When it comes to self-publishing on Amazon, the work you need to do involves more than setting up and distributing your book.

The process has three more parts that can boost your book’s visibility, standing, and sales. Before it even launches, make sure you plan for reviews, ads, and constant improvement of your marketing campaign.

1. Get Editorial Reviews

While reviews from casual readers are essential, see if you can get testimonials from more experienced or well-known people, too. Their opinions will validate your work that much more.

As Reedsy’s guide on Amazon editorial reviews explains, you can:

  • Track down blogs that specialize in book reviews.
  • List your book on Reedsy Discovery and find a reviewer there.
  • Reach out to prominent authors for their input.

Once you have your editorial reviews, you can feature your favorite quotes right on your book’s Amazon page, ready to convince people to hit Buy now.

Positive reviews make your book more appealing, but make sure you only get them through legitimate means. It’s easy to spot fake Amazon reviews, so don’t look for hacks that can see your book penalized.

2. Give Amazon Ads a Go

There are a few ways to promote your book through Kindle Direct Publishing. The most effective, however, is Amazon’s ad campaign system.

Explore Reedsy’s breakdown of Amazon ads for authors, especially their pros and cons. Advantages include the fact that you pay per click, can display your book to the perfect readers, and get sales data.

Reedsy on the Benefits of Selling Books With Amazon Ads

On the other hand, the platform is very competitive, you can’t really scale campaigns, and optimizing them is complicated. Once you know what you’re doing, however, ads on Amazon are the best way to boost your book sales on the platform.

Marketing your book elsewhere and getting expert help are also good ideas. For professional help, check out Reedsy’s book advertising professionals.

3. Keep Tweaking Your Book’s Presence on Amazon

Considering how many features you have access to on Amazon, there’s always something more you can do to push your book into the limelight. You just have to stay alert and learn how to make the most of the platform.

Make a note of Reedsy’s advice on selling books on Amazon and changes you can make to promote them better, such as:

  • Designing a more attractive book cover.
  • Editing the book’s description so that it’s catchier.
  • Making your bio more interesting–takes tips from Reedsy’s killer author bio guide.
  • Tweaking the book’s categories and tags.

Basically, if things aren't going according to plan, take a step back and assess how you can improve your book's attractiveness and sales without necessarily leaving the platform.

And if they are going well, don’t rest on your laurels. Try to understand what has worked for you previously and replicate or magnify that effect.

Self-Publishing on Amazon Needs Careful Planning

Design a great book and give it the best possible start and future on Amazon by setting it up correctly from the get-go and constantly boosting its standing.

If you have trouble with any part of the process, don’t hesitate to seek help. Marketing and publicity, for example, are very technical, so hiring someone with reliable experience is a wise investment.

At the same time, stay up to date with every opportunity on Amazon. Besides promotional tools and techniques, pinpoint special events throughout the year and try to get your book onboard.