Quick question...

How Many Books Does It Take
To Change A Lightbulb?

Oh, wait! That wasn't my question...

Here it is:

Anyone know how many books you typically have to sell on Amazon.com to hit best-seller status?

We've all seen the run-ups.

Some for good books. Some for bad.

Some for Armand's Country Music Dreams CD!

My guess -- on the book -- is that it depends on who you're competing against at that given time. But, I'm just curious if anyone knows...

I don't know how many it takes, but Warren Whitlock does...he's been behind a number of book promotions that took books to the top spot at Amazon.

http://zerocostpromotions.com/

What's the advantage of being no 1 on Amazon when it likely only lasts an hour?

Is it just to have the kudos of saying "my book was a no 1 on Amazon"?

Jane

Jane,

Yes, in a sense, it is very much "just to have the kudos". But that doesn't come from ego - it's a practical marketing move.

First, being #1 on Amazon (even for a short time) means you sold more books than most published authors ever do. So you make some money.

Second, being able to put "#1 Amazon Bestseller" does give you credibility in the eyes of most people. That translates to more sales of your book, and less resistance from your prospects.

Is it better to be #1 on Amazon for several days in a row? Yes. My friend Michael Port was #3 overall on Amazon for three days in a row with his book, Book Yourself Solid.

Is it even better to be #1 on the NYT list, and to do so for a longer period of time? You bet.

But...I would prefer to be #1 on Amazon for an hour than to not be #1 at all.

absolutely right, Ray ...

being able to say "#1 Bestseller on Amazon.com!" will easily quintiple sales, if leveraged properly... or even "Top 10 Bestseller On Amazon!"..

it's all about positioning, and credibility..

btw how are you? hope you're well, haven't seen you since last years' seminar...

you motivated me to get a lot of radio-type memorabilia, like a replica "On Air" studio light, and a classic RCA pill-style microphone replica... for visual anchors, to get me in the "broadcast" frame of mind... so thanks!

ken

Ken,

Now I'm a little jealous - I don't have an "On-Air" light. But now you've inspired me to get one. Since I work out of the house, it would help avoid all the interruptions that seem to crop up when I'm recording.

I do have the microphone, though.

I might have inspired your interest in that radio memorabilia - you inspired me to start doing video stuff!

Ray,

Thanks!

I've contacted Warren and will let you know what he says. In case you're wondering -- I'm setting all this up for the book you and I (and a number of other marketers) are co-authoring.

So, I'm trying to understand the "amazon launch" process as much as possible.


Ken,

If you don't mind... please elaborate on what you're referring to with using the #1 or Top 10 status to leverage more sales -- and other results.

I have a sense of what you're talking about -- but would love for you to expand on it.

(Wish you would have been in this book with all of us -- it's gonna be a killer cross-promotion and funnel building tool).

JP,

The beauty of being #1 on Amazon (if only for a milisecond) is that you can capture the screen shot of the book at the top spot and use the image in your marketing. The accolade lives on forever. It's an extremely powerful credibility builder and self-promotion tactic for freelancers, consultants, etc.

It's actually not that hard to push a book to #1 on Amazon (especially in a business sub-category) if you have a large enough list (such as this board and other JV partners) to buy in a short amount of time. The Amazon lists are updated every hour.

Here's how I have done it in the past ...

Plan your promotions so that you hit all your prospects on the same day (around the same time is even better), drive them to Amazon to make the purchase and keep a close eye so you can capture the all important screen shot.

Be sure to price it competitively. You don't want anyone to have to think twice about buying. Notice that most of the books found at the top are under 20 bucks.

Hope that helps,

Julie McManus

Somewhere floating around out there is a presentation I made at David Hancock and David Garfinkel's Your Best Seller Seminar where I walked through the process of creating a best seller at Amazon.

Last year, I did 5 projects and each one made it to the top ten.

Just understand, if Oprah has just recommended a book or a famous TV or radio host has just released a book, they are going to be hard to beat.

Heck, Harry Potter rode the #1 position in Amazon a full six months prior to publication.

Which is pretty odd if you think about it. Amazon updates its lists hourly and is there really a flood of people buying Harry Potter at 4AM?

It doesn't surprise me that there is when a new Potter book is released worldwide at midnight in every timezone simultaneously.

In fact, here's an excerpt from a recent report I put together on that topic:

Event Marketing – Ever see those plaza store events, like when a new Harry Potter book is released? All the stores get together and celebrate the launch of the book in different ways. Obviously there’s the bookstore release, but the local video and game rental store gets in the act. So does the family restaurant, ice-cream vendor, and arcade. Even the dry cleaning store can get involved and pump up their business, if they stick to a common theme. And this is all announced ahead of time (with appropriate press releases, etc.) so people coming down know what to expect. “Oh, great, we can get the book for little Sally, I can drop off my suit at the cleaners, my wife can go to the apparel store. What a great time this will be for the whole family!”

And all that happens at midnight, and they get swamped. Also remember that people around the world buy on Amazon, so 4 AM for us might be noon for someone else.

John