My Personal Tips to Becoming an Amazon Best Seller

So, here I am, juggling three challenges this month. Yes, you read that right—three! I might have overachiever written all over me, but here’s the thing: everything is starting to fall into place. The cool part? These challenges are actually working together, inspiring each other. One challenge sparks an idea for the next, and I’m able to multipurpose content across platforms. Currently, I’m diving into the Mighty Content Marketing Challenge, which is all about fighting perfectionism and just showing up—as is, flaws and all, and getting things done. I figured this was the perfect moment to share my experience from last month when I became an Amazon Best Seller with my book, Being Visual in Your Business, which I created during Karen Gruber’s Soul Writer: 40 Days to Write Your Best-Selling Book challenge.

Oh, and just in case you’re curious, the third challenge I’m tackling is the Ultimate Blog Challenge, where you write a blog post every single day for a month. So yes, I’m pulling a multi-tasking move, weaving these challenges together in a way that actually keeps me focused and more productive. Winning!

Now, back to my book launch. During yesterday’s Soul Writer Retreat call, I was sharing my Amazon Best Seller story with fellow participants and Kay suggested that I write out my tips. I want to give a big thanks to Kay for the inspiration to create this blog post. I’m always looking for ideas for blog posts so if you have one, please comment below. It was just two weeks ago when I launched my new book. I’ll be real with you—I rushed to finish it before the whirlwind of my Halloween and Christmas Pet Photo season kicked in. And honestly? I had to kick perfectionism to the curb. I just wanted to get it done because otherwise I would have wanted till next year. But looking back, I kind of wish I had slowed down just a bit. I followed some advice that might not have been the best move for my launch. Instead of waiting 10 days to order and review an author copy, I went ahead and published it—without telling anyone! I got my copy through Amazon Prime in two days, made a couple of quick tweaks, and then finally announced it.

And here’s the kicker: I didn’t even realize that Amazon gives you a better shot at making the top 100 Best Sellers list in those first few days after publishing. When I finally checked, I was #87! I mean, how amazing is that?! But, oh, if I had just planned a bigger launch, gotten my author copy earlier before hitting publish, and announced it the right way… I might’ve ranked even higher. But I am so happy, surprised, grateful and thankful that my book made the list.

So here’s my advice to you if you’re aiming for a Best Seller launch: don’t rush it! Give yourself time to order and review your author copy, make any changes, and properly plan out your launch. It does take 24-72 hours for Amazon to update any changes. So please take you time and schedule extra time because everything takes longer than you think. Always schedule extra time.

1. Create Amazon KDP account – Set up Author page, bio, headshot photo ahead of time
2. Create Book Draft in KDP – Add cover, title, description, keywords, categories (Maybe do steps 1 & 2 while having someone proofread your book)
3. Upload completed book file and order Author copy (10+ days)
4. Make any edits (1+ days depending on how fast you make edits and do you want someone else to prof-read the physical sample author copy) and upload new book file (24-72hours)
5. Pre-announce your book and get your audience ready to buy on Launch Day
6. Launch Day – Celebrate and tell everyone!
7. After Launch – Keep promoting and sharing everywhere for the next year+

Create your Amazon KDP account ahead of time. Fill in your author bio, upload a headshot, and enter all the necessary info like your book title, description, and categories before you’re even ready to hit publish. Do a bunch of research on finding the best categories and keywords for your book. Look at books similar to yours and see what categories and keywords they have used. Doing this in advance will save you a ton of stress down the line.

I created my book very DIY and I did have lots of formatting issues with Google Docs and Kindle Create since I created both a printed and Kindle version. My books are a little bit trickier because they have lots of photos in them and I was focused on getting the photos to line up with the paragraphs that they belonged with. I also created a companion Action Journal in Canva and I really wish Canva had guidelines like Photoshop. In Photoshop when I create flyers, I use guidelines at 1/4″ margins so that I don’t put images or text too close to the edge on the pages. So, after uploading the Action journal and then checking the preview Amazon KDP gave me lots of warnings that my images where too close to the edge, so I had to go back to Canva multiple times and move and shrink graphics and text, so that nothing got cut off.

One more pro tip: after your book is published, you can boost its appeal with A+ content on Amazon. Go to your Amazon KDP account page, click the three dots next to your book, choose “Promote and Advertise,” and scroll down to add A+ content. There, you can add extra photos and text about your book or yourself as an author, using Amazon’s layout options to make your page look more visually appealing and professional. It can take up to 7 days for the content to be approved, but that’s okay the A+ content is just bonus icing on your book listing.

Good luck on your journey to becoming a Best-Selling Author! Remember, don’t let perfectionism hold you back, but don’t rush the process either. Take it one step at a time—you’ve got this!

After your book launch, the promotion doesn’t have to stop—far from it! In fact, the year after your launch is a critical time to continue building momentum and reaching new audiences. One thing I’ve learned from a coach is that I can host as many book signings, parties, and events as I want—there’s no limit! So, I’m spending the entire year celebrating Being Visual in Your Business. Whether it’s through virtual events, in-person signings, online workshops, or collaborative projects with other businesses, there’s always an opportunity to share the excitement. Promoting your book isn’t a one-day event; it’s an ongoing process. Consistency is key. By continually creating opportunities to engage with readers, you keep your book relevant and visible long after the initial launch. So, let’s make this year a celebration of success, one event at a time!

I would love it if you could help celebrate my book with my official Virtual Book Launch Party on Friday Oct. 11th, 2024. RSVP Now