Amazon pulled the rug out again.
Kind of, anyway.
If you have studied book marketing strategy, you have likely seen the advice to email Amazon’s Help Desk and request that your book be added into additional categories on their platform.
The more categories you can accurately fit in, the bigger your book’s reach and chances of being seen by new audiences. Getting into “extra” categories also enables authors to choose a few small, super-niche categories where competition is lighter, thus allowing them to reach “best-seller” status in those categories—which also prompts Amazon’s algorithm to favor the book and show it to more shoppers.
This strategy is so popular, there have been third-party apps and programs developed to help authors find and analyze any additional niche categories that their book would qualify for. These are programs authors and publishers (myself included!) have invested money in.
I have utilized the additional categories option for almost all of the authors I work with—both self-published and traditionally-published. I also teach how to do it in my online course, because a wide array of categories (if they are all accurate to your story) gives a book a larger berth and more connection points to grow off of.
But this week, I am going to have to update my course. Because Amazon is no longer allowing any additional categories. Instead of up to ten, you now only get three categories, which you choose at the time you upload/publish your book. They have removed the Help Desk form where you could apply for more categories and instead only have a spot to “ask questions about your categories.”
Okay, so what does this mean for authors going forward?
CONS
Limited reach on Amazon
Harder to stand out/differentiate from other books
Harder for readers to find you
Harder to hit best-seller status on Amazon
Harder for self-published authors to compete against books with large publishers (Since publishing companies aren’t focused on Amazon strategy, most didn’t know they could add their books into more categories, so self-published authors who learned to do this had a slight leg up against the “big guys.”)
PROS
The categories dashboard when you upload your book into Amazon’s KDP platform is now MUCH more user-friendly and it is easier to find your appropriate categories and their entire long-tail sub-category options.
A three-category limit matches industry standard on other publishing platforms, such as the Ingram distribution system.
Increased value of being an “Amazon Bestseller.” (Truthfully, the Amazon Bestseller Badge had become unimpressive inside the publishing industry, because of how easy it was to game the system with small categories. Hopefully this new limit helps shift that perception.)
My overall thoughts: Amazon has a habit of jerking authors around by creating one way of doing things and then, just when everyone gets used to it, they change the rules. It’s annoying. That said, I do think the move to three categories is good overall. It will lead to a fairer market that doesn’t reward so heavily those invested in learning the “game.” Instead it will (hopefully) be a more accurate assessment of a book’s true popularity, with everyone playing inside the tough competition of an identical number of categories.
But be prepared: category strategy was never *just* about bestseller status. It was a way of finding your fans in a category that was less noisy. And it’s going to be harder to find your book’s ideal reader now.
I would be remiss if I didn’t point out how much this news proves the main message of my business: to teach authors the FOUNDATIONS of marketing. All these platforms, rules, trends, and algorithms will keep changing and teasing you. A technique that makes an author a millionaire one day, will be against a platform’s Terms of Service the next day. It is not wrong to try and learn “the system.” But PLEASE please please make sure you are building your marketing strategy upon the basic, historic way books have always sold.
What successful book marketing has always included:
A GOOD BOOK: don’t just crank out a book. Create something of value and power.
Relationships/Networking: Do you know your local bookstore owner? Are you plugged into the events of your regional library system? Do you have relationships with professional book reviewers/arts reporters?
Social Proof: Get Trade Magazine reviews (i.e. Publisher’s Weekly or Library Journal), Author blurbs recommending your book, and early reader reviews and mention them everywhere you possibly can.
Consistency: Pick a path where you want to talk about your book, show up regularly, and stick with it.
On Another Note…
I am playing around with the idea of a Boost Your Backlist Summer Challenge. This would be a short-term (4-6 week), low-cost marketing accountability group to get more sales of your backlist (your “old” books, not your most recent or upcoming title).
This would be designed to fit into your busy summer, so I would focus on small marketing moves that still get results, lightweight things you can do during the summer to make sure that backlist keeps selling (or starts up again), even as you enjoy time with family or the beautiful weather.
This group would be for both self-published and traditionally-published authors (though depending on your royalties deal, the usefulness of pushing your backlist will vary author-to-author in a traditional model. It would, however, be a great way to generate some buzz leading up to a new book release for you, even if the immediate financial benefit isn’t there.)
At this point, I am just gauging interest. If there is enough interest, we will do it. Please let me know if you would be interested in learning more by filling out this short form.
Oh, And Another Opportunity For You
The incredible Cat Margulis interviewed me for her upcoming Success Story event, which includes interviews with 12 Best-Selling Authors, Publishers & Book Marketing Experts who will show you how to launch your book, market it and sell it—so your book can generate significant sales, long after it’s released.
The event is a mix of live and pre-recorded interviews, all online so you can watch from home. It launches on June 14.
I have a complimentary ticket for you to attend. You can register HERE.