Feel like I 've been a little remiss in my promise to make this a business and lifestyle blog. I've been focusing much on the lifestyle part of it all. So, here is a little "business on the side" tip for those passionpreneurs who are thinking of writing and self-publishing a book, brought to you by the following sponsor:

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WITH 55% DISCOUNT, CAN I REALLY MAKE ANY MONEY SELLING MY BOOK ON AMAZON?

A client of mine recently emailed me the following:
"hey Walt,
I am not making any money selling my books because Amazon gets a
55% commission and printing and shipping the book costs me almost $13!"
What should I do?"


PART I: Crunching the Numbers
First, here's what he's referring to:
Let's say your book has 200 pages, sells for $24.95 and your printing
and shipping costs through your Print-on-Demand company = $13.50.

(i.e.
Printing = $7.00
Handling = $1.50
Shipping = $5.00
TOTAL: = $13.50)

Now, at 55% discount, that means Amazon will pay you 45% of $24.95, which is $11.23
for each book it sells on its site through the Amazon Advantage program.

You can see, therefore, that if it costs you $13.50 to make the book,
and you only earn $11.23 for it, that you LOSE $2.27 each time you make a sale.

You have two options.

1. Get your printing costs down below $11.23,
Reduce the page count, opt for a basic/media mail shipping, play around
with the trim size of the book to make it more cost effective.

OR
2. Raise your price.
Your book has to sell for at least X, where
45% of "X" should at least cover your printing costs.
(i.e. 0.45X = 13.50
X = 13.50/.45
X = $30

If neither of those two is an option, it might still be worth it to have
your books selling on Amazon. Here's why:


I. Larger orders will ease the pain
Hopefully as your book's popularity and the demand for it
increases, you'll start to receive
larger orders. Typically, the handling charge stays the same,
while shipping increases only marginally. So, NOW, when
Amazon orders TWO copies of your book, your cost analysis
looks like this

(i.e. for TWO books
Printing = $14.00
Handling = $1.50 (stays the same)
Shipping = $6.00 (increases slightly)
TOTAL: = $21.50)

But now, however, Amazon will pay you
24.95 x 2 x .45% = $22.45 for the two books.
Not a great difference, but at least you
made $0.90 or at the very least breaking even.


II. Being on Amazon adds legitimacy to your product.
There's a good percentage of people who refuse to purchase
my books directly through my website. That's why I've added
a "purchase on Amazon" link to all the product listings on
all of my sites. (I'll share a linking option that can earn
you a few extra dollars)

III. Being on Amazon helps you reach a wider audience.
It's still the first place book buyers worldwide go to
purchase a book.

There are people who START their searches for new and interesting
books on the Amazon.com site.


Having your product on the Amazon site may result in "purchase these two items"
link associations with other products extending the market you might
otherwise not reach.

Being on Amazon gets your name out there for future clients and other channels of
income like consulting, writing, collaborations, as well as exposure to media for
reviews, etc.


IV. Everything else about your listing with Amazon is
therefore multiplied in its potential reach

Industry reviews
Customer feedback
& your Amazon Ranking
all serve to increase exposure for you and your products.
Whenever I get a great review, I add it to my Amazon listing.
Whenever a customer or client emails me a great testimonial or review,
I request that they post it to the book's listing on the Amazon site.
Once you have an impressive ranking, you can then use it on
YOUR website (This book is ranked #500 on Amazon.com!") to increase
sales through that channel.

I therefore like to think of the 55% discount as a necessary price
to pay for the exposure and legitimacy that Amazon provides--with my
focus on the future, and the invaluable intangible good will that
providing a secure sales channel provides.

Now, having said that, here are some tips on how to maximize your Amazon
relationship

PART 2: THREE Ways to Maximize your Amazon relationship

There are THREE ways I make money through Amazon.

1. First, as a publisher, I'm a member of the Amazon Advantage Program.
That allows me a regular listing on Amazon and they place an initial order to have my books in stock. Then when people order, they order more from me to replenish stock. I just filled an order for 10 copies of Turn Your Passion into Profit a few minutes ago. This method gets more orders but you only get 45% of retail.
Amazon ships the order to the customer.

2. Second, I place my own competing listing in the Amazon Marketplace.
If you look to the right of the regular listing, you'll see people selling used copies of the book listed. I offer an autographed copy at a price just a few pennies less than the regular listing. I make more money through this method, but there aren't as many takers. I ship this out myself via Media Mail.

3. Third, I am also an Amazon Associate.
If you look on my sites you'll see an option for people to purchase my books through Amazon.
I place my associate code in this link so that if they do, and/or if they purchase ANYTHING from Amazon, I earn a commission.


So, in the long run, I'd have to say that my relationship with Amazon has been a good one.
I receive frequent orders, timely payments, great exposure and enough orders of two or more books,
plus Marketplace orders to make it worthwhile.


Today I received an Amazon order for 17 copies of Turn Your Passion Into Profit.

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