The (almost) All Amazon Issue

Personally delivered to you by Steve Lindhorst, author of
"Selling on 'the River', Wanted! Frustrated Readers,
and "The Niche Book"

I want to start off this issue with heartfelt thanks for all the very kind emails and comments you sent regarding my relative who is battling cancer. I shared them with my wife and we both appreciate your thoughtfulness more than you can imagine.

Business is good on the Amazon front. I decided to make this issue (almost) all about Amazon-related selling. My new ADHD medication is working so well I've accomplished a ton of work-related things I've been putting off for months. For example, the new tab (above) with a bunch of ebooks, software, audios and videos for under $10 each. The other thing is in item #1 below. Come to think of it - #4 falls in that category as well!

On to the newsletter...

In This Issue

1. CreateSpace: My New Favorite Thing
2. Shipping Amazon Orders Made Easier
   
3. Join me by phone - Wednesday, November 11!
4. How I increased my Amazon orders x 10 - I'm not kidding.

---

1. CreateSpace: My New Favorite Thing

About a year and a half ago, a friend of mine introduced me to one of his colleagues who worked for a company called "CreateSpace." It was some "print on-demand" thing that sounded neat - but not my cup of tea. When I finally looked into it, I noticed that Amazon had purchased the company. That piqued my interest, and I started thinking about turning my ebook, Selling on 'the River' into a real, bona fide ink and paper book. I've received many requests for a hard-copy and this seemed like a good solution.

CreateSpace enables authors, artists, filmmakers, and musicians to self-publish their own material. You just submit your work according to their guidelines, and they produce a very professional hard copy book, CD, or DVD. There is no need for you to purchase 1,000 copies of your work - just like Jack-in-the-Box - they only make one when it's ordered. Print-on-demand is what it's called or "POD."

There is a proofing process that can be a little tedious to go through, but it's necessary. In order to turn my ebook into a hard copy I had to reformat it to a standard book size, in my case 8" x 10". That pushed copy and images around, so even though I thought it was ready to go - once I received my proof copy I found errors. I have fixed those and I expect to give them the go ahead in a few days.

Once you've approved your book, CD, or DVD and it's available for sale - it will appear on Amazon as a regular item. They even include the "Look inside" feature for books after it's available for awhile. You get to set your own price. The cost of the book comes out of that price, along with Amazon's commission. You will wind up with around 50% of the sale price as a rough average. That may not sound good to some - but it's not much different than selling a product through ClickBank. (You get to keep more of each sale, if you upgrade to their Pro Plan for a one-time fee of $39.) Plus, think about what you get:

• A high-quality tangible product that never goes out of stock
• ISBN and bar code are included for your product
• Promotion on Amazon.com
• A CreateSpace e-Store to sell your products (Here's mine: http://www.createspace.com/Customer/EStore.do?id=3385628)
• Purchase your own products to sell on your own

I finally got around to submitting Selling on 'the River' to CreateSpace back in the Spring of this year. I had some adjustments to make on the file before CreateSpace would accept it. That's where the ADHD comes in...

One of my worst traits has been procrastination. Once I got distracted from that project, it sat there collecting dust at CreateSpace until last week. I finally got focused and got to work to get it done. I submitted the files on October 29 and got my proof copy last Saturday. The proof cost me about $11 plus shipping, but I'll tell you what, when I got that proof in the mail the other day - I couldn't quit looking at it! I was so proud.

Within the week, it should be live on the site, and I'll keep you updated on how sales are going. I've got a million ideas on how to go forward from here, so stay tuned.

-

2. Shipping Amazon Orders Made Easier

Many years ago, when selling on eBay meant typing shipping labels by hand and standing in line at the Post Office - I found Stamps.com. I was thrilled that I could print postage at home. Back then I was selling posters like crazy - and I lived way out in the country. I'd leave a note on my mailbox, and the mail carrier would pull up to the house and take my boxes of shipping tubes. Then eBay began offering shipping features through PayPal along with Selling Manager and I dropped Stamps.com.

Now that I'm selling more on Amazon these days, I'm back to manually handling shipping. I've heard from many readers that they'd like a solution to the clumsy PayPal single label system they're using now. I have taken another look at Stamps.com and they have really stepped up since I last used them years ago.

The newest version of their software (version 8.5) will import your Amazon orders, and print the postage. And get this - it goes back to your Amazon account and confirms the shipment, and notifies the buyer by email that their package is on the way. Besides handling your Amazon orders, they will also import orders from eBay, Yahoo!, and Google Checkout.

They are running a promo where you can get a good amount of free postage and a postal scale. I still use the scale I got from them years ago. Check out their free 4-week trial. Stamps.com: Print Postage on Your PC!

-

3. Join me by phone - Wednesday, November 11!

Last month I sent out an email to my readers about an opportunity that can make you some real money. Some folks thought I came across way too heavy in my language. I understand that, since I'm a pretty low-key guy. Besides that - I can't stand high-pressure salespeople. So my apologies of I offended anyone.

That being said, I wanted to invite you to my first, free LIVE conference call while I interview Jim Cockrum, on Wednesday, November 11, 2009. I'm going to squeeze a bunch of free information out of Jim on Wednesday so you'll have a better idea of the details. In fact, just the information you'll get during the call will be really valuable by itself. I have limited space on the call, so don't be late!

It's FREE - and here are the details:

Free Conference Call with Steve Lindhorst and Jim Cockrum
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Time: 3:30 p.m. Eastern / 12:30 Noon Pacific
Conference Dial-in Number: (712) 432-0111
Participant Access Code: 1076991#

I guess I was so excited because it really is an opportunity to earn some serious money, I know people who are doing it. In fact, I went out to try it myself and it really does seem too easy.  This is one of those niches that is growing instead of getting over-crowded. It's worth a listen - believe me. You should at least hear the details before you decide whether you want to pass this up or try it.

The call should answer all of your questions, without the hype. I look forward to having you on the line! Check out some of the details and send me your questions by email me before the call. I'll try to get them in.

-

4. How I increased my Amazon orders x 10 this month - I'm not kidding.

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by Nathan Holmquist. Nathan wrote a short ebook titled: Selling on Amazon's FBA Program. He asked me if I'd promote his ebook to my readers. Here's how I handle that: I ask for a copy, read it, then give it a quick try. If I get results that are proportionate to the effort I put forth - I'll recommend it.

Nathan's ebook is about the Fulfillment by Amazon (AmazonFBA) program. He explains in under 40 pages a bit about using the program, but more importantly - he explains how to get very good ranking on Amazon's search results.

By following what I learned from his book Selling on Amazon's FBA Program, I have sold 10 times more books this month than any of the previous six!

So how much is his book? Nathan emailed me last week and said he's offering it FREE for the month of November. This is not a trick. You can go download a free copy at: www.BookToTheFuture.com.

Enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

Steve

Tagged as: Amazon FBA, CreateSpace, eBay, shipping, Stamps.com