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is an older post and although you might find some useful tips, any technical or publishing information is likely to be out of date.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
But once you get the hang of the process – writing, editing, publishing, marketing – then you start to think about the business side.
If you want to make more profit, then increasing your revenue will be next on the list.
Derek Sivers sold his company CD Baby and now sells ebooks about starting a business in foreign markets at Woodegg.com. I read this interview with him and he talked about how to increase cash-flow in a business. It struck home as true for authors as well.
There are four basic ways to increase your revenue:
(1) Increase the number of customers you serve
There are a couple of ways to do this:
a) Use KDP Select and go exclusive to Amazon in order to take advantage of the enhanced visibility on the platform that way. I noticed that the Kindle app on the iPhone changed recently to add a Book Browser function, which is entirely dominated by Kindle Unlimited. The emails I get from Amazon are also increasingly KU dominated. As a READER, I have tried KU and didn't like it – mainly because I like owning the books and don't want to borrow them – but clearly it is a very popular service. If you're a new author with only a couple of books, this is definitely the way to go, and many authors are exclusive with all their books. Here are the pros and cons of exclusivity.
b) Publish on multiple platforms and take advantage of a completely different audience who shop elsewhere. This is my preferred approach. Although Amazon’s KDP Select program offers benefits, it limits your sales to people who buy on that particular platform. Amazon may also dominate in the US and UK, but Kobo dominates in Canada, and iBooks dominates in many other global markets. In 2014, I published Pentecost and Desecration-Verletzung in German,
c) Use marketing and building your platform to attract more customers. There are a LOT of different marketing avenues for authors. I suggest focusing on the one or two methods that you enjoy and make it sustainable for the long term. Whatever you do, make sure that building your email list is a key focus.
d) Publish in multiple formats and multiple languages. If you only publish in ebook format, you will only attract ebook readers. By using print on demand as well as audiobook formats as well, you will reach different customers. If you publish only in English, you will only reach those readers. Indie authors are now branching out into self-publishing in foreign languages or selling rights to those markets.
e) Expand your streams of income. You can increase the customers you serve by adding to your portfolio of services and products. For example, I serve a different customer base through public speaking and live events, and others use online video or audio courses to reach new customers.
(2) Increase the average size of the transaction by selling more
- This can be done by having multiple books that customers might like within product lines. If a customer buys one book and enjoys it, they are likely to want more. This is why many authors write in a series, and why many
- If you have more books available, the customer may buy more. The power is in the backlist, which is why being an author is a long-term game. At the London Book Fair 2014, I talked to Barbara Freethy, who has over 35 books and, as I write this, is the bestselling KDP author of all time with over 4.5 million books sold. She mentioned that when someone new discovers her books, she sees an overall effect as they dive into her backlist.
- Bundling is another way to do this. You can do ebook boxsets as a single author and charge more for a single transaction, which is also a great deal for the customer. For example, I sell ARKANE Books 1-3, Pentecost, Prophecy and Exodus, in a box-set for $5.99. If bought separately, they would cost $9.98, so it's a good deal for everyone. All you need to do is create a file with multiple books in, and get a cover designed that looks like a boxset, which you can get from Fiverr.
(3) Increase the frequency of transactions by customer
This can be done by releasing books and products more often, so that loyal customers return. It's also important to use an
- Some authors are doing this through serialization and novellas. H.M.Ward's Ferro series is a good example of this, currently with over 18 books in one particular series with many of them 20,000-30,000 word novellas.
- Others are doing this through co-writing. For example, Jeremy Robinson's Jack Sigler Chess Team series has several co-authors writing in his world.
(4) Raise your prices
There are a couple of ways in which authors are doing this:
- Make the first book available for free and then raise the price of others in the series. If you do the math right, you'll see that you can make more money this way than using a 99c entry price point.
- Sell direct to loyal fans through hardcover specials and limited editions. Scott Sigler does a galactic football league series that he self-publishes and sells direct. Cory Doctorow did some brilliant hand-bound hardcover editions of his book, With a Little Help.
Do any of these ideas resonate with you? How will you increase your revenue? Please leave a comment below.
Top image: Flickr Creative Commons piggybank by Images Money
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1 2 Next »Great tips. I launched my first book this past weekend, a young adult novel and the first in a series. I did opt for KDP Select for the reasons you stated. It is difficult for a new author to get noticed and KDP Select offers a valuable advantage (I just checked my stats and saw that one had finally been downloaded through the program...yay!). I am hurrying to get the next two books finished. Once I have three, I'll make the first permafree and get out of KDP Select so that I can sell in different markets. From there it's one step at a time. Paper, audio, foreign translations. Keep my investment manageable (no book covers purchased on credit cards, please), and grow my list. Thanks to podcasts and blogs like this one, the path to success is far less mysterious.
I struggle with the idea of going with Amazon KDP select. I like the idea of being platform agnostic, but as a first-time novelist, having written several nonfiction books, I wonder if that would be the best route as I start noveling...
I like idea of being available everywhere but maybe KDP would give me the visibility I need? Thoughts for th is first time fiction non-fiction author :)
Hey Jeremy, I've said before that first time authors should probably go Select http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2014/08/30/exclusivity/
If you're using the same name as your non-fiction, and you have traction on other platforms, then go wider, but if the brand is so different that it won't make any difference, then I would at least start in Select, do the 90 days and then consider next steps. Once you have 3 books in a brand/series, then it makes sense to go wider.
I'm still pumping out series books to build my backlist. This year I plan to release book 2 of one, book 4 of another, and book 1 of a trilogy. So far they're all ebooks, but I'm hoping to convert them to paperback for the 2015 Christmas season. (But we will see!)
Audiobooks remain a year or two out, but they're definitely on the radar. I'm slowly building my email list, and get a few new subscribers with each new release. I'm still in the early stages--only been self published a year and a half--but the plan is working. :-)
I've been pondering this as I just released the third book in my superhuman detective series last week. I'm getting at least some decent movement by having the first in the series perma-free on Kindle/Kobo/Nook and through the stores I use for Smashwords as an aggregator. And it's starting to show some sales on the other books, but I do wonder if I could do better if I went KDP Select for 90 days on that first book only.
I'm also preparing to put all three books into a box set next month, but I haven't completely figured out my strategy on that one yet.
It's definitely an individual choice, but if you leave the other sites, you will lose that traction ...
That's why I am sitting on the fence and can't make up my mind! :)
Bookmarking this to read later. I would love to start making more money. I would be happy if I could even start making $500 a month and go up from there! I am not anywhere near that.
Kristi, most authors are nowhere near $500 a month!
When I started, I made less than $10 a month online and it took me nearly 3 years to make it to $1000 a month. After nearly 6 years, I am still not making the same amount of money as I did when I left my day job - but I know I will get there eventually :)
Also, we have to acknowledge that writing never has been, and never will be, the best way to earn a living! This site is for people who just can't help but write for the love of it - and hope to pay some bills along the way!
Hey Joanna,
one of the reason why I started writing was because you are so full of energy and positive attitude! Thank you for your hard work! Ciao
Joanna, the idea of going to audiobook is wonderful in theory. I've wanted to do it for a year. But if you live in Australia as I do, the facility is unavailable. The requirements are that one has an ITIN or EIN which of course one does have if one is a KDP author. But ACX also require an American or UK address. Whilst one could always 'buy' a post office box number, one has to then go through the procedure of arranging mail clearance etc. If a friend's address is used, there are apparently potential tax ramifications.
Why is it that Australians have to jump through such hoops?
I'm an author with an unbroken Amazon UK Top 100 ranking for my whole list of seven books but that makes no difference. I would dearly love to take either the trilogy or the quartet (or maybe all) to audio.
Can you shed some light on this?
Hi Prue,
I don't work for ACX so obviously, I can't comment on why they haven't expanded beyond the US and UK. I would say that it has something to do with the population numbers and audiobook market size. I would hope they make it to Australia at some point - in the meantime, perhaps you could look into local options or record yourself and use another distributor.
Hi again, Joanna and thanks for shedding some light on the ACX issue. Apart from Naxos, I hadn't realised there were other facilitators of audio. Is it possible for you to list those for readers of your posts?
Many thanks.
Hi Prue, I only use ACX myself - so can't go into any more detail on other services - but others are welcome to list them here in the comments. Thanks!
Cheers and thank you.
This is awesome advice, Joanna. I'm traditionally published, but I'm cc'ing your post to my editor. One can never have too many good ideas to toss around!
My best,
Denise (Dee) Willson
Author of A Keeper's Truth and GOT
Please do share away!
One of the interesting things about being an author these days is the split between marketing and writing time - buy I like how this post focuses back on the writing aspect. Marketing is important, but more books can be sold if there are more books out there!
I do most of these already. I am thinking of doing a box set of my ebooks when I have finished and published the last in the series'. I am also planning to expand my stream of income by possibly doing 1:1 with new authors who might need help with getting writing and getting discovered via my website above. I had raised my prices at the start of the year because of now being an established author and of the new VAT law. Would like to know what your view is on pricing as a new business with consulting. I'm not sure.
I started off doing free consulting in order to get testimonials and then started at US$99 an hour and took the price up over time - now I have mainly stopped doing it. I prefer to speak or write books to help people.
I've been thinking about going into bundles soon and that tip about getting the box set image done on Fiverr was an awesome tip! Plus, read the article with Derek Sivers. Straightforward and practical. Great post!