Think of this: 100% of all eBooks and audiobooks, and more than half of all print books, are sold online. In this case book metadata is like a salesperson directing shoppers to your books. It won’t make them buy your book—that’s a separate issue. But doesn’t it make sense that you should thoughtfully “train” your metadata to help sell your book? The importance of optimizing metadata for search engines The phrase Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is practically synonymous with Google and … [Read more...]
A Simple Author Metadata Audit in Less Than 30 Minutes
Earlier this month I conducted an author metadata audit workshop and the homework was a 30-minute audit. The objective was to help authors understand the role of metadata in selling books by showing how their online public information is used by search engines. This posts explains the importance of metadata and outlines the steps you can follow to do a simple 30-minute audit. It concludes with meeting notes that share additional insights about how you can build a stronger online presence by … [Read more...]
9 New IngramSpark Book Discovery Options Now Surpass CreateSpace
One of my chief concerns about self-publishers using a third-party to distribute their book or eBook is that they usually miss out on the marketing benefits provided by distributing direct to the stores. That’s why I advocate direct distribution rather than using a third-party aggregator or distributor*: the more (and more detailed) metadata you can include, the more you improve the discoverability of your book. For example, a distributor’s system may limit your book to a single category even … [Read more...]
Optimizing Print Book Metadata Options for CreateSpace, IngramSpark and Advantage
The 3 most common ways new indie publishers distribute print books are online via Amazon Advantage, Amazon CreateSpace and IngramSpark. The last two are POD (print-on-demand) printers. Advantage is Amazon’s consignment program that you can use to sell books printed by any printer. My use of the word distribute in this case refers to making your book available for purchase by readers from a retail store like Amazon.com, and by physical bookstores, who might order your book from their … [Read more...]
The 7 Habits of Authors Obsessed About Metadata
Metadata is the fundamental building block in the age of online discovery. It is how people find you, and your books. Not only does it lead people to you, but once they get there—if they find you—it becomes your ambassador. Metadata describes you, and your books. Control and management of your metadata is one of the chief benefits of being a self-published indie author and this control gives you a huge advantage over larger publishers, and even what you can achieve using a vanity press. Yet … [Read more...]
Optimize Your WordPress Site: Reviewing a New Book by Yoast
Is your website integral to your business or publishing venture? If so, and you are using WordPress, this might be the best $19 you could spend to improve it. Optimize Your WordPress Site by Yoast is jam packed with explanations, resource links and specific actionable advice on 7 key topics. Before continuing (or you decide to click away), read these 3 notes: Non-technical folks or non-WordPress users: I suggest you read the 7 key topics and make an effort to understand each one in the … [Read more...]
Publishing an eBook Series: Design and SEO Considerations
Publishing a book series is a popular strategy these days and few would question the value of using SEO techniques to help readers find them. The challenge in my experience has more to do with the planning required and having enough “product” to make the effort pay off. I don’t yet have enough data to speak to the ROI but I can share a case study from a recently completed client project for the San Diego Reader. I’ve been managing their book publishing initiative for the past year and we just … [Read more...]
Amazon Adds KDP Age Ranges and Grade Ranges for Children’s eBook Publishers
This is a very big deal for publishers of children's eBooks. In late April I wrote about how Apple is adding interest age ranges. Before writing that piece I contacted Kindle support and they told me you had to use one of your two categories for this. That was a non-starter for most publishers. Here is what it says on KDP now: "Age and Grade Ranges (optional) Age and Grade are optional fields you can choose to make it easier for readers to find your books. The Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk … [Read more...]
Optimize Your MyIdentifiers ISBN Record: 4 Metadata Fields to Improve Book Discovery
If you make the investment in an ISBN for your eBook (optional for Amazon, Apple, B&N, Kobo), or for your print book, you can improve online discovery (SEO) of your book by going beyond the minimum required ISBN fields in the MyIdentifiers record. Studies show that including these elements can improve sales by 55% compared to books that have none of these elements. To review, the minimum required fields include: title, contributor name and function (such as author), medium, format, … [Read more...]
5 Golden Rules for Writing Book Descriptions that Sell More Books
How much time do you spend crafting and testing your book’s description? If you are like most publishers (especially indie publishers) it’s probably an afterthought and something composed on-the-fly when requested. But isn’t reading your book description a stop in the second stage of the buyer consideration process? It takes just a few seconds for a shopper to scan the Stage 1 consideration factors: Title/subtitle: Intriguing? Relevant? Author: Who is this person? Cover: Does it look … [Read more...]
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