Amazon Kindle: Publish or Perish!
How important is it to publish your ebook for e-readers like Amazon Kindle and Nook, and tablets like iPad or Android devices?
According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, “tablet and e-book reader ownership nearly doubled over the holiday gift-giving period.” That means, almost 1 out of every 3 Americans now owns at least 1 tablet or e-reader device. With both Amazon and Barnes and Noble offering e-readers below the $100 mark, this upward ownership trend is expected to continue. What makes this even more exciting is that the group with the largest percentage of ownership also had the highest income level at $75,000+ per year.
In non-scientific terms, here’s what those stats mean for people who publish and sell ebooks (or those who want to).
Money To Spend On eBooks:
The people who own the highest percentage of e-readers and tablets also make the most money and, presumably, have the most disposable income. This means they have credit and can afford to buy virtually all the ebooks they want without hesitation. They bought their tablets and e-readers and now they want to use them, which means buying ebooks from Amazon Kindle Store, Barnes & Noble, and Apple iBooks (among others).
Ebooks Are Now Mainstream:
One in 3 people has an e-reader or tablet. Getting to one out of 2 shouldn’t take much time at all because everyone sees everyone else using one. It’s cool to use one and be seen as everything from “green” (no paper, tree-killing books for me) to high-tech (is that the latest iPad?) to cool (wow, neat Bluetooth keyboard with your iPad)! Reading an ebook is now just as “normal” as reading a paperback. This also means less resistance to never getting something physical in the mail and understanding that all you’ll every receive is a file on your e-reader or tablet (a real point of confusion and resistance for many consumers just a few short years ago).
Wider, More Diverse Audience:
“Everyone” means everyone! Heck, my mom even has an iPad now AND a Kindle e-reader. This means markets previously closed to most ebook authors (fiction in particular) are now ripe for the picking. If you’ve got a quality ebook aimed at a specific target audience, your chances of making consistent, significant sales rate better than ever (especially without a traditional publisher).
Consumption Will Increase:
More people with ebook readers means more demand for ebooks, which leads to more ebook consumption. Think about it! Devices like Amazon’s Kindle, Kindle Fire, Apple’s iPad, and the Barnes & Noble Nook are, at their core, content consumption devices. People buy them to read books, watch movies, download content and use apps. Some of the content will obviously be free, but much of it will cost from $.99 up to $14.99. And it doesn’t take long for the billions to pile up with millions of people spending a few bucks on digital goods every single day.
Less Resistance = Easier eBook Sales
It takes FAR less education or explanation to make the sale of an ebook now. People just log on to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Apple’s App Store, pick out what they want, click a couple of buttons, download, and start reading. It’s now as natural as buying a regular book, only without the drive, traffic, gas, or hassle at the counter. Ebooks now make for instant gratification and the ultimate impulse purchases.
So, let’s answer that question, shall we: How important is it to publish your ebook for e-readers like Kindle and Nook, and tablets like iPad or Android devices?
Bottom line: it’s now CRITICAL to publish your ebooks for all of these devices because they will shortly represent the majority of all ebook sales worldwide (if they don’t already). And the importance of using all of these ebook distribution channels to get your ebook (or a version of your ebook) out there into the ebook marketplace will only increase. The age of the ebook is upon us along with the age of the ebook megastore. So, if you want to make it in the world of ebooks, you’d better get your ebook onto the virtual bookstore shelves the majority of the world’s consumers are browsing.
By the way, here’s what the smartest authors do to get their Kindle ebooks written, formatted, published, and selling in less than 7 days. Check it out, but only if you’re serious about making money and building fame as a published ebook author: http://7DayeBook.com/kindle-ebook-in-7-days/
8 Responses
Jim, I had purchased 7 Day eBook v1 several years ago and put the clear cut methods to use many times. Is there any sort of discount for v2 if you had previously purchased v1? Thanks for checking. Bill
Hi Stuart,
Awesome! Thanks… I’m sure you’ll do great… please keep us posted on your journey! 
Jim
Hi Bill,
YES! There is a discount for previous purchasers. We’ve emailed everyone in our purchaser database about it twice already… the previous purchaser discount runs out on Friday at 3:00 p.m.
Please contact our Help Desk at http://www.ebookfiresupport.com with your name and the email you would have used to buy (even if you don’t have it anymore) or, even better your receipt (if you have it)… but most of all the name you use to purchase and they’ll get you the discount link.
Thanks for asking
Jim
Jim
I think you’re the teacher I’ve been looking for
Got your ebook and slowly going thru the material. Working on the homework in section 1 and working to get my first ebook published before Valentines day.
Looking forward to sending you a testimonial sometime in March to let you know how it’s going.
Thanks for sharing in a way I can understand with lots of examples.
Speak soon
Maurice
Hi Jim,
I’ve been a customer of yours since mini site 1.0 and your fabulous Christmas videos of your inflatable characters annoying the neighbours. I still use your aff link cloaker all the time – shame it’s not around for an aff scheme any more 
I launched my original ebook business in 2005 and my first book is still up at http://www.myidthefthelp.com which was built based on your mini site course.
I totally agree with you about the new world made easy by these devices.
The key other factor I think is in your line “If you?ve got a quality ebook aimed at a specific target audience”. This market has money and is more educated so is more used to reading reviews AND checking things out. This means that the good stuff will rise even further to the top and the 45 versions of the same PLR book with the same tired old cover will drop not only from Amazons own efforts but also from the canny look see of the customers.
I have lots of my own books (well 8 I’ve written from scratch) in old fashioned Legal/A4 size and it’s not economic to pay book baby or similar $99 a go to reformat for kindle. ok perhaps if you’re just doing one – but dozens?
Do you recommend or have a course on how to format your word doc book for ebook readers and then how to get them listed?? At the moment it’s my stopping point.
Hi Maurice
That’s awesome… thanks for your purchase and I’m sure you’ll do great… looking forward to hearing all about your success!
Jim
Hi Colin,
We get very in-depth into how to format a Word document for Kindle… everything from fonts, page size, etc. You should be able to take what I teach in the New 7 Day eBook V2.0 and apply it to the books you have (assuming they are in electronic format in a word processor) should be able to put those to immediate use based out our instructions… now, whether anyone buys, the titles are correct, etc…. that’s up to you because it’s already done – though you can use what I teach to modify them 
But as far as formatting of existing material in a word processor, this course should have you good to go in no time
Jim
Hi Jim,
I couldn’t agree with you more with this huge increase in e-readers. I’m determined to get my book published soon with your marvellous new version 2 – 7dayebook. It’s absolutely fantastic, I was knocked out when I saw how much was in it, not to mention the webinars.
I can’t thank you enough Jim,
Stuart