Book Preorder Mistake Authors Make
Take a listen to this podcast episode below or on your favorite platform.
Or choose Your Favorite Platform:
Instead of assuming Amazon KDP is the only option for your preorder, find out about the drawbacks of using the platform for your initial sales and learn about another option that’s a better choice for most independently published authors.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
The biggest mistake when hosting a preorder
Which platform gives the most access to learn about readers
Which platform I don’t recommend for preorders
Why most indie or self published authors shouldn’t choose Amazon KDP for their preorder
CHAPTERS
00:00 - Introduction
01:25 Understanding Preorder Goals
03:05 The Amazon Preorder Misconception
06:51 Why Not to Use Amazon for Preorders
11:46 Success Stories: Alternative Preorder Strategies
14:32 The Drawbacks of Amazon KDP
21:16 Benefits of Hosting Preorders on Your Website
28:12 Conclusion and Key Takeaways
Watch the video from the episode instead of just listening.
RESOURCES MENTIONED:
→ →Join the Preorder Profits™ Challenge to find out preorder mistakes and success strategies: www.PreorderProfits.com
→ Order your copy of Profitable Publishing™ with Preorders to learn this strategy start to finish - www.PreorderProfits.com/book
RAW TRANSCRIPT
Welcome back to another episode of Profitable Publishing. I'm Ashley, your host, and today we're going to be talking about the number one book preorder mistake that most authors make. And I just want to preface this by saying that I'm going to be including some hot takes in this week's episode. And so just be ready for those. But the intention is to make sure that you are setting yourself up for success in the ways that work for you. So I will give some caveats, I will give some suggestions, but in general, the strategies I'm gonna teach work well for the majority of authors. And so if you're new to the podcast, this is the place for you to be able to package your expertise into a profitable book. And so if you're a coach, consultant, service provider, speaker, you're in the right house because we focus on building your brand, being able to attract your audience, and then using your book as a point of leverage to focus on business growth.
So let's go ahead and get started and first before we do that actually I want to thank you for being here This is episode 11 and at this point Most podcasters have already stopped podcasting Most podcasts have already failed at this point and we have made it to episode 11 and so let's just give yourself a pat on the back Thank you for being here. I'm here because you are here riding with me. So I appreciate you now, let's get into these preorder mistakes and we're going to talk about the number one mistake. If you want a full list, a full breakdown of the most impactful preorder mistakes instead of just this one, then I encourage you to join my Preorder Profits™ Challenge that's happening at the end of this month and you can visit preorderprofits.com and you can sign up and grab your VIP seat.
I am speaking about this from the standpoint of someone who has hosted five-figure preorders for myself. I've supported clients to host their five-figure preorders. I've helped people to sell hundreds of books through their preorder period and really be able to maximize their sales as well as use their preorder to attract their audience. And so I'm speaking from a point of leverage, a point of ⁓ credibility because I've done this. And so, when I say this, I just want you to know it's coming from a place of experience and not just something that I've seen online. And when you are hosting a preorder, you are typically going to be in a couple buckets. Maybe your goal is to sell a lot of books. That's usually the number one option that I hear. Or maybe you want to use your preorder to really get your book out there. You want to use it so that you can really set yourself off for some nice success on the long-term aspect.
So that means you're wanting to have a book launch, you're wanting to really create a buzz around your book. and so the best way to do that is making sure that you are choosing the right platform. And when you look at the author world, whether you're traditionally published, self-published, independently published, typically that most people use is hosting their preorder on Amazon. And I'm gonna brush your bubble, I'm gonna step on some toes, and I'm gonna say that that's generally not the best platform for you to host your preorder, and I'll explain why. And so bear with me because I know you might be thinking, what? This is what people do when you have a preorder you hosted on Amazon. And people do it, yes, that is true, but that doesn't mean that you should do it, and that doesn't mean that it's the best option for you to maximize your profit to maximize your impact and things of that sort. And so if you have a copy of my book, Profitable Publishing® of Preorders, we're gonna be referencing page 43. And so that's inside of chapter three. So you can pause this, grab your copy and come right back. If you don't have your copy, you can grab it at preorderprofits.com slash book. And so with this today, I'm really gonna be focusing on one of the six lessons that I share in the book before you start your preorder. And this really affects everything within your preorder within your launch within the longevity of your book because you really only have one chance to make a first impression and so Your preorder is the time period where people are really starting to understand one that you have a book they're also understanding that your book is about to come out soon and they Typically if you are doing it in the strategy with the strategies in the ways that I teach you are bringing them along for the journey and so with that, you want to do that in a way that allows you to really connect with your customer through being able to have their contact information, to be able to nurture them. You also want to have a platform that allows you to handle logistics with care and being able to support your customers through any issues that you might have. And then additionally, you want to be able to have flexibility to make adjustments, meaning that if you have to change something, if something's going on with your file, if you need to tweak something, whatever the case may be, you wanna be able to get your hands in there and be able to make those changes. And then lastly, you wanna have options that are great for distribution. And so I'm gonna talk to you about how Amazon has some barriers for that, or barriers to that, and how it affects your overall profit, your overall success as an author, and really just your ability to reach your readers. And so honestly, this is one of my hills. Like you know how people say this is the hill I'm gonna die on. I'm not about to die on this hill, but this is, I'm just gonna say this is one of my hills.
that I have, ⁓ one of them is that marketing is just as important, if not more important than publishing. And then in today's episode, we're talking about how it's really a misconception that authors assume that Amazon is the best option for their preorders. And to me, this is one of the biggest misconceptions in the publishing industry for independent authors.
Now, that's who I typically work with, so people who are self-published, who are independently published, not people who have a publisher who is handling that process for them and giving them in advance. That's not the group that I'm focusing on. But I do feel like that is the reason why independently published authors and self-published authors feel like they have to host their preorder on their, why they have to host the preorder on Amazon, because they think that they have to copy
and emulate what traditionally published authors do. And I'm here to tell you that you don't. That doesn't work for everyone. The things that traditionally published authors do are in alignment with their publishing goals, they're in alignment with their publishing frequency, meaning that they're typically going to be publishing books at a faster pace than you might be as an independently published author or a self-published author. And they're also following the parameters that are put in place for them with their publishing deal and their publishing contract.
You don't necessarily have to follow those. And so don't assume just because everybody does it that you have to do it. That's not the case. And so I'm going to give you a few reasons why I don't believe that Amazon is the best platform for you to be able to host your preorder. And this isn't to say that there's anything wrong with Amazon. Obviously I use it for, I mean, obviously, but maybe you don't know, but I use it for my books. And I also support clients to get their book published on the platform as well.
And so here I'm talking about the preorder period. I'm not necessarily talking about the period after your book is out. I'm speaking specifically about the time before your book is published. So before you press publish on Amazon, publish on IngramSpark, Barnes Noble Press, whichever platform you're using, the period before your book is officially out. And when I say the best, I'm referring to what applies to the majority of independently published authors, the majority of self-published authors.
There are different ways that you can really have a better connection with your audience and actually even know who your audience is when you are not using Amazon for preorders. And so I know that in general on the back end of things, so once your book is out, I've heard often and myself I know as well, that there's a lot of gripes and complaints about using Amazon as a platform in terms of generating a lot of income with your books because they take, I'm using air quotes if you are listening to the audio, they take a portion of your sales. And honestly, they're not taking a portion of your sales. They are using it to cover the internal marketing that they have with those keywords and categories that you use. They are using it to distribute your book to hundreds of countries across the world, depending upon how you have it set up. And then they're also giving you a platform to be able to share with people so it's accessible, so that it connects to other books that are related. And so there is, there is,
legitimacy as to why they're charging that percentage. It's kind of like a finder's fee of they are making it available, they're putting on a platform so people can access your book, they're handling the shipping, they're handling customer services. There are benefits to having it on there. However, when it comes to your preorders, you really want to be able to take advantage of some of the benefits that are actually blocked by having your preorder on Amazon. And so it's just not the most ideal option.
And when you think about independent authors, self published authors, your goal is really either to sell a lot of books or to get your book in front of a lot of readers or to maximize your profit. And so we know if you're here, you have a business behind this, you are an entrepreneur. And so your goal is very profit centric in order to reach your KPIs. And so once again, I understand that everybody does this. Everybody air quotes everybody. Everybody does this, but, I'm somebody who believes that when people zig, you need to zag. So yes, everybody does it, but is it the best option for you? And so for my clients and I, we focus on hosting our preorders on our websites. And this is not the only option. However, from what I've found, it is the option that gives you the most control, it's the option that gives you the most flexibility.
It's the option that gives you the best connection with your readers because you actually know who they are. You're not having to question or wonder who bought my book because you'll know who bought your book when you host your preorder on your website and Now I do also know crowdfunding is an option. I'll do an episode about that on another day But if you really want to dig through the different options to decide what's the best option for you because I am a believer of choosing the best option for you, then I do encourage you to join day one at least of Preorder Profits™, the challenge. And I'm actually gonna break down the pros, the cons, the good, the bad, the ugly, from each of the different ⁓ most common preorder platforms so that you can see which ones will help you to maximize your sales, to help you build those raving fans. And so if you haven't already registered, go ahead and visit preorderprofits.com and secure your VIP seat to join us. And so going back to Amazon as a platform for preorders, it's important to really think about, why am I using this platform? Am I doing it because everybody else is doing it? Am I doing it because I think that's the only option? And from what I found, that's typically the answer is that authors think that this is the only way that I can do it. This is how it's done. Like, this is the way. And so that's just not the case.
Maybe you're also worried about long-term success thinking, okay, if I don't put my preorder on Amazon, then that means I won't have the ability to then still be successful later. I want to tell you a story of a client that I worked with. Her name is Charmaine Perry-Knights. And so she and her niece were actually publishing a book called Faith Spirkels. And so they're an auntie and niece duo.
And Shermaine is an award-winning children's book author. She also has books in adult genres. And she is someone who also owns a publishing agency. And so she came to me to support her with her preorder, to map out a plan, to host her preorder on her website so that they were able to have instant access to the money that they made, but also to kind of transition onto the most common platforms. So like the Amazon KDPs, the IngramSparks.
And so she really wanted to help set her niece Bailey up for success. And so they reached out to me. We came up with a plan using my Preorder Profits™ plan to be able to maximize income on both ends. So not only on her website, but also once she transitioned over to the larger print on demand platforms. And so with that, she was able to create her book bundles to be able to maximize profit on her site. And then also to encourage sales on her website, we were able to develop a plan to do that. And then also, was something that helped her increase the amount of money customers spent per order. Because one thing about Amazon is that, and when I say Amazon throughout this episode, I'm saying Amazon KDP. Amazon does have other options, such as Amazon Sellers, Amazon Advantage, that you can do other options with, where you can bundle items, things like that. That's not what I'm talking about here, so. In this case, when I say Amazon, it's Amazon KDP.
she was able to sell book bundles and to create experiences around her preorder and her launch. And that helped to increase the excitement of her readers. It helped to increase the amount of readers. And then when it came time to put her book over on Amazon, she was still able to make sales. And so on her website, her and her niece did $300 in preorders. And so that meant that that was money back into their pockets to be able to cover existing publishing costs, to be able to cover whatever needed to be covered for a launch party, things like that. And then when they transitioned over to adding their book onto Amazon KDP and IngramSpark, they were able to sell 127 copies within the first month or two. that just shows you that it doesn't have to be one or the other. It doesn't have to be, I'm only using my website for book sales. I'm only using Amazon KDP and IngramSpark for book sales. You can use both. You can use all three. You can use whatever you'd like to use. And so I just wanted to that story and that anecdote because I find that at times in the author space it can feel very one dimensional that you don't have any choices. And honestly, you have multiple choices as an independent author, as a self-published author, you get to choose. And sometimes that can be debilitating that there's too many choices, but I want to remind you that that is powerful. And so here is why I don't suggest hosting your preorder on Amazon KDP.
And once again, I'm not talking about Amazon Advantage, not talking about Amazon Sellers. I'm also not talking about IngramSpark where you can upload it to IngramSpark and have it distribute to Amazon because that can lead to a whole list of other problems, including your book showing up as not available. And so that also is not the route that I'm suggesting. And so one reason why I don't suggest hosting your preorder on Amazon KDP is that your payment isn't going to come until 60 days after you release.
Typically after your book is out your payment will come 60 days after someone buys it but in the preorder period you have to remember this it's the preorder period so the book is not quote-unquote done and so Amazon's not gonna pay you until after your book is actually delivered because then they're gonna deliver it and when I say delivered I mean electronically because currently at the time of this recording Amazon KDP does not offer preorders on physical copies of your book.
That means that you're limited to only selling the ebook version as a preorder if you're gonna go with the Amazon KDP route. Now, with that, that means that you also are decreasing the amount of profit you can make from it because obviously you're not gonna charge as much for an ebook typically as you would for a physical copy of the book. And so there is an option to do a scheduled release, however, that's not a preorder. That just means that the book is gonna post on the day you pick.
And so I did want to mention that because I've heard people say, well, I mean, you can do paperback preorders and I explained to them you can't. And then we go through that process and they're like, okay, you're right. So that's one reason. So that means that if your preorder is eight months long, then you're not getting paid until 10 months because they're not going to actually pay you until 60 days after it's released.
That can be a big drawback because in contrast, if you're hosting a preorder on your website, you're able to get those funds within one to two days, depending upon what payment processor you're using. And that's money that can go directly back into your pocket so that you are decreasing your out-of-pocket costs and or just actually getting the benefits of getting paid while you publish. The benefits of getting paid while you are creating the thing are immeasurably.
I can't even think of how I want to phrase this. Like when you get paid while you're writing your book, while you're publishing your book, your perspective is completely different. You are able to think clearer. You're able to have the advantage of getting that validation that people actually like the thing that you are publishing beyond just someone saying, yeah, let me know when it comes out or yeah, I'm going to follow or I'm going to get on your email list. When somebody goes and finds their credit card, when someone gets off the couch to find the security code ⁓ or is able to do what XYZ to pay for your book, that's a different level of commitment. When somebody is paying for it before it even exists, before they can have it in their hand, that person is more likely gonna be your raving fan because they're excited about it, they're willing to wait, they're okay with that. They just wanna know that they're first when it comes up. And so all of that ties together the next reason that I don't suggest hosting your preorder on Amazon is that you have to be very careful about your files, about the frequency of changing your files, because there are cases where Amazon will just block you and ban you from being able to host a preorder if you change your files too many times or if you change it too close to the deadline. And so that can be pretty nerve-racking because we've all found an error at the last minute, or we've all had an issue that we needed to change and pop it out. And if you are sending people to Amazon to get your preorder, and they can't get it because now suddenly you're banned or blocked because Amazon decided to ban or block you because you had to make a tweak, that is really frustrating. And it's not something you can really control.
And so I've heard that authors have gotten blocked for a year from doing preorders on Amazon, if that's the case, if this happens to you. And that just means that you are not going to have that as a platform that you can use for preorders. It doesn't mean you're blocked entirely. However, it can be frustrating that you're trying to publish your book and you don't even have the option of doing it on the site. The next reason is probably should have been first because it is the most impactful one to me. And it's the fact that you don't have any access to customer information.
Meaning that when someone buys your book on Amazon KDP, you have no earthy idea who it is, you have no idea when they bought. There's things we can use to kind of guess, but typically it's not gonna show up in your dashboard until the book has shipped. If we're talking about books, like physical copies of the books after the preorder period, because remember, you can't do physical copies of books for preorders currently with Amazon KDP.
And so you don't have access to that customer information. You can see how many people have pre-ordered your book, but you have no idea who they are. You don't know if they're friends and family. You don't have any of their contact information to even send them a thank you email. You don't have a way to insert additional things into their book purchase, like if you wanted to add some book swag. You have no contact because you don't know who the person is.
And so if your goal is to build an author brand or if your goal is to use your book to tie into your existing business, this is a huge missed opportunity to be able to do things like order bumps or upsells or down sells, which are additional things that you sell and to elevate the experience for your reader or even to invite them to a book launch party. You don't have that and they're not going to your book until later. And so it just becomes, they weren't, they're not going to get it until it comes out.
So it becomes an additional barrier to you to being able to actually find your reader, to being able to know who they are and learn how to attract other people that are like them. And then lastly, when you host your preorder on Amazon, you are basically giving Amazon all of your good internet juice, also known as SEO. So that means that when people are searching for you, they're searching on Amazon's platforms as opposed to your platform.
And when you're building an author brand, when it comes to having your name pop up on Google or pop up on these search engines, it's better to be able to have that higher ranking because people are already coming to your site as a result of buying something from you or checking out your updates for your preorder. And so once again, we'll do a full breakdown of the different platform options during day one of Preorder Profits™ or the Preorder Profits™ Challenge. And so if you haven't signed up for your spot then go ahead and grab it now instead I'm going to share the benefits of using your own website to host your preorder and I know at first this can seem scary or it can seem like I don't really have time to manage a website and I'm going to let you in on a little secret that most authors don't think about when they're even thinking about platforms and it's the fact that you don't have to have book sales on your site indefinitely you can decide, okay.
I'm gonna have them on my site for my preorder for this book and then after the preorder is over, I'm shutting it down. That's totally fine. You don't have to just indefinitely do it. And I shared this with some of my members of the Pre-Order Profits Accelerator, which is my nine week group coaching program where I actually walk you through the preorder process together. And each week we focus on one area, you get feedback on it, and then actually you are implementing in real time so that way you're not putting it off till later and you're getting my expertise in me walking alongside you to get it done, ⁓ that someone in the program said that that was just super beneficial to them because they hadn't really thought of it like that. They were just thinking, okay, once I do this, it's opening Pandora's box and I'm not gonna have an option to close it. And once again, as a self-published author, as an indie author, as a business owner, you have control. And so you are not beholden to the requirements from traditionally published authors.
And so going back to why hosting preorders on your site is key, getting paid earlier is amazing. so when you host on your site, you are getting paid within one to two business days. And as I mentioned earlier, you can use those funds right away to cover your preorder costs. And this is actually how I've been able to fund my own books because my preorders pay for my books. And they also give me additional income that I can use for other items, whether it's household stuff like daycare or even once I do my distribution for my personal expenses for my business, for my business, or reinvesting it back into my business or using it to fund the next book. And I also have another client named Paula Banks. She did the Preorder Profits™ course and she was able to use the funds from one preorder to fund her editing for her next book. So she did preorders for one book, rolled that money into the next book, and then it was like, a stair-step situation because now the next book had a great head start to be able to have one of her most expensive parts covered. And so I can't, I can't breeze past the fact that getting paid within a couple days from something you haven't created yet is so helpful as an author, as a creator, as a business owner because that validation is needed. they wait until it's fully funded before they even start writing.
I don't recommend that. I will do another episode about when you should actually start your writing, when you should start your marketing. However, when you're in the process and you are on your 15th round of edits or you are trying to stay up late and type your words out and things like that and you're just exhausted, sometimes money can be a great motivator. Just being honest, point blank period. And so let's move on. Then when you host your preorder on your website, you can actually receive preorders in any book format that you want.
So let's say you have the audiobook version. Let's say you're doing a book bundle of the audiobook and the paperback. Let's say you're doing the ebook version that's instant delivery. All of these options are available to you. And when I say ebook version on your site, mean, so maybe you're doing the PDF version of it as opposed to the Kindle version. So that's opening you up to more people as an option because not everybody has a Kindle, but any device that would be purchased in your book can use a PDF. They are able to read a PDF.
And so you have more flexibility on what type of format so you can sell your book in, which also maximizes your profit because people are able to buy things in different ways. So for example, I have a reader and a client and her name is Catina and she bought the physical copy of my book, Profitable Publishing® Preorders. And then about a year later, she was like, well, actually, do you have the ebook version? Like, can I get that? And so I sent her the link and she bought it the same day. And so having that accessibility on your site, also is helpful because you can tap into additional ways that people can access your content. The next, you get that customer contact information. You can continue to market to them with their permission. You're able to thank them properly. You're able to send them additional goodies that go along with your book. If you are doing book boxes, then you can actually use that as a way to increase the hype and get them excited about the book that's about to come out or to be able to get a better experience when they actually open your box. When they get their package from Amazon, it's gonna be just their book. There's two book and not a receipt in there. They'll still be excited about it, but imagine getting a fully branded box from you and this is something that I've seen with my books is people will post and say, my gosh, like there were so many goodies in there that I didn't know were coming. And even the ones I knew were coming, those were still exciting to get. And so it really just elevates the customer experience, which means that you're gonna get better reviews and you're gonna get a idea of how to really nurture your audience because you're able to gauge the things that they are, the expressions that they have about the things that you're sharing because they know who you are, you've been communicating with them and they also are gonna be more likely to respond to you and tag you and email you and say, hey, thank you so much, I really appreciate this. And then you have the flexibility when you host your book on your site to change your book right up until it prints. And that depends on where you're printing it at. But you don't have to worry about getting banned from your own website because you had to make a last minute tweak to a page. And that's just a no brainer benefit. And then you also get the ability to increase your traffic's website. So your website's traffic. And that means, when we talked about that SEO, you were sending people to a site that's helping you build your brand and to help you come up in searches as opposed to sending them to a site like Amazon or another site. And I've touched on this earlier, but you're able to sell additional items as a part of a bundle. You don't have to necessarily just give these away, but you can actually sell an experience with your book. for example, you might add in additional items that are physical products, digital products.
And those help to really elevate that experience for that customer, as I mentioned earlier. And lastly, you can still use Amazon KDP and IngramSpark to print your books. You don't have to do one or the other if you're hosting preorders on your website. There is a very strategic way that you need to do that so that you're not ending up with angry customers because the book isn't available at the right time and handling shipping. And so I do go over that inside of my preorder Profits™ program. But you want to really think about when you're choosing your platform, what's going to be the most beneficial for you. And so thinking about the pros and cons, thinking about the highs and lows, and really understanding that you don't have to just do what everybody else is doing. ⁓ Growing up, one phrase my mom would say to get us to not be followers was like, okay, well, if everybody else would jump off a bridge, would you do that too? No, obviously I wouldn't. Clearly that's an extreme example. But you don't have to just follow the path of other authors just because you see them do it. It's not always going to be the best fit for you and it's not always going to be the most profitable for you as well. And so in review in this episode we talked about the pros and cons of hosting your preorder on a platform like Amazon versus hosting on your website. We also talked about the different things you need to consider such as your control over your customer data, being able to reach them and talk to them and even know who your customer is. Also how maximizing profit really affects your preorder experience. And then having more control over the process from start to finish, meaning controlling your customer journey during it, being able to access them, being able to share additional items with them, and then really the ability to get paid sooner. So not only are you maximizing profit, but also getting paid sooner than you would if you were to host it on a platform like Amazon KDP.
Now, if you want to know additional preorder mistakes to avoid, then I encourage you to attend the Pre-Order Profits Challenge. And so we get started March 23rd, and you can register at preorderprofits.com. Be sure to grab your VIP seat because you'll get a copy of my book, Profitable Publishing with Preorders for Free, as well as access to the replays and a few other goodies as well. Until next time, stay profitable.
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