Would you rather tell people you are a published author or a bestselling author?

Whether you are a business owner, a trainer, speaker, coach or maybe even a full-time writer, being able to call yourself a bestselling author dramatically increases your credibility and often your income!

Most people, however, don’t understand what it means to be a bestselling author on Amazon and they definitely don’t understand what it takes to get on the bestseller’s list!  So we are going to have a little Amazon Bestselling Author 101 class right now…

Here are some important points in understanding Amazon and getting on the Bestseller’s list:

• There are 2 Bestseller’s lists on Amazon.  There is a “FREE” Bestseller’s list and a “PAID” Bestseller’s list.  This is because Amazon has a program called “KDP Select” where if you agree to exclusively offer your book on Amazon, then you are allowed 5 promo days every 90 days.  Therefore, you can offer your book for FREE and get to the FREE Bestseller’s list on Amazon.  I’m sure you’re wondering…”Why would I want to give me book away for FREE?”  Good question.  And here’s the simple answer:  Because once you get on the FREE Bestseller’s list then something very important happens:  You are now on Amazon’s radar; before that you and your book were invisible.  Now Amazon takes notice (because you did something most author’s don’t do and you got your book on the Bestseller’s list) and now Amazon begins to recommend your book to others in a variety of ways!
• Amazon Bestseller’s lists are updated hourly.  This is awesome!  Because it gives you a chance every hour to get on the bestseller’s list.  Getting on the list has to do with how many sales you have for your book (currently & historically), therefore, if you have a large amount of sales in a short period of time, then you have a good chance of getting on the Bestseller’s list and getting noticed by Amazon!  According to Amazon:  “The Amazon Best Sellers calculation is based on Amazon.com sales and is updated hourly to reflect recent and historical sales of every item sold on Amazon.com.”
• Sales Ranking is relative to the total number of books on Amazon.  The sales rankings on Amazon are fascinating to look at!  For example, if you have a book on Amazon as of March 2014, and you are hoping to get on the top of the “Non-Fiction Kindle Bestselling PAID List” for ebooks; if you click on title #100, you’ll see right now that book has a bestsellers rank of 779; so now you know you need a bestseller’s rank of 780 or better to get on that list!  Amazon Bestsellers Rank is the number you find beneath the Product Description. Every book on Amazon has an Amazon Bestsellers Rank. Click on any title and then scroll down until you see it.The list below was updated December 2013: rankings continue to change all the time!  But this will give you a good idea of Amazon Sales Rankings:
  • Amazon Best Seller Rank 50,000 to 100,000 – selling close to 1 book a day.
  • Amazon Best Seller Rank 10,000 to 50,000 – selling 5 to 15 books a day.
  • Amazon Best Seller Rank 5,500 to 10,000 – selling 15 to 25 books a day.
  • Amazon Best Seller Rank 3,000 to 5,500 – selling 25 to 70 books a day.
  • Amazon Best Seller Rank 1,500 to 3,000 – selling 70 to 100 books a day.
  • Amazon Best Seller Rank 750 to 1,500 – selling 100 to 120 books a day.
  •  Amazon Best Seller Rank 500 to 750 – selling 120 to 175 books a day.
  • Amazon Best Seller Rank 350 to 500 – selling 175 to 250 books a day.
  • Amazon Best Seller Rank 200 to 350 – selling 250 to 500 books a day.
  • Amazon Best Seller Rank 35 to 200 – selling 500 to 2,000 books a day.
  • Amazon Best Seller Rank 20 to 35 – selling 2,000 to 3,000 books a day.
  • Amazon Best Seller Rank of 5 to 20 – selling 3,000 to 4,000 books a day.
  • Amazon Best Seller Rank of 1 to 5 – selling 4,000+ books a day.

  Pretty cool, huh?  The paid lists are harder to get on, however, getting on the FREE Bestseller’s list is the first step in this process.

• Category selection is extremely important to getting on the Bestseller’s list!  Most authors don’t think about their category selection very much when uploading their book onto Amazon.  In fact, many authors don’t even choose a category.  Category selection is very similar to keyword selection.  If you put up a website and you want Google to send traffic to your website, then you better use the right keywords on your website so Google knows what your site is about and can send targeted traffic.  Well, the same is true on Amazon.  Category selection helps Amazon send the right traffic to your book.  I will admit that it is very confusing to select the right category when trying to get your book on the bestseller’s list.  This is because the categories for the bestseller’s lists that are on Amazon.com are different than the category selection you have when you are logged into your Amazon KDP account!  Choose the right category and your book can be a best seller! Choose the wrong category and you are lost in the Amazon abyss!
• Reviews can make or break your book.  Good reviews are critical to getting on the best seller’s list.  Of course, you can’t control what people write about your book, but you can have people you know who purchased or downloaded your book write a nice review for your book.  You really need a minimum of 5 good reviews when trying to get your book on the bestseller’s list.
• Social Media is the main vehicle to get you on the Bestseller’s list on Amazon!  Maybe you’re not a Facebook or Twitter person and you are so busy, you just don’t have time for all that social media stuff!  Well, listen up…if you don’t get on board the social media train…then you’ll get run over by it.  Social media is no longer an option in running an offline or online business, it’s a necessity!  It’s the vehicle that will drive your book to the bestseller’s list if you use it properly.
• Keywords are critical when you upload your book on Amazon.  If you have a website then you know how important keywords and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) are to getting targeted traffic to your site. As I mentioned above, when talking about category selection, Amazon also allows you 7 keywords when uploading your book!  You can also use the keywords in your book description.  Therefore, it is critical to research and define your 7 most important keywords/keyword phrases when publishing your book on Amazon.

John Locke and Amanda Hockings sold over a million books on Amazon.com!  The publishing and book world are changing at lightning speed these days. Amazon.com has leveled the playing field and has made it possible for many “unknown” authors/writers to not only get on the Bestseller’s list, but to make hundreds and thousands of dollars selling their ebooks without a literary agent or publishing house.

In 2011 I published a book on Amazon and a year later that book at ZERO sales!  Using my legal background, I decided to do some extensive research and figure out exactly what it takes to get a book on the bestseller’s list.  The result of that year of research was that my book, “Never Work Again:  6 Secrets to Making a Play-Check instead of a Pay-Check” had 2,128 downloads in one day and hit 3 best sellers lists on Amazon!

If you want to learn how to “stack the cards in your favor” and get to the Amazon Best Seller’s list so you can elevate your credibility, get more respect in your industry, make more money, attract more joint venture partners, gain more attention from the Press, and enjoy more Success…sign up now for my 6 free case studies by for my Amazon Best Seller’s Author program by clicking here!

Join my other Best Selling Authors and start getting the recognition and the income you deserve!  Here are a few of the books from my authors that have become Best Sellers!  *Nancy Hartwell, author of Harem Slave, is now making enough from her fiction book on Amazon to pay her mortgage!