Case Study 9—Social Media Is Gateway to eBook Sales Success: Amazon Kindle eBooks
Thomas S. Mueller, Appalachian State University
The Amazon Kindle eBook brand is one of the most popular forms of digital publishing in today’s social community. As of early 2016, the direct-to-consumer online retailer was selling 1.06 million eBooks (paid downloads) per day. Consumers spent $5.75 million per day during a recent month, with $1.76 million of those sales directed to author royalties. Though it is somewhat undocumented regarding distribution, authors received an additional $140 million in funds from Kindle Unlimited, Amazon’s subscription reading service.32 The industry as a whole is generating over $2.1 billion in sales annually.
It is interesting to note that as established publisher sales decreased, eBooks written by independent authors increased.33 During an assessment in 2016, 56 of Amazon’s 100 top-selling eBooks were self-published titles. Topically, the bestselling independent authors write about paranormal activities, romance, thrillers, urban fiction, suspense, and science fiction. With the ascent of digital titles on Amazon and other sources, industry experts posit that printed versions of books will become a niche market, similar to the effect noted in magazine and newsprint.34 Digital publishing strategist Ben Thompson applies aggregation theory to the process, suggesting that sales portals like Amazon eliminate intermediaries, which allows independent publishers to avoid publishers and go direct to consumers.35
With a substantial faction of the social publishing market operating independently, advertising and promotion become the responsibility of the author. One portion of an author’s time is allocated to writing the novel, while the other half of the time is invested in social commerce, which includes marketing to expand the author’s fan base. The challenge is to differentiate an eBook from millions of competitive titles, then convince readers to download the digital offering onto a Kindle reader or other digital device. Pre-selling is essential to assure return on investment for the self-published author. One viable and affordable option is to build a social media marketing plan. Social media platforms provide opportunities to develop leads, generate a follower list, leverage other prominent users, access large topical groups, and promote content “teasers” that showcase your upcoming eBook.36
Most eBook authors develop a social media plan through content generation. These are most often short, concise articles of 250 to 500 words. Most successful social media plans offer shorter posts, with frequent placement. Social media content is usually housed in a blog, such as Google’s Blogger platform, or the highly customizable WordPress.37 It’s important to claim a URL that is unique and specific to the author and her or his work. A strong URL, along with key search words included in blog post titles, can help the author’s social media content climb in ranking on search engines.
Social media portals such as LinkedIn and Google+ offer each user a personal landing page, but much more is available through groups and communities, where individuals share common interests. For example, a fashion community in Google+ hosts 557,000 followers.38 A marketing communication group in LinkedIn has collected 621,000 members.39 And, the LinkedIn Book Marketing group has 28,000 members.40 It is essential to identify a topical group to understand the relevance of posts, how interaction and replies work, and who posts the top viewed submissions. Authors can integrate into these platforms by reading posts, replying to posts, and finally crafting content that resonates with potential readers. Some authors incorporate introductory promotional comments on their upcoming eBook. It is important for authors to remember that blatant selling is not admissible; posted content must provide value and prove interesting to other group members.41
Facebook has been the most influential platform for many eBook authors. It has grown to over 1.4 billion users worldwide, with 70% checking their feed multiple times each day. eBook authors create a “landing page” for their profile as an author, or sometimes for a specific title. The challenge is to direct friends from the page to a personal website, and to target specific Facebook users who are profiled as sharing an interest in the eBook topic. Some authors host events or make promotional offers to engage users and increase traffic, which can be measured through social media data management. Mark Dawson initially started writing for a traditional publishing firm. His sales were weak and he transitioned to self-publishing. After learning how to leverage Facebook, Mark invested time and energy and now earns over $450,000 per year.42
Video platforms such as Vimeo and YouTube have been integrated into the social media promotion of eBooks. YouTube, the predominant player, was purchased in 2006 for $1.65 billion by Google. YouTube currently reports that it generates over 1 billion views per month.43 Successful eBook authors have integrated YouTube segments into their social media plans, including interviews or “teasers” that offer special introductory offers at eBook launch time.
It’s beneficial to cross-promote YouTube posts across Facebook pages and embedded content in visual sharing sites such as Pinterest and Instagram. Studies indicate that the human brain assimilates images 60,000 times more quickly than text. eBook authors are intentional about visual sharing; Instagram is predominantly 18 to 24 female (56%) and allows space to share images. Pinterest represents a female and male audience, with two thirds between the ages of 18 and 24. One half are located outside the United States. It allows users to aggregate content that appeals to their interests and sensibilities. The author’s challenge is to entice user engagement, create awareness for the latest published eBook, and generate reader feedback, which can channel into digital book reviews. Many authors use the visual advantage to promote their eBook through storytelling in multiple posts.44
A social media platform that serves as the “messenger” for all social media activity is Twitter. Each message is limited to 140 characters, which can in turn be reposted and shared. Twitter now has 320 million monthly users, with over 1 billion monthly visits.45 Savvy eBook authors use Twitter to include “@” user handles to attract other key authors, or hashtags to create topical searches. Twitter can also steer followers to other platforms, where blog or web content has been placed. Some have also leveraged Twitter’s new live video broadcast program Periscope to promote special programs and activities.
Some of the most highly successful eBook authors are also prominent podcast hosts. Technology entrepreneur James Altucher has published 11 books, including the Wall Street Journal bestseller Choose Yourself! Altucher’s unique position in the marketplace is that he lost his fortune, earned it back, and then lost it again. He now publishes eBooks such as Reinvent Yourself and promotes his projects on the popular “James Altucher Show” podcast, which is accessible on podbay.fm and iTunes.46
One social media opportunity that is sometimes overlooked is within the Amazon portal itself. An Amazon author page can showcase the author, include a biography, feature a compilation of the author’s Amazon Kindle publications, and link to other social media content such as Twitter or personal blogs.
Most anyone can become a digital author, but not everyone can sell books. The holistic author understands how to write, publish, network, create, associate, and entertain. 

Question: Identify the key social media challenge presented in case study 9 - Social Media Is Gateway to eBook Sales Success: Amazon Kindle eBooks. What solution or solutions have been proposed to address this problem? How does the data support the success or failure of the attempted solutions? Summarize your findings