Bonus: What Online Course Creators Need to Know About Self-Publishing on Amazon

Welcome to the Course Creators MBA podcast. I'm your host, Destiny Kopp. And in this podcast we're covering actionable tips to grow your online course business. And today we're in the middle of a three part bonus episode series that focuses on helping you finally self publish your nonfiction book. I know that many online course creators have a book idea in the back of their mind and you know that a book can be a powerful lead generation machine for your online course. And we learned yesterday in our episode series that if you can launch an online course, you can also write and self publish your book. There's a lot of similarities there. I also have Emmy with me again today. Emmy was on my podcast here recently, a guest on episode 49. So if you want to know more about Emmy and her journey as an online course creator, definitely check out that episode. And Emmy is a best selling author, psychologist and founder of Self Publishing Made simple and she's joining me in this podcast series. Yesterday we talked about finding your focus and how to nail your book's topic. So if you missed the episode from yesterday, definitely go back and check it out. Emmy gave us a lot of great information on, you know, really what you, you know, finding your purpose and so doing the market research just to make sure that you're creating a book or publishing a book or writing a book that people are actually searching for on Amazon. And today we're going to take this a step further and we're going to talk about what online course creators need to know about self publishing on Amazon. And as some of you may know, I'm in the middle of writing my manuscript. I'm actually at the very end putting the final touches on it and I'm planning on self publishing on Amazon by the summer. And as I went through this process, I'm like, everybody needs to know about this. I wish honestly I had done this sooner. So, Emmy, thank you so much for joining us again. I love the points that you had in our episode yesterday and so excited to jump into this topic with you.

Oh yes, fantastic. Well, thanks for having me again, Destiny. I really, in case you haven't noticed, I really feel passionate about talking about self publishing because there are so many content creators out there, aspiring authors who have this wealth of knowledge that they want to share with the world, but if not done properly and if they don't launch their books, well, it might just evaporate in the competition. So it's really important that we really nail this, pin this down and help as many aspiring authors to be visible and get their books out there and onto their readers.

And just like when we launch our online course, we want people to know about it and know that it's out there to help them. And the same with our book, right? We don't want to spend all this time, energy and effort writing a book that nobody ever sees on Amazon.

Absolutely. And to be perfectly honest with you, Destiny, at the start of my self publishing journey, that was my main fear. You know, I'm an academic, I've been traditionally published. So writing for me was the easy part. And even with courses, you know, creating the content was the easy part. But it's really how to get it out there, how to market it and how to read my people. I would have like night sweats thinking about what if my book flops after all of that time and energy that I've spent writing my book and readers can't actually find it. So for me, I really try to learn and understand how Amazon works. So all of that time and energy and passion that I've put into my books actually gets out there for my target readers to actually use and apply in their lives. So, yeah, it's really important that we understand how self publishing works.

So walk us through it. And this is something that I'm learning. I'm just digging into it. I feel like I have a long ways to go here. I have a manuscript. You can use me as an example, right? I have this manuscript, it's ready to go to an editor. And what do I do next? How do I get into self publishing with Amazon, of course.

Well, the very first thing that I do with my students, and I think this is what a lot of aspiring authors miss, is that you have to recognize that Amazon is a search engine. So you don't just upload your book on there, cross your fingers and hope for the best. When you understand that Amazon is a search engine, you need to learn how to leverage that. And in the previous episode, we talked about keyword research and this is one of the first things that I do with my students, is that we really hone in to the keyword research because we need to identify those high traffic, low competition keywords that people are putting in on the search bar when they go on Amazon. So it might be that you've already written your manuscript, you know what your book is about, but you don't have a title or subtitle yet. Maybe you have a working title, but if you understand that Amazon is a search engine and if you've done your keyword research, you can actually optimize your title, your subtitle, your book description to make sure that when people type in these search terms on Amazon, your book will appear because you've included that in your metadata. And metadata means your title, your subtitle or book description. When you identify those high traffic, low competition keywords and incorporate them in your book, then you become more visible. People will be able to find, find you, you know, your target readers will be able to find you. Because when you incorporate them in your, in your metadata, Amazon will identify your book as relevant to these particular keywords. So the very first thing that I do with my students is not necessarily go to the editor and do your cover design and all that. The very first thing that we do is keyword research. Because when you do your keyword research, right, and understand that Amazon is a search engine, you're using your knowled of keyword research, you're using the evidence, you're using data to optimize your book, to make it more visible and to leverage the search engine abilities of Amazon to make your books easier to find on their platform. So that's the first thing, destiny, you need to do your keyword research and then you optimize your title, your subtitle, work with your editor to make sure that it flows well as well. And in terms of having your cover design, it's again, something that's really important on Amazon. You need to make sure that your book cover pops. You know, it's not as if someone is walking into a bookstore holding your book by the hand and smelling the book and flicking through the pages of your book. You know, I'm a bit of a nerd. So when I go to bookstores, I inhale, I inhale books and really touch and smell them. But on Amazon, people don't actually, they can't do that. They're either holding a tablet, their phone, or in their desktop. So when it comes to organizing your cover and working with a cover designer, again, optimizing your book is absolutely important. And again, if you've done your keyword research right, you need to make sure that the COVID gets those high traffic keywords to pop. So when someone types in these particular search terms on the search bar and they see these keywords pop on your cover, they would say, ooh, you know, this book actually talks to me. It's almost like it can read my mind. So they're more likely to click because they can see these keywords on your cover, making sure that they appear and ease to read as a thumbnail. So yeah, when it Comes to preparing your book for Amazon, you need to do your keyword research. You need to optimize your page, optimize your book cover so it can compete well on Amazon.

So as you were going through that, I'm like, yes, I've done my keyword research, but is my cover popping on my book? I think I need to send it to you just to see if you think if it meets that criteria.

Yes, absolutely. And I have to say, destiny, I've seen a lot of aspiring authors, they come up with book covers that are beautiful. I mean, they're absolutely stunning covers. But I would still tell them, look, this is not going to work on Amazon. So simply because I couldn't read the keywords. The keywords don't pop. Imagine that when someone looks for a book on Amazon, they only see a little thumbnail. They don't see a giant book in front of them. So you have to make sure that the high traffic keywords actually pop as a thumbnail. So it's a different kind of design. And there are specialists who can actually design books specifically for Kindle and with the intention for these keywords to pop, to attract the attention of someone who's scrolling on the screen and making sure that your book actually stands out from the crowd. So it's again, when you do your market research, when you see what the competition is like, you can find a way to make sure that your cover stands out. So if all of the books in your genre is black, you make yours colorful. And if all of the books in your genre is on neon colors, then you, you use something that's a little bit mellow. So you actually do stand out from the crowd. And you design your book in a way that will appeal to your audience but will also stand the competition when you put your book out there.

So, Emmy, let me ask you this. Can you tell us a little bit about the benefits of self publishing a book on Amazon versus other platforms out there? And I know there are other platforms and you can obviously speak to them better than I can, but can you tell us why focusing on this one platform is your recommendation?

Oh, yes, absolutely. Well, first of all, Amazon, as we know, is the biggest online book retailer in the world. Millions of users are going onto that platform. And for me, as far as my brand goes, no self publishing made simple. I encourage my students to focus on Amazon specifically, not to spread themselves too thinly. You need to master Amazon first and gain confidence in your self publishing experience. And for me and my students, what I find is because Amazon is So easy to use, it's so intuitive. And you can actually have print, Kindle and audiobook versions on their. Uploading is fantastic. Customer support is amazing. It couldn't be simpler. It's a really great way to start, gain experience. And the more experience that you have, the more confidence you will have in your writing and self publishing experience. You can potentially look for other platforms later on, but for starters, this is the simplest it can get and certainly you can leverage that big market. You know, it's a marketplace, you know, Amazon, it's an international marketplace. All you have to do is upload it once on Amazon and it gets distributed all over the world. And if you know how to do it right, it's a really great way to establish your expert status, you widen your reach, you build your brand while leveraging Amazon's incredible platform. And it's a really great way to generate warm leads into your course. You get readers who know, like and trust you. They become more aware of what you're like, your tone, your personality, your expertise. And it's a really great way for potential students to your courses to get to know your style and what you're about. So Amazon, I really highly recommend it to my students simply because of the simplicity. It's the biggest online book retailer in the world. It gets your brand out all over the world. And as far as keeping your focus, you know, we did talk about focus last time instead of spreading yourself too thin. When you gain experience, experience on this platform, it really boosts your confidence, your experience and your ability to self publish. And in the future, if you're confident enough, you can explore others. But for me and my students, we didn't really feel the need to go into other platforms because it's all in on Amazon. And really it couldn't be any simpler than that.

And I love what you said there, focus on Amazon. It's the biggest platform out there and you can diversify and go to other platforms in the future. And I'm certainly sold on Amazon and you know, I'm dating myself a little bit here, but I remember when they only sold books, so they've had a lot of experience in this marketplace like.

Years and years ago. That, that was, that was Amazon. It was known for that. Was that in the early 2000s or.

I can't remember, probably in the 90s, right? Yes, it was in the 90s when.

They, when the Internet was new.

Yeah. So again, I'm a little bit dating myself there, but I remember when that was the case, it was either Barnes and Noble, or you order something on Amazon or you go to the Barnes and Noble, you know, brick and mortar store. So let me ask you this. So you know, I'm sold on Amazon Self publishing. Do you have any insider secrets that you can share with everybody listening here today that would help them kind of get started if you would?

Of course. Well, we already talked about earlier that Amazon is a search engine. So some authors don't actually realize this, that in order to leverage the Amazon platform, you need to do your keyword research and optimize your page for maximum visibility on that platform. It's an international platform, millions of users out there and millions of competition as well. So you have to consider that. So when you recognize that Amazon is a search engine, you really need to know how to leverage that and do your keyword research to optimize your page. But at the same time, an insider secret that I will share with your audience right now is that you can actually add Your book in 10 categories on Amazon for wider visibility. For authors who are not listening to this or who are not in the know when they go on the Amazon platform, we call it Kindle Direct Publishing. When they go on that platform, Amazon will ask them to add their books in two categories. And what I tell my students, yes, yes, yes, go ahead, you know, add them in the two categories. But shush, shush, you can contact customer support and ask them to manually add your book in 10 categories. So that way you can actually spread your book in these 10 categories and it, it increases the visibility of your book. So that's one little secret that I can share today. Instead of just adding your book in two categories, you can actually spread them out in 10 categories. So for example, you can put them in business, you can put them in motivation, you can put them in self help education, wherever it fits in very specific niche. So the more categories you have, if you maximize the 10 categories, the greater the visibility you will have for your book. But what I have to say as well is that you need to learn how to strategically choose your categories. You don't do this willy nilly. And I actually do teach my students how to do category research for other authors who just pick 10 random categories. Yeah, of course you can do that. But with my students, we are strategic in terms of how we choose our categories. We choose three popular categories. So all of the New York Times best selling authors are there really high traffic, high competition categories. We put our books on there, but just for three categories because it's quite awesome. You know, when you go side by side with all these best selling authors. You know, certainly for me, for my first book, I got the number one bestseller. And because I was in a popular category, I outranked Tim Ferriss. You know, so it's just, it's my brag, you know, it's my bragging screenshots like, oh, you know, I outrank him because I've put my book in these competitive categories and got to number one there. So you can identify three popular categories, but at the same time you can also identify three slightly less competitive categories, you know, quite obscure categories, very niched categories where the competition is easier. Because in that way it would be super, super easy for you to get the number one bestseller even with just several dozen downloads in a day. So if you identify, if you identify popular categories, not so popular categories, and what I call evergreen categories, it is easier for you to actually get consistent sales and get your book in the bestseller list as much as possible. So choosing the categories is a really great insider secret that you can take away from this podcast. But also not a lot of authors know that you can actually get the number one bestseller. You know, if you're gonna write a book and publish it on Amazon. Aim to launch. Aim to launch at number one. The secret is it's not really that difficult if you know what you're doing. But you have to learn how to succeed successfully launch it. You need to have a strategy in place, you need to have a team with you, build your launch team and take consistent action. For me and my students, after they finish writing their books, it does take them about six weeks of preparation to get their books properly and strategically ready to be launched at number one. And every single one of them does get to number one bestseller. We celebrate whenever they get there. But what I would say is if you are writing and self publishing a book, do not be afraid. Aim to launch at number one. It's not that difficult to get there, but you need to know what you are doing.

So I love the tip that you gave about contacting customer support. That was something I wasn't aware of. So thank you for that. And I know that a lot of people listening, getting to that number one best selling category is definitely an aspiration. So it sounds like it can easily it can happen if you just do it the right way.

Oh yes, absolutely. I actually didn't. For me, it's almost like a pipe dream. It's like, oh, you know, it's something to aspire for. But it's amazing. You know, every single one of my students actually do get to number one if you know what you're doing. If you do your keyword research right, if you do your category research right, if you build your launch team and if you have a strategy in place, you will be surprised at how easy it is to rank number one. And and come to think of it, most aspiring authors who don't have a strategy in place, all they would do is upload their manuscript, hit the publish button, cross their fingers and hope for the best. Now what I say is for those of us who actually prepare and have a strategy, it's easy to outrank those authors because we did our homework. That's the unfair advantage if you like by educating yourself and understanding how Amazon works. So yeah, if you are thinking about writing, self publishing and launching your book, aim to launch at number one because really it's not that difficult to do if you know what you are doing.

Emmy, thank you so much for your tips today. Any last minute comments before we close out here?

Well, I have to say because your audience, they are course creators, I would really encourage them to write their books and think about self publishing on Amazon. It's a really great way to build your brand and leverage the Amazon platform. There will be Amazon users out there who may never come across your brand and your course, but they would stumble upon your book on Amazon. If you've optimized your book and promoted it properly on Amazon, they'll get to know, like and trust you because they have this entry point. A book is relatively inexpensive. You can market it at $0.99, $4.99 or $9.99, but relatively inexpensive resource that your potential students can actually purchase as a starting point on Amazon. They'll get to know what you're about, what you can offer, your expertise, and if they like you and your vibe and what you're all about, they will discover you and you can nurture them. And yeah, it's a really great way to establish your expert status, generate warm leads and build your brand on Amazon.

And Emmy, thank you so much for your tips and all the insider secrets that you gave us today. Before we close, I want to let everyone know that we have a special training for you. If you are interested in writing your nonfiction book, Emmy and I want you to join us in a training where you're going to learn how to turn your existing content into a number one best selling book and generate warm leads for your online course. Thank you so much for joining us today. I hope you enjoyed this episode with Emmy. Join us tomorrow for episode three and have a great rest of your day. Bye for now.