How to hit #1 on Amazon... Showing 401-450 of 2,339

[Elise]

Hi Todd, I went over to check the tags on Your Roots Are Showing--and it dawned on me that I didn't choose my three tags very wisely. This was after I checked on the relative sizes of the communities associated with each tag. 'Romance' has more than 18,000 readers. Is it too late to change the Humor tag to Romance?
I'm now going over to tag other authors....

[Jaimey]

Todd wrote: "I'm wondering why my Amazon review of Vespa isn't posted yet - they usually get posted immediately. I'm wondering if the review is "flagged" because ..."

I wrote a review that took a while to post once. I'm pretty sure it was flagged because I added a link to Goodreads. Apparently--stupid me for not realizing it sooner--Amazon frowns on external links in reviews. Duh... Anyway, I wouldn't be at all surprised if "Nazi" is what the problem is. No one else who reviewed Vespa seems to have used that word. I'm sure Amazon gets a plethora of mean, nasty reviews, some of which use certain words in a mean, nasty way, and it has become policy to "review" any review containing those words.

...or I'm just rambling to hear myself type...

Everyone, have a lovely--hopefully warm--day! (It is -4 here but feels like -16. Why did I ever move back to Michigan??)

[Jaimey]

I thought I should add, Todd...

I am not in any way implying that you wrote a mean, nasty review, of course. I read it, and obviously, it could not have been more glowing.

[Todd Fonseca]

Elise,
I updated your post on the blog to include "romance"!
T

[Todd Fonseca]

Argh!
I need an editor full time for my reviews - once my review of vespa does get posted I'll have to edit (can't spell Crichton!)

As I review your books, please feel free to point out my poor spelling and I'll correct!
Argh!!
T

[Dee]

Hey Todd, It took me forever to be able to just pronounce Crichton :)

[Elise]

Thank you for changing the tag for me, Todd. You're quick!

[Chariss]

Rowena wrote: "Chariss,

I did tag yours.

Thanks Rowena. I see my tags climbing -- and it is thrilling. I really appreciate the hard work everyone is doing on the "tag, you're it" project. It is incredible and I am so glad to know this is how it works on amazon. So, again, Todd -- thanks for getting us all started! ~~ Chariss

Dee,

If you tag a book, then re-tag it, it cancels out the first tag. Tagging a third time will restore.

Now... off to locate Elise's!

Best wishes,
Rowena Cherry"

[Leslie Ann]

Hi everyone,

Just to let you all know, I'm busily tagging everyone's books, regardless of whether or not I'd actually read them myself. BTW, how do I find out what level my book has reached?

Leslie Ann Moore
author of Griffin's Daughter

[Carole]

Thank you Dee for the trouble you have taken to put me right with the review links -- I can't think how I missed it before! I have tagged Todd as helpful as I went along :)--- Still haven't found the review of Vespa, though!

[Carole]

Dee wrote: "Here is the review page on Todd's Tag Team site.

http://tagmybookonamazon.wordpress.co...

Oh, and if you want to leave a "yes" on Todd's Amazon.com reaviews under "Was this rev..."

Thank you Dee,
Yes, have done that.
Carole

[K.G.]

Friends, this isn't the thread to post what happened to me 2 days ago, but I urge you all to read my panic attack entitled HELP. What happened to me can happen to anyone with a book at amazon. Please read, and if anyone has had this happen to them, let me know what you did to correct the problem. Kathy

[Ginnetta]

Gina wrote: "Dee wrote: "I think that Amazon gets wonky sometimes...I KNOW that I tagged all of your books months ago...and when I just now re-checked and it showed that I had not tagged any ... grrrr."

That's..."

Same thing happened to me. I know I tagged and then a few weeks later... Poof! By the way if I am missing anybody please let me know I will retag

[Gina]

I know this is a tagging thread, but I have a quick question about Amazon sales rankings. The Wonderful Demise of Benjamin Arnold Guppy is ranked no. 98 in the humorous books category at Amazon UK. Is that good? I know it won't last more than an hour, but it got me thinking and I'm just wondering what's considered a good rank.

[Todd Fonseca]

Hi Gina,
Wow 98 sounds great!
I don't know if you use title z, but it's a great way to track sales on Amazon. It also has an FAQ on amazon ranks. You can check it out here:

http://www.titlez.com/FAQ.aspx

[Dave]

Hi Todd - more great advice. Thanks. Just an aside, I've tagged over thirty books now and have received ten in return. Is this usual or am I doing something wrong?

Dave

[Dave]

Gina - congratulations!

Dave

[Gina]

Dave wrote: "Gina - congratulations!

Thanks Dave, I think my mother must have bought up a load of my books :o)

Todd wrote: "I don't know if you use title z, but it's a great way to track sales on Amazon. It also has an FAQ on amazon ranks."

Thanks Todd. I'd never heard of it, but I've signed up and I'll be tracking my books from now on. It's a shame it doesn't cover the UK site too... that's where most of my sales are.

[Dee]

Hi Dave,

I went to your Amazon.com site yesterday to tag your books, but I noticed some of the books did not have any tags assigned to them.

Beatrice Beecham's Fete of Fate (Book Two) (Paperback)
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36...

Beatrice Beecham's Fete of Fate (Book One)
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36...

I added a few tags...hope that will help :]
adventure
mystery
Young Adult
Young Adult Fiction

I tagged all the books that were listed under your Goodreads.com page.

[Thersa]

Dave, I just went and tagged your books. I think I got them all. I'm sort of tagging from both ends of Todd's Tag Your It list. Unfortunately, I think tagging will always be a bit disproportionate. I've tagged a good many more than I've gotten as well. I just chalk it up to active taggers versus...not so active taggers.

Congrats Gina! I did the happy dance when I got down to 99,000 on Amazon. I also do title z as Todd suggested and find it truly interesting. You can add related books or friend's books and kind of see daily where things stand. I got my big jump in sales after my Christmas Card went out. I also thought the same thing about the Japanese site. Heck, the Japanese site doesn't even have sales rankings on the Amazon page.

T

PS Gina, remember to take the screen shot/print screen and save it. And then again when you hit number one!

[Gina]

Thersa wrote: "Gina, remember to take the screen shot/print screen and save it. And then again when you hit number one!"

I got a screen shot, and it's in my little folder of 'golden moments.' Do you suppose that getting a screen shot in your dreams when you hit no.1 counts? I do that every night :o)

[Todd Fonseca]

Hi Dave,
Regarding tags, not everyone is as good about tagging others. In the last few months I've been checking folks profiles to see how they are keeping up with tagging and if they do not participate, I remove them from the list site.

In my newsletter I send reminders and warnings. Not everyone tags everything (they may disagree with the subject matter, etc.) but I look for at least 50% participation to keep their book live on the site.

Most folks tag weekly (after my newsletter) but some catch up once a month so some tags may take a while.

T

[Rai]

Hey Todd, re: your question about your Amazon reviews sometimes not showing up immediately - that has happened to me, too. I don't know why it is, though I agree, posting an external link is something I think trips the process up. Give it a couple of days, and if it's still not posted, you can contact the Amazon help team. I did that once about a review I posted, they said to repost it (it had been awhile), when I did that, their system told me I had already posted a review of this product, (the one that hadn't shown up), then sure enough a couple of days later it finally appeared.

Let us know when your review finally appears!

Rai

[Todd Fonseca]

Thanks Rai!

[Dave]

Dee - much thanks for that. Yes two book are no longer available - they were self published titles through lulu.com that were acquired by my traditional publisher. Thanks so much for going to the trouble to tag them for me.

Thersa - again, a big thank you for your tags. I believe I have tagged your book already, but will check back. I'm owrking my way through the entire list. Those who are just receiving tags and not returning them - tut, tut! Too mercenary for me!It's this approach to life that will ultimately see those authors fail.

Todd - just to say thanks again for an inventive thread. I shall continue to tag as long as there are books added.

Best

Dave

[K.G.]

Dave, can't remember if I told you, but I tagged you a few days ago when I was on a tagging rampage! Hope you got mine too. I'm willing to tag anyone. Just let me know. Smiles, Kathy

[Dave]

Hi Kathy

Many thanks. I'm about halfway through the entire list. If I haven't tagged you yet, I will. You have my word.

Best

Dave

[Todd Fonseca]

All,
So my Vespa review finally made it on Amazon!
Also, I finished reading "The Trouble With Being God" and will work on that review.

Also, working on the newsletter and updating the blog! Whew another busy weekend!

Thanks taggers!

Todd

[Todd Fonseca]

Hey All - I wrote a post on the blog regarding choosing tags. If interested, check it out here:

http://tagmybookonamazon.wordpress.co...

T

[Todd Fonseca]

Hey all, more book sales tracking options (for those outside the US!).

Booklert can track these sales.
http://www.mcqn.com/booklert/
Check it out!

Todd

[Gina]

Excellent Todd, thanks for that! :o)

[Dave]

Hi everyone - phew, that's it. If your book is on Todd's remarkable Tag Your It site then I have tagged it. Every single one up to Jessie's book. From this point on I shall swing by every day and tag the newbies.

Best

Dave

[Vera]

Hi Todd,

I hope I am tagging correctly. Today I tagged Best Year Ever and Vespa - both look like great reads. Thank you to all who have tagged my book, much appreciated. Will tag daily, it's beginning to become a habit!

[Todd Fonseca]

Dave and Vera - thanks for the tagging! It's a lot easier after you go through the first time as I update the site on average once a week.

[Thersa]

Ooo, Todd that Booklert looks like just what I was looking for (and Gina, too, I bet).

Thanks so much. I'm going to sign up now.

terrie

[E.A.]

Todd,

You say there's a tag list? How do I find it?

[Carole]

Elizabeth,
I'm sure Todd will answer, but I've had such a lot of help in finding things from the people on this list too, that I'd like to pass it on.

Here's where you start looking for Todd's Tagging Team.

http://tagmybookonamazon.wordpress.co...

Tag away, and may you enjoy it,
Carole

[E.A.]

Thanks. It'll give me something to do when I'm bored. Wish I had time to read them all. When I finish my book, I'll be submitting to this group. Won't be for awhile, though.

[Carole]

I have just seen to the latest books requiring tags. Did anyone else have trouble with Matt Lynn's book Death Force? There were no boxes available for the tick, and just ticking the name did not change the number of tags written in brackets beside it.

[Thersa]

Carole, I had problems with Matt Lynn's book as well. It looks like it's the UK Amazon, and maybe they do things differently?

terrie

[Rowena]

It's possible that you have to buy a book from the UK Amazon before you can tag/review/comment.

[Rowena]

Taggers,
Once you have enough tags to show up in a "community" you might consider starting a few tasteful discussions about your subgenre/words in your tag in addition to the discussions you suggest about your book(s).

I have not yet started a sperm donor discussion (LOL!!!) but I am moderately active in the futuristic romance community.

The thing to remember on Amazon is that the readers appreciate authors who are genuine (ie interested in more than pitching their own books).

Best wishes,
Rowena Cherry
Knight's Fork

[Todd Fonseca]

All,
I just stumbled upon the site:
http://www.stumbleupon.com/
Looks like a few of you are there - looks interesting.
If you join, I'd really appreciate giving the "thumbs up" to the tagging blog.
If interested, go to the stumbleupon website, join and have the toolbar placed on your browser.
Then, visit the tagging blog as you normally would:
http://tagmybookonamazon.wordpress.com/
Finally, click the "I Like It" thumbs up and add comments (might want to include language about book promotion or amazon tagging).
Thanks all!
Let me know if you want your site "stumbled" as well, and I'll do the same...
Todd

[Rowena]

Todd,
I've just caught up on the Tag You're It... I think. :-)

Thank you to everyone who has tagged Forced Mate, Insufficient Mating Material, and Knight's Fork as "futuristic romance" or "futuristic"!

I'm on Stumbleupon. (rowenacherry) Those who are on youtube with book trailers can "Share" which brings up a menu of sites that will accept feeds, including Stumble Upon, Reddit, Digg It, de li cious and more.

Best wishes,
Rowena Cherry

[J.R.]

Thanks to everyone who has tagged my book. I think I'm caught up again and awaiting Todd's next update.
I also want to thank Todd for providing this opportunity. I've got to say this is one of the most helpful and informative groups I've found on the web.

[Gina]

I've started stumbling... I've been stumbling about for years, so it's nothing new really :o)

[Sandy]

I'm staggering … but I will stumble upon anyone who would like me to. I'll also be friends. Most of the time I'm sandynathan on the various social media. The rest of the time, I forget who I am. Not good. We should make this effort simple and easy to remember. The sites are many and aging happens.

Todd––is this something that can happen through your site? Stumble after tagging?

I desperately need info on how to get blog postings to all my social sites without me needing to post them.

Does anyone belong to IBPA? Formerly the PMA (Publishers' Marketing Association, the largest association for small presses) and host to the Ben Franklin awards? This is an invaluable membership; they provide all sorts of services, like low cost promotion opportunities, the Publishers' Universities and BEA and other places, ways to exhibit with them way cheaper than doing it yourself. Their newsletter is worth the membership cost. http://ibpa-online.org

Someone had an article on streamlining web presence in the last IPBA newsletter. I got as far as successfully submitting my new blog to Feedburner, when I collapsed. What then?

And, I've got part 3 of my write-up of my Amazon Bestseller Day up on http://yourshelflife.com, my blog promoting peace, love, and authors' sanity.

Thanks for the good comment on the blog, Rowena. I also like what you say above about just talking to readers instead of trying to pitch one's book all the time. That gets old. And irritating.

This is a day off. Will tag and write more tomorrow. Maybe stumble some.
Numenon

[Author]

blogertize.com will tell you everthing about blogging if you can understand it.

[Todd Fonseca]

Sandy,
Good tips and nice blog! Good question on adding stubmleupon on my blog - I'll put my thinking cap on!

[Todd Fonseca]

Johanna wrote: "blogertize.com will tell you everthing about blogging if you can understand it."

Johanna,
Interesting blog on blogging. But wow, 12 blogs +, that is a lot to maintain. I'll have to give that some thought. Anyone else blogging that much?!