3 Amazon Category Mistakes Most Authors Make

When it comes to choosing a category which fits your book, it can seem difficult to navigate the huge variety offered by Amazon.  With over 16,000 categories to choose from, and the task of catering to the various trends of the current book market, this small step of your publishing journey appears to be anything but simple. Thankfully, our team at Rowanvale are here to help. By taking heed of these three common Amazon category mishaps made by most authors, your use of categories should stand out and hopefully secure as many sales as possible. 
 

• Being Forgetful 

Once you’ve chosen your category and published your book, it’s easy to think that you can take a back seat and forget about your book’s category entirely. However, this is not the case, and being passive could prevent you from achieving as many sales as possible. In order to provide a streamlined experience for customers, the Amazon algorithm is constantly changing and updating categories to accommodate for the most recent trending books. By monitoring the popularity of your categories, your book is more likely to remain relevant and be a talking point in the reading community for longer.  
If this seems a little overwhelming to you, try some of our top tips for keeping on top of popular categories:  

• Evaluate your book’s current categories every two months. Are they still relevant and beneficial to your sales? By asking yourself this question, it will be obvious whether your Amazon categories should be updated. 
• Try to predict upcoming trends based on current discourse around books. Are there a lot of upcoming releases in your category, meaning that in coming months it could be saturated? Or is there a book that everybody seems to be talking about in your category right now, meaning that it would be beneficial to stay and reap the rewards of more interest in your genre? Having a general awareness of how book news influences your categories should mean that you’re always one step ahead. 
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If thinking about categories still has you stumped, check out our blog post explaining the use of Amazon categories. 
 

• Not Being Specific 

While it can be tempting to choose a general, vague category in which to place your book, you should take advantage of the precision with which Amazon offers potential categories to you. This specificity is what allows niche books to be found more quickly, and it would be foolish not to capitalise on it! Choosing a specific category for your book not only means that customers will find your book more easily, but that your book will likely show up in more general categories. Amazon will fit your book into larger categories that loosely fit the specific category you have chosen. It’s a win-win! 

• Blinded by Bestseller Status 

The key to gaining maximum sales for your book when it comes to Amazon categories is a balance of two factors:  

• Accuracy – A category should be accurate enough that it reflects the genre and themes of your book, yet will also be easily found with a keyword. 
• Specificity – A category should be specific enough to encompass the niche of your book, often giving it less competition in the process. 

If your book category manages to be both accurate and specific simultaneously, your book will have a high visibility on Amazon--driving your sales up.  
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However, a common mistake is when authors are blinded by the possibility of receiving bestseller status, which leads them to lose track of their goal of high sales. You must resist the temptation to place your book in a non-competitive category in the chance that it gains best-seller status. This is not a profitable method of marketing your book, and a random accolade from Amazon will not be evidenced in your wallet. Instead, ignoring the motivation to become bestseller and remembering the two key factors to success will help drive up your profits and sales. 
 
Overall, it’s clear to see that categories can make a huge difference to the sales of your book on Amazon. If you avoid these key mistakes and focus on Rowanvale’s top tips, you’ll be maximising your profits in no time!  
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For further help with marketing your book on Amazon, check out our Amazon Analysis service.