One of the things that most authors struggle with, is to actually make a profit by writing and selling books. And this is not different for Amazon Bestselling Authors.
My Amazon Bestseller Course primarily focuses on how to get your book on the Bestseller Lists for a couple of days, which is not sufficient to generate consistent income, unless authors really focus on creating an outstanding book and a whole sales system around it.
Therefore I want to teach you in the following, what you can do, to actually benefit from your Bestseller status right now and in the long run. Here are different opportunities:
Watch a video taken from my course on how to benefit from being a bestselling author:
Or read the article featuring 9 ways to benefit from being a bestselling writer:
a) Become/register as a speaker
Did you know that “Bestselling Authors” get more money for lectures and speaking engagements? According to the Forbes magazine, New York Times bestselling authors can command up to $40K and up, per speech and Bestselling authors in general between $2,500 and $ 40,000 per speech according to the New York Times.
Being a Bestselling authors just boosts your credibility enormously. Of course, it will be easier for you to land speaking engagements with non-fiction (eg. business, medicine, etc.) but you can get them as a fiction author as well. Think about the target audience for your book and where it would make sense that you speak. Then make a list of events and contact them personally. Be clear about what you offer, communicate good references and start to get extra income from speaking engagements.
b) Write about your Bestseller
Success attracts people and it’s very interesting to find out more about it. That’s why I recommend to authors that they share their stories of how they became Bestselling authors, what they have learned, etc. The media is interested in Bestselling authors as long as you can offer them a real story.
But you don’t necessarily need to reach out to journalists and online magazines; you can start the share your story on your blog as well. Just type into Google “How I became a bestselling author” and you will find dozens of stories on blogs and popular newspapers and magazines as well.
A highly ranked article in Google can bring you fresh traffic every month that you (only) need to convert into sales in the long run. Don’t underestimate the power of your Bestseller story.
c) Update your CV
Unless you are already selling thousands of books every month, you will very likely still have a job, speaking engagements, etc. next to your writing career. Whenever you apply for a job, you need a profile or even a CV. I highly recommend that you update your profiles and that you include your Amazon Bestseller status. The odds are high that you will get paid more in your jobs.
d) Approach agents and publishing houses
As a bestselling author you have the proof that your book is able to sell. That is what agents and publishing houses actually want. It is a proof of concept, something that venture capitalists in business always want to see. Self-publishing gives every author the opportunity to get this proof of concept nowadays.
I recommend that you create a list of publishing agents and publishing houses that you would love to work with and that you contact them with a compelling “book kit” that makes it highly visible that your book already is an “Amazon Bestseller”.
Many successful writers, such as Jack Canfield, Amanda Hocking, BC Schiller, E. L. James and many more, originally self-published before one or all of their works got acquired by publishing houses and the authors in turn a nice paycheck.
e) Create book series/Sell further books
Having a bestseller that sells on a regular level is one of the best prerequisites for creating a series or sequel. The most successful movies and books have been part of series, such as Harry Potter, James Bond, The Hunger Games, Twilight, and many more.
The biggest advantages of installments are that you can promote further books in the ones that are already selling, that you already build on a brand or characters that your reader know and love and that you add proof to your new book in the reader’s mind, as they already loved your first books.
In case you don’t want to write more books, you can also think about dividing your existing book into parts or to create smaller installments, such as alternative endings, bonus books or background insights.
A great example for creating a powerful book series is British writer Mark Dawson. His crime thriller series sold hundred thousands of copies and you can look at how phenomenally he markets his books by looking at his website: www.markjdawson.com (Find out more about his story: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaymcgregor/2015/04/17/mark-dawson-made-750000-from-self-published-amazon-books )
f) Create new revenue streams (courses, consulting, etc.)
The problems with books are low prices and profit margins compared to other products and services. Let’s say your e-book costs $2 and you get 50% royalty, resulting in a profit of $1. In order to earn $1,000 you would therefore need to sell 1,000 books. That’s a lot and a number that is only reached by a small percentile within the top 1% of authors on Amazon. And in this calculation costs for marketing, etc. are not included.
The point that I want to make is, that it is very difficult to earn a lot of money with books alone. On the other hand there are services connected to your book that you can offer, which have way bigger profit margins.
Take a look at the following table:
| Amazon E-book | Course | Consulting Fee | Speaking Eng. | |
| sales price | $2 | $100 | $1,000 | $2,500 |
| est. profit | $0,50 | $50 | $500 | $1,000 |
| items needed | 2,000 | 20 | 2 | 1 |
| revenue target | $1,000 | $1,000 | $1,000 | $1,000 |
g) Amazon Affiliate and Affiliate Programs in general
I am often surprised to see the big number of books on Amazon that I get referred to without an affiliate code within the link. Having your affiliate code within a link to Amazon means that you will get a small commission in case this item or other qualified items get sold on Amazon later.
Its easy money, however you already need a good amount of traffic, in order to guarantee that registration, installation and financial management pay off in the end. If you are an established writer and/or established website owner, please head over to the Amazon Affiliate program and add Amazon affiliate links to your book and other Amazon items you promote.
h) Get passive income
The challenge with writing is that it takes a lot of time. Time in which you are not able to earn money, unless you have a source of passive income. Earning passive income is the holy grail of financial planning and the only real way to write for a living, that’s why I recommend that you read the best books and take the best courses on this subject that you can.
The ideal case is of course that you sell enough books to cover your monthly costs. Calculate how many books you need to sell in order to earn enough every month and make a plan on how to reach that number.
i) Write for a living
How much money do you need for life every month? For some of you this sum might be only $1,000 for others $5,000 and up. Reflect about your number for a moment and write it down.
This is the sum, that you definitely need to earn each month connected to your author career in order to be able to write for a living from now on. In a next step make a plan on how to reach that sum connected to writing.
A basic calculation can look like this:
– $1000 revenue with book sales (200 books for $5 sold every month)
– $1000 speaking engagement (1 speaking engagement needed every month)
– $1000 revenue with course selling (eg. 20 courses for $50 per month)
– $250 Sum of affiliate income, ad revenue on website, etc.
– $750 amazon fees, marketing costs, etc.
= $2500 needed every month for living
Take pen and paper and make your own calculation. Being an Amazon bestselling author will definitely make it easier to reach your financial goals, whether you are a full time writer or just write next to your full time job.
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Blogpost Featured Image Copyright: Brittany Stevens (Flickr) [CC Licence]: https://www.flickr.com/photos/brittanystevens/13947832357/