Amazon Algorithms explained

[Anna]

I received this email from eReaderNewsTodayand perhaps you did too. If you didn't then this might be useful.

Dear Authors and Publishers,

I’d like to invite you to a free training offer I put together for you with
Six Figure Author, Adam Houge.

In the past, this training has received rave reviews from New York Times Bestselling
authors and brand new authors alike. So no matter where you’re at in your
self-publishing journey this training will be extremely helpful.

It’s called: Learn the Amazon Algorithm: The 4 Step Formula That
Will Skyrocket the Book Sales Of Your Next Launch.

This is a LIVE training event which will take place on Wednesday, April 26
at 5:00 PM EST (2pm pacific)

In this training you will learn:

• How the amazon algorithm works for both the free and paid store
• The 8 irrefutable laws of ranking higher and sticking longer on Amazon's
algorithm (break these at your own risk)
• How to convert more random browsing customers into committed loyal readers
• A simple 4 step formula that will explode the sales of your next book launch

You can register here:
http://www.thefanbaseformula.com/free...

Adam Houge is an author to learn from. Having distributed over 2,500,000 books
himself, and having made a regular yearly six figure income from his books he has
agreed to share his secrets about Amazon’s algorithm.

Please remember that this is a LIVE event, so once you reserve your seat please
remember to come. We’ll send an email to you as a reminder before the training
begins.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Greg
Ereader News Today

If you are able to register I do hope you will report back! I can't attend, sob, sob. I did so want to explode.

[Anna]

Thank you, Alex. You are most probably right! Due diligence in checking him out is sensible. I nearly always ignore such things too. The delete button is pressed almost instantly. Yet this one had me wondering because I like mathematics and the way the computers figure out what I might like (yes, I can see how they do this bit!). Algorithms are fiendishly clever stuff and if we can find out more about them, then it might be to our advantage.

I changed the way I advertise because of something in another group or thread. I'm at the stage of 'every little helps'.

[Carole]

It never hurts to listen.

[Amy]

Jumps in to say-this is the type of thing I'd look into, take all the necessary steps and STILL not get anywhere, such is my past experience in other jobs.

[Marie Silk]

I can share my experience with it from last year. I'm not sure if this year will be any different, but hopefully it helps.

It started out with having to subscribe to his mailing list, and this is what he emphasizes is the main way to see sales. So I had to subscribe to watch the videos. Then I got a bunch of emails that told when the video will happen and "make sure you are there to watch". But then the video would be posted after the live session and could be watched later (more emails explaining that you only had so long to watch it). The first part of the vid was introducing himself and talking about his best seller status and book sales. Next he talked about marketing info. Lastly it was a sales pitch for a course he was offering (running in the thousands of dollars if I recall correctly).

I joined his facebook group which was useful for talking to a few different authors but that was about it. The group was mostly inactive...it appeared that some joined an exclusive FB group that apparently is invite-only and happens when you spend money on the course.

What followed after that was my email inbox getting [what I would consider] spammed with messages of high pressure sales. Sometimes I got two emails a day. Try this module or buy this product that streamlines this and will ensure you get lots of 5 star reviews. The emphasis was on building a subscriber list and getting reviews. Also keywords. Much if it was common sense stuff that most people have heard of like get a nice book cover and editor.

I eventually got weary of the constant high-pressure emails "Today is the last day you can watch this", "this is the last hour you can enroll in this course", "the sale for this module is only good today", etc. I unsubscribed because I didn't want to see the emails anymore.

There was some useful info in the free training that might be worth listening to. I did not agree with all of it but that doesn't mean I'm right. Just beware the many, many high-pressure sales pitches and emails that will probably follow. He must have made a deal with ENT to buy their mailing list or something. Last year it was Book Gorilla that was sending me emails about his course (that's how I found out about it).

[Anna]

Yes, thanks Marie. Phew! I shall not miss anything then. I had imagined (silly me) that there would be a talk about algorithms and more algorithms and I'd be sitting with pen and paper and marking down something that would be useful. Not a lot, but a little, and as I've said, every little helps.

Thanks Marie and Alex. But also to Carole for her wise words.

[Marie Silk]

I forgot to mention another element of it that was not my favorite. The free training came in parts. So you would watch one live vid and then have to wait a few days for the next vid and so on.

Here are some highlights regarding the algorithm as best as I can recall from the videos:

1. A Kindle Unlimited borrow counts as a sale when a reader opens the ebook (as far as ranks are concerned)
2. Optimize your book category to be one with less competition for the chance at being a "best seller"
3. Amazon gives better rank to books that sell steady over time as opposed to books with sales that spike and fall in short time
4. Bookbub is the king marketing site
5. Optimize keywords
6. Higher star reviews = higher on the algorithm and lower star reviews = lower on the algorithm
7. Books exclusive to Kindle won't be USA Today Best Sellers because Amazon sales aren't figured in to USA Today.

It looked to me like most if not all of his books were priced at 99 cents and promoted regularly from what I can see.

If you watch the videos, please let us know what you think. The man seems to know pretty well how Amazon operates. You might find a lot useful in the free training, and free is good :).

[Anna]

Thanks again, Marie. A useful confirmation. I've acquired numbers 1-6 through Goodreads chatter but I didn't know number 7. Nor do I care about number 7!

I am not trying to write a best seller. I am enjoying writing what I would like to read. I thought, when I started writing, that I should read some books from the NYT best seller lists. After my second, abandoned, book, I gave up wasting my time.

The trouble is, I'd also like to write crime thrillers or detective stories but I wouldn't have a clue where to begin. Apart from a murder, of course.

[Theodore]

I teach mystery writing at the local high school as a guest lecturer (my YA novel, The Hypnotist, written under the pen name Alyssa Devine, is part of the school's Core Genre (Mystery) English Program; I gave 40 classes last year). If you're going to the trouble of writing a mystery, my suggestion is to make the crime a murder...preferably several!

[Anna]

Alex wrote: "Anna Faversham wrote: "Thanks again, Marie. A useful confirmation. I've acquired numbers 1-6 through Goodreads chatter but I didn't know number 7. Nor do I care about number 7!

I am not trying to ..."

Thanks Alex! You are wonderful. However, I do have crime in my books, historical crime, great big gangs doing unspeakable things, and murders galore, as you suggest Miss Alyssa! But the gangs go around unhindered mostly and don't give a damn. It's poor ol' Lieutenant Thorsen fighting against all the odds because that's how it was in some parts of the UK.

But I fancy writing a Father Brown, a Midsomer Murder, or even better an Endeavour or a Morse. Now that would be an achievement. I could be the new Agatha Christie. Excuse me, I'm off to dream.

Alex, I've copied and pasted your guidance, for when I finally finish my historical stint. Even then, I know what I must write and it isn't a Morse. These stories get in your head and bash around until you let them out. Anyone else feel like that sometimes? I've told mine it's got to wait. Wip has priority.

[Theodore]

Anna Faversham wrote: "Alex wrote: "Anna Faversham wrote: "Thanks again, Marie. A useful confirmation. I've acquired numbers 1-6 through Goodreads chatter but I didn't know number 7. Nor do I care about number 7!

I am n..."

Anna, my wife and I would not miss any of the TV shows you mentioned. She regularly fills up the DVR with them. They are simply the best. On this side of the Pond, we favor Fargo, House of Cards, Better Call Saul, and a host of others too numerous to mention. So many opportunities, so little time.

[Anna]

I've sneaked a sort of Father Brown into all of my books. Couldn't resist it. And quite a few people say he's their favourite character. He's not a super sleuth though, just very aware.

Theodore - House of Cards (UK) was a favourite here too.

[Justin]

Amazon Algorithms? Ahh! I barely know how Facebook algorithms work and those suck big time. Seeing that Amazon is bigger I feel as though there's are even more confusing, rigging and time consuming to figure out.

[Justin]

So having spent some time on Amazon over the last few months I was able to notice a pattern with their algorithms. This is by no means 100% but rather just my opinion and assessment of how they may or may not work.

Placing your books in appropriate and fitting categories seems to effect the algorithms in someway, not in a big dramatic way but effect it nonetheless. Applying your keywords on top of choosing the categories also effects in pattern some what. When someone buys your book as we all know it effects the ranking but it also tells Amazon that the book should be monitored and in return plays a factor in the algorithm.

I have not yet run an Amazon ad on Amazon but I am fairly certain it dramatically effects and toys with Amazon's algorithm by pushing the books stats forward, tells Amazon it's a big deal and screws with their pattern big time if the book flies off their virtual shelves.