure.
Hi Guido, It would depend on how their relationships work with publishers - they may not be making more on higher priced books (authors don't!)
Rankings are better with lower priced books and I've found this has all kicked in at the 99c price, so it's more about what people want to buy - my opinion anyway!
Well, I remember on a mailinglist I follow someone criticising Amazon for recommending the most expensive version of a title. He said that he never bought hardcover books, but Amazon always recommended hardcover books, even when a paperback was available.
But that would be the same title.
My book is not ready for publishing yet, but I do purchase books on Amazon. Their recommended books and the "people who bought this book also bought..." are something I pay attention to. I love that they try to bring to my attention other books in the same genre. I don't know how the algorithms work, just glad they use them and they promote new authors among all the long-time authors. I think your platform, Joanna, has probably been responsible for some of your success. Want you to know, I just received Pentecost in the mail from Amazon and am anxious to read it!
Thanks for buying the book Marcia. I appreciate your support and yes, my platform has meant that people starting buying the book - but I have sold way more than the people who subscribe to this blog, so it is spreading beyond my own network. Exciting times indeed! (must get on with the next one!)
Thanks so much for this. It's great info. Jordan http://www.evaprim.com
I have paid attention to the Amazon emails. I suppose there is nothing wrong with marrying monetary self-interest and consumer satisfaction!
On another note, now we know why so many accusations of fake Amazon reviews have been made.
Well, the opposite is true, too--hundreds of thousands of books get buried. As one who has had books all over the charts (from #25 to #300,000), I see a definite bias toward the very top--and in much the same way the movement of wealth to the elite has crippled the American and world economy, you have to wonder if there will eventually be a detrimental effect. I am not even sure this is "good business," although the matching of genres is certainly wise.
I believe most of the direct email announcements are paid for, because very rarely do they feature indie books (though they used to feature their Encore authors). Nothing sells like sales, which is great when you are selling, but it's certainly not the best of all possible worlds, because it's based on numbers and not the words themselves.
Thanks for sharing, Joanna.
Scott
Thanks Scott - you seem to be doing pretty well, I'm always seeing your books around the charts!
On the "paying for it" thing, that's why I was so surprised to see my book on the same email as John Connolly as I would have expected his publishers to pay for it, but I certainly didn't.
I do also think there is a correlation between the words and the numbers because books don't sell if they are crap, although I understand what you mean, some get buried. But I have to believe it's our responsibility to ensure they get noticed in other ways through our platform/ word of mouth etc.
Doing the work in every sense of the word! Thanks.
Great post. I think if anyone works out the algorithm they had better use it quick because the way these things work is if Amazon suspect someone is biassing sales (therefore affecting their profits) they will change it.
If anyone does work it out can they be sure to let me know via my blog please? :)
Yes, it would be great to work it out - but basically I think we just have to concentrate on getting known and getting reviews - that will always be a part of the algorithm somehow.
I'm happy to hear proof that those reviews on amazon make a difference - I just recently got into writing them.
Lots of good stuff here. :) I'd guess sales weigh pretty heavily in that Amazon algorithm. It's the one thing back-scratching social-networking authors can't easily use to game the system, heh.
As an example on the importance of overall sales, one of my ebooks with 20 reviews is currently listed higher in a search for "steampunk" in the kindle store than a popular two-year old book with 165 reviews, a high average rating, and way more "votes" for steampunk down in the tags. Its sales ranking is close to 20k while mine hovers in the 3-5k range. (I'm sure that author has sold a bazillion paperbacks and isn't sweating ebook sales, which would be much higher if the price was lower, but anyway...) That book is more truly steampunk than mine is too.
Fortunately (if you're at the top) and unfortunately (if you're with me and still trying to claw your way up there), the system seems to be built so those that do well will continue to do well. At least it's presumably easier to make your way up to the Top at Amazon than it is to earn your way into the wealthy elite (hi Scott *g*).