What Do Rock Concerts And The Amazon Kindle Store Have In Common?
April 26, 2024--- Have you ever attended a big open-air concert? No, not in the seated area, but down there in the arena, in the middle of the crowd. AC/DC, Madonna, U2, Lady Gaga, Coldplay, you name it. What does all this have to do with the Kindle eBook market?
The place is cramped. It feels tight. You wave and cheer at your hero or heroine but go unnoticed (unless you are an 18-year old girl, sitting topless on your boyfriend’s shoulders and waving furiously with your bra). You are a tiny particle in a sea of bodies. You get shoved around. You feel the elbows and sweaty bodies of the people around you.
This is what it must feel like if you are a book in the Amazon Kindle Store.
The State Of The Ebook Market
The eBook market is getting very crowded. At the time of this post – and we will have to update this section often – the facts of Kindle eBook publishing market are as follows:
- 4.5 million eBook titles in the Kindle Store
- More than 70,000 titles are added every month
- Kindle book supply still grows at 16% per year.
The Kindle book market is still growing and you can earn a lot of money, if you get things right and have a bit of luck. But the eBook market is also maturing; and mature markets have their own rules and are characterized by one factor: fierce competition, survival of the best.
3 Key Questions For Ebook Bestsellers
If you are a book author or publisher and want to SUCCEED in this environment, you must be able to answer three questions BEFORE you write the first line of your book, let alone worry about publishing contracts, eBook platforms or book marketing strategies. And you must be able to answer these three questions with precision and brutal honesty to lay the foundation for writing a bestseller:
1) WHAT IS YOUR NICHE?
The trend is clearly toward specialization, or in other words: laser-sharp segmentation of the market and addressing the specific needs of the selected eBook market segment. In what sub-segment of the eBook market do you want to compete? What is the slice of the pie that you aim for in terms of book market segment and target audience? Can you name and articulate it in one sentence or better less?
Please note, “diet books” or “contemporary romance” would not suffice to describe a niche; they each would represent far too broad a segment. Instead, think of examples such as "ketogenic diet for women post-pregnancy" or "vampire romance novels for teenage girls, age 14-17".
2) WHAT IS THE DEMAND?
What is needed and wanted by this readership? Are there enough readers in your niche to “read and feed you?” In other words: What is the number of copies sold per day in your targeted book sub-sub-genre? What is the average price level? What is the degree of competition? Is the niche growing or shrinking? In summary, is the niche attractive and does it have bestseller potential?
3) WHAT IS YOUR DIFFERENTIATION?
How will you be different and better than your competitors? It what way will you be better at serving the needs and wants of the target audience? Why will people read your book and not the ones offered by countless other authors?
The ND2 Ebook Success Formula
The formula is ND2 (“N, D square”)
N, …D…what? – Correct. N × D × D, meaning:
Only when you have this formula worked out, should you start writing your book. K-lytics is your vital tool to support you in answering the three questions. Yes, there are other factors that are vital for the author’s success, for example, reader connection, book marketing and promotion. But these are topics that come after the ND2 Formula.
Exercise: Take a few minutes and name your ND2 Formula.
Great info Alex. I’m sending it out on my Twitter and my followers are loving it.
Love this. Yes, we authors need to put our serious business hats on and I appreciate these nuggets of marketing wisdom which I direly need. Love what you guys do. keep up the good work.