| |
| |
|
Book Marketing Information |
|
|
|
Navigating the Amazon Sales Ranking
First, the disclaimers: Since the algorithm Amazon uses to generate its sales ranking is proprietary, the details contained herein are extrapolated from research and field tests. The resulting consensus finds Amazon's system to provide marginal sales data at best. To whit, read Amazon's own definition of its system, slightly paraphrased from their FAQ: "The Sales Ranking system exhibits how books are selling. The lower the number, the higher the sales. The calculation is based on sales and is updated each hour to reflect recent and historical sales of every item sold. We hope you find the Amazon.com Sales Rank interesting!" This last sentence seems to indicate Amazon's own perspective on the importance with which the sales rankings should be viewed. You're not supposed to find the sales rankings informative or helpful. You're supposed to find them interesting. In actuality, the process is somewhat more convoluted than they let on. Only the top 10,000 books are updated every hour and the ranking does not depend upon the actual number of books sold, but rather, on a comparison against the sales figures of the other 9,999 books within that same hour. Simultaneously, a trending calculation is applied to arrive at a computerized sales trajectory. So, hypothetically, a book that held a ranking of 2,000 at 2pm and 3,000 at 3pm, might hold a 4,000 ranking at 4pm, even if it actually sold MORE books between 3-4 than it did between 2-3. Books with rankings between 10,000 and 100,000 are recalculated once a day, rather than once an hour. Current projections, as well as historic sales information play a key role in these calculations. In fact, the predictive nature of the Amazon ranking system is what makes it possible for a newly-released book to outrank an older established title, even though the actual sales figures for the latter far exceed the former. Books with rankings over 100,000 are also recalculated every day and applied with historic sales information and projections, although in the case of these books, history takes a back seat. Sales projections and trending take an active role here, which is why a book's ranking can leap from 900,000 to 200,000 in the span of 24 hours or less. Does this mean the book has sold 700,000 copies in 24 hours? Absolutely not! What it does mean is that recent activity (i.e. purchases) for that book is trending higher than those 700,000 books it just surpassed. But, don't get excited just yet; since the activity of those 700,000 other books range from slow to stagnant, one or two orders are sufficient to catapult a ranking. If a book's ranking breaks into the top 100,000, the sales history calculation starts to rear its head, which is why a "phenomenon" book has a hard time maintaining a high, legitimate ranking. A phenomenon is defined by a book that leaps from the high hundred-thousands into the lower thousands (or better) in the span of 24 hours or less, usually due to some concentrated marketing initiatives. Since Amazon's sales history for that title doesn't support the leap, the spike occurs and then quickly drops again. HOW DOES ALL THIS TRANSLATE TO ACTUAL SALES FIGURES? Since the data is recalculated every hour and/or every day (depending upon a book's current ranking), it's impossible to get cumulative sales figures, although those figures are applied to the algorithm during the calculation. No, to get a very rough idea of the actual number of books being sold, the sales ranking has to be dissected dynamically, with the same immediacy as the ranking being calculated, (hourly for top 10,000 books or daily for top 100,000 books). Chart the ranking of a top 10,000 book every hour for 24 hours and divide by 24 to arrive at its average daily ranking. In the case of a top 100,000 book, take its ranking every day for 7 days and divide by 7 to arrive at its average weekly ranking. Bear in mind that this next piece of information is extremely arbitrary, based upon sales ranking/sales figure comparisons and data received from third party sources. In other words, it's probably completely wrong. But rather than disclaiming this chart until the cows come home, I'll just say this: It is difficult to make sense of something that doesn't make sense. But it sure is interesting, and now, perhaps, even slightly helpful. If the book's average ranking is: 2,000,000-plus, then perhaps a single inventory/consignment copy has been ordered. 1,000,000-plus, the current trends indicate total sales will most likely be under 40. 100,00-plus, then current trends indicate total sales will most likely be under 200. 10,000-plus, you can estimate between 1 - 10 copies are being sold per week. 1,000-plus, you can estimate between 10 - 100 copies are being sold per week. 100-plus, you can estimate between 100 - 200 copies are being sold per week. 10-plus, you can estimate between 200 - 1000 copies are being sold per week. In the top 10, you can estimate over 1,000 copies are per week Brent Sampson is the President & CEO of Outskirts Press Publishing at OutskirtsPress.com and author of Publishing Gems: Insider Information for the Self-Publishing Writer. Information at http://outskirtspress.com/publishinggems
MORE RESOURCES:
Book-Marketing - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
FSBO Author believes in Bookswaps Hi Noel,I absolutely love your website, As an MS sufferer I intend to buy your book and get "Back onto my feet." My motto this year is, "Again Alive In 2005!"I have published a book also. Top Ten Non-Techie Steps to Market your Book Online Are you an author who is looking for new ways to promote your book or business? Does the traditional promotion you do take too long and not bring you top results? Are you willing to investigate easy non-techie ways to get more book buyers?Check out these ten steps within "Ten Non-Techie Ways to Market your Book Online:"Step1. Ten Steps Preparation and FoundationWhen marketing your book Online, you need to attract the right customers to your Web site. Best Sellers Aren't Written - They're Made - It's All About Promotion Writing a book is becoming more and more of a trend these days. In fact, an estimated 5,000 mystery books were published last year in the United States alone, and that number is expected to grow. Online Book Marketing: How to Sell Your Book Even If You Are Not a Salesperson What you do after you have written your book is as much, if not more, important than the actual writing of it. You can take a great book and poor marketing and have very poor results. How Many Ways Can You License Your Tips Booklet? You've been thinking about writing a tips booklet. After all, it's shorter, faster, and easier than writing an entire book. Why Testimonials are Number One in Selling your Book or Service Even if your book or service is excellent, they won't sell well unless you give your potential customers a reason to buy. Testimonials work harder than other promotional words, so be sure to start early collecting them. 8 Easy Online Ways to Market Your Book For Free Marketing your book whether you went the POD, e-book, or traditional route can be a daunting process. Figuring out what works and what doesn't can take time, energy, and if you're not careful a lot of money. Why Write Articles to Promote your Book? Reach 15,000 to 100,000 targeted buyers every week Online. That's the best reason I know to write and submit how-to articles to opt-in ezines and top web sites. How to Schedule a Book Signing How would you like to sell more copies of your book? Would you like to read excerpts from your book to a captivated audience?Book signings are the cornerstone of an author's post-publication foundation. But how do you set them up?Organizing book signings, readings, and public appearances is one of the most important parts of a successful marketing campaign. Extend Your Books Life With a Sales Letter Authors, publishers and business owners are great at getting their books written and launched. But after the initial one-year honeymoon, sales slow down. 19 Ways to Secure Non-Returnable Book Sales and Sell More Books Surprisingly, book stores are not always your greatest source of book sales. Most authors and publishers do want their books to be available in all of the book stores, and rightly so. Promotion - Credibility Extras For many of us, marketing our titles is one of the most tedious tasks of being an author. Even authors who published with large New York houses are expected to take part in marketing and promotion. Raise Your Hand If Youd Consider Giving Up The Rights To Your Book Forever If Random House pulls up to your house with a U-haul filled with millions and wants to buy your book, maybe you'd consider giving up the rights forever. But, let's come back to the real world. Dont Clone your Book or Business Marketing Remember that the miracle of cloning sheep has its drawbacks. The main one--dying young. Make Big Profits from Small Booklets What is your excuse for not being published? "I don't know enough to fill a book." "I don't have time to write a whole book. How to Market Your Unsold Books on the Internet: Its Easy Your book expresses your wondrous information, your creativity, and your genius. It's your dream come true. Why Would I Buy Your Book? Six Steps to Your Tell and Sell - Part 2 How would you like to have countless people clamoring for your book and willing to visit your Web site to buy them? How would you even like to presell your self-published book before they are finished?Most authors and entrepreneurs wait until their Web site is designed before they think about marketing their products on it. What a shame!Six Steps to Build your Book's Bullet Proof "Tell and Sell"Part one of this article is available at www. How to Self Publish and Promote Your Own Book If you are reading this article then you have already toyed with the idea of self publishing. You may be unsure at this point and without a doubt, the decision to self publish, should not be taken lightly. Top Ten Ways to Promote Your Books Through Flyers A flyer is an excellent, inexpensive way to promote your book. What makes one flyer so much better than another? Use these top10 tips to make your flyer stand out from the crowd. Speaking for a Publication Why write a book and get attention and loads of contacts?Expertise can sometimes be defined by the articles, columns, responses and books you write. It does not take a lot of effort to write the articles and columns but it does take effort to write a book.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
