Sunday, June 26, 2011

Authors used 'marketing ruse' to become online bestsellers

A pair of aspiring British authors used an online "marketing ruse" to help propel their ebook to the top of the UK bestseller charts.

Amazon Kindle
The pair then used an "optimisation" tool on amazon.co.uk to liken their novel to the works of successful authors Dan Brown and Stieg Larsson in search results - helping sales of the ebook to rocket.
Their novel has now occupied the top spot on the website's UK Kindle chart for a fortnight and is shifting up to 1,900 copies a day. Their first novel, Killing Cupid, which they promoted through similar tactics, is at number three on the list.

Ms Voss, a 42-year-old creative writing graduate who works as an administrator at Kingston University, said that Amazon had now barred authors from using the tool.
"After four days the subtitle was removed," she said. "While this hasn't affected the book's ranking at all, it does mark a sea-change in how self-publishers will be able to promote their work in future. Cross-promotion is used by book publishers every day, but despite Amazon's move we are still at the top of the list."

Total sales of Catch Your Death have reached 30,000, though the pair will not be enjoying huge royalties just yet as the ebook is priced at just 95p and Killing Cupid at 49p, with the authors receiving 17.5p each for every ebook sold.


Rest of story at The Telegraph.

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