Best Series: The Rest of the Story

There were a few things that Jim Best wanted to highlight at the end of his presentation.

The first thing was that Amazon keeps adding features to help you sell more of your product on their site. An example is the new Author Stores. So make sure you keep your eyes peeled for new strategies. Along side their new features, he noted that Amazon was bit slow to propagate a few areas and that patience was needed:

• Discounts
  
• Look Inside
  
• Pairing
  
• Exploring Similar Items
  
• Also Bought/Also Viewed
  
• Key Phrases
  
• Amazon Staff Reviews
  

One of the most interesting things that Best presented, aside from his Top 10 Tips, was his lists of what did and did not work for him as an author trying to push his book in a very busy industry.

What Didn't Work on Amazon

• Amazon Associates
  
• Amazon Communities
  
• Amazon Contests
  

What Didn't Work Anywhere

• Adwords
  
• Traditional Media Review Requests
  
• Western-themed Organizations (Best's books are western fiction)
  
• Contests
  
• Unsolicited article queries
  
• Webring
  

What May Have Worked

• Advertised for 3 months in True West
  
• Distributed over 2,500 cards and bookmarks
  
• Published 2 websites: jamesdbest.com and stevedancy.com
  
• Published author's blog
  
• Email campaigns
  
• Shopkeeper Book Trailer (230 views)
  
• Independent bookstores
  
• Internet communities
  
• Mailed over 120 promos to True West respondents
  
• Sent 6 packages of books to soldiers in Iraq
  
• Left copies at OAT ship library
  

I'll leave you with the final Jim Best quote of the presentation:

"When you do nothing--nothing happens."

Well, that about hits the nail on the head.

For those of you who are ready to get busy, check out our FREE book marketing workbook that is a great way to map out your book selling campaign!