Amazon Book Marketing: 4 Powerful Ways to Boost Your Pre-Order that Won’t Cost a Dime

by Penny Sansevieri | Jan 30, 2024 | Amazon Updates & Marketing Tips

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I just released my latest book about Amazon book marketing, The Amazon Author Formula. And (not to brag) my book held onto the coveted #1 New Release flag the entire month it was up for pre-order. But how I did it might surprise you. I talk about this a lot, how to work within the Amazon system to boost your book and I’m absolute proof that it works.

In an age where there are over 8,000 books published each day in this country – my little book for authors keeping the #1 New Release flag for 30 days and counting is a big deal.

So if you’re ready to take advantage of some free tools that are often underutilized, but extremely helpful for gaining early traction and visibility, let’s take your Amazon book marketing up a notch.

Amazon Followers

How many followers do you have on Amazon? If you aren’t sure, or don’t even know what it means to be an Amazon follower, you’re not alone. Of the four tools we’ll discuss today, this one is almost always overlooked.

So what is an Amazon follower? It’s someone who wants to know when you release new books – simply put, it’s a fan!

Amazon gives shoppers the option to follow their favorite authors so they know exactly when a new book is coming out. Amazon will notify followers via email roughly two weeks ahead of the release if the book is up for pre-order, directing them to sales page. And they’ll email again when the book releases.

Think about that for a moment. People spend lots of money on Amazon, it’s the go-to for millions to buy everything from books, to bandaids, to car parts and gourmet olive oil! When Amazon emails them encouraging them to purchase your book, that’s powerful.

The above email went out to thousands of followers on Amazon, with no extra effort or cost on my part, and it helped to sell a ton of pre-orders!

So simply put, your goal should be to encourage readers to follow you on Amazon. You can do this by linking to your Author Central page on where readers can find the follow button at the top by your photo:

And you might be thinking, great, but how can this help my current book?

That’s not the point, we’re talking long-term success here!

Don’t get shortsighted when it comes to what you can achieve with strategic Amazon book marketing because the long-term strategies are the ones that typically give you a better return for your efforts.

Narrow Categories

When I talk about Amazon optimization, I always talk about the beauty of narrow categories.

They aren’t as glamorous as being the #1 bestselling book in fiction overall, but very few people get to the top of major categories. It doesn’t mean that your book isn’t deserving of it, but the competition is fierce, and you can waste a lot of time taking an “all or nothing” attitude.

Instead, aim to be #1 in a narrow category.

Remember how I said that my book has held the #1 New Release flag for a month? Well, that’s how I did it. With a narrow category, very little competition, and boom – the coveted bestseller flag.

And the great thing about this flag is that it follows your book everywhere you find it on Amazon, including your Amazon ads, have a look:

Now you may say, “Well, if it’s a narrow category, then are you really selling a lot of books?” To which I say, again, you’re missing the point. The flag is a sales tool, it’s an eye-catcher, and it tells a shopper the book is getting attention.

The flag is social proof, and consumers love social proof. Social proof sells books.

It also piques the interest of influencers and the media. So find that narrow category and earn that flag.

Amazon A+ Content

During the pre-order phase, you’re pushing readers to a “naked” page, meaning there are no reviews on it. You might have some industry reviews, which is fantastic, but that’s not usually the norm.

As I talked about in the previous section, a bestseller flag can help, but it’s also not guaranteed. Some genres are just packed with books, even the narrow categories have tens of thousands of titles to compete with.

So what else can you do to enhance your Amazon book marketing?

Use A+ content to add more imagery to your page, and more content that tells readers what your book is about and why they need to buy it.

If you write non-fiction you can emphasize the unique selling points, you can appeal to them emotionally and psychologically.

If you write fiction it’s important to convey the vibe and tone of your book, because genre fans have expectations you need to meet if you want them to stay on your retail page and potentially click buy.

if you’re unfamiliar with A+ Content be sure to check the Resources section below.

BookBub Followers

Much like Amazon, BookBub also notifies followers when you have a new book out, or a new book up for pre-order. If you aren’t familiar with BookBub head on over to their website and claim your author account. Add your books. Rate and review some titles in your topic or genre. Start networking. By “networking” I mean follow relevant influencers and similar authors, all of whom will hopefully follow you back. It’s a numbers game. Keep it up and things will start clicking.

And I realize this may not sound exciting, and it’s hard to imagine what this kind of work can do for your brand, but keep this in mind: Amazon followers and BookBub followers can account for thousands of sales reminders for each new release. THOUSANDS. And not just reminders to anyone, reminders to people who started following you because they resonated with your work. That’s gold.

Not all Amazon book marketing has to be complicated or expensive – yes, you want to invest in your book’s success, but you should never overlook the free tools that could make a huge difference to your future success and pre-order sales.

Oh and speaking of book promotion – grab a copy of my book, it’s jam-packed with even more tips, tricks, and strategies to grab more readers and more sales.