What Are The Major Changes In Kindle Publishing (2019)?

Last Updated on February 12, 2019 by Jordan Alexo

Gosh! Since I’ve started publishing a few years ago, there has always been a guru out there saying something along the lines…

• Omg! Kindle publishing has completely change! It’s a whole new ball game!
• Darn… Kindle publishing is dead. I quit!

First, Kindle publishing isn’t dead! Anyone who says that they are just trying to make other new publishers quit so they have less competition. And the other part is…

Are they right? Is Kindle publishing constantly changing? Do you need to learn new skills for you to make money with your books?

Here’s what I think…

Bullshit!

I haven’t noticed any major changed since I’ve started publishing back in 2016. Of course, back then I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. Only during the past few months, I’ve been more serious about my publishing business. However, I haven’t noticed any major change in KDP.

Yes, some things are different and I am going to explain them along this post. But most of them are identical as they were before. Besides, they’ve been this way for years now. Not much has changed including Amazon’s algorithm. Or in other words, the formula they use to rank your books inside their platform.

The way I rank my books has always been the same one. I do review swapping. If you don’t know what this is then click here and read my other post.

But the changes haven’t been so drastic that you need to relearn Kindle publishing. Most of these changes have been because… there’s more competition nowadays.

You have more people publishing books inside of Amazon. For this reason, what worked back a few years ago no longer works in 2019. One of these aspects was to publish short crappy 20 page books. Many publishers used to make money this way about 5 years ago. In most cases, this strategy no longer applies.

Your games needs to be tighter than before.

Now let’s talk about the small changes…

1 – Amazon Advertisement

A year or so ago, people rarely spoke about Amazon advertisement. Nowadays, most successful publishers are using them to further promote their books. It might sound some publishers are hyping way too much about Amazon advertisement. But the hype is real! Yes,  they are a great way for you to increase your sales by 20% to 50% or more.

Not only that! You can see this increase in sells nearly one week to another.

I see no reason for someone to not use ads. I suggest setting a budget aside just for your ad campaigns. Also they may become a bit expensive. As often the more sales you make the more money you spend in advertisement. So you got be careful and expect to spend more than you initially thought. But in the end, the earnings far surpass the money you spent.

Even if you are beginner you can always set a campaign or two for your newest books and see how it goes.

2 – Provide Higher Quality Books

Often people talk about this but what exactly are high quality books? Simply providing books your customers want inside of Amazon. For this you need to do market research. Analyze your competitors and see what their customers felt was missing in their books.

Afterward, you want to provide books either with more detailed content or a different approach. What you don’t want to do is provide another generic book. For instance:

Another book about, “Yoga for beginners”. Wow… that’s original! Hmm… not really!

Yes, these type of books may sell well for a week or so, while at $0.99 and with the, “new release” label. But afterward, often they die off, why? Because they aren’t offering anything original. I’m not saying you can succeed with these type of books but normally it’s hard. As these books are often covered by reputable authors inside of that niche. A publisher simply can’t compete with an author who already has a loyal group of followers.

Also having a high quality book doesn’t stop there! Your book title is also extremely important. It should explain the difference between your book and all your competitors.

3 – Amazon Deleting Reviews

In this past, this was something that didn’t happen. However, nowadays at least twice per year Amazon goes around deleting everyone’s book reviews. This also includes from author, who got them organically.

Yes, they delete either legit or non-legit reviews. This is something you should expect happening. If you have books publish then don’t think your reviews will stick around forever. Even less, if you are doing review swapping. These reviews seem to get more often deleted.

Now knowing this you may be thinking, “Well, then if this happens is it still worth publishing books?”

Yes, of course! Because the money you do before this happens is well worth it.

4 – Email Listing

Should you build an email listing? One thing is when you are doing $3.000 or more per month. If then you decide you want to build one then go for it!

However, in the beginning I suggest for you to keep everything as simple as possible. I mean, if you aren’t making money with KDP then that shouldn’t be your main concern. Instead, you should be worried about publishing profitable books. Initially, just hire a virtual assistant to get reviews for your newest books. Once you are doing some money then try building an email list.

It may work or not. But at least, you will learn a few useful skills. Later, you can use these skills to build another online business.

5 – Kindle Publishing Expenses

Before you could get books super cheap. Nowadays, you need to pay more to get them done. My ghostwriter company of choice is E-Writer Solutions. Here’s their costs…

• 2018 – Paid $1.5 per 100 words
• 2019 – Pay $1.7 per 100 words

It may seem like a subtle price change. However, when you consider your book will have between 15.000 to +20.000 words then it’s not so subtle. Although, this company is still fairly cheap compared to their competitors. Besides, they provide good quality content.

Click here to check them out

Last Thoughts…

So those are the few changes. Certainly nothing to write home about! Nowadays, higher quality and lengthier books work better.  Also expect to spent more money on your books than before.

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