Posts Tagged ‘Ebooks’
Changing Reading Habits With Amazon
Posted by Andrew King in eBook Marketing on February 24th, 2010
Amazon is the largest bookseller in the world. It is also America’s biggest online retailer. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos, the company now has separate websites in the UK, France, Germany, Canada and China. It is, in short, a very successful business.
It’s easy to forget, given Amazon’s current level of success, exactly what a radical idea buying books on the internet and then having them delivered by post was back in 1994. Many business analysts and investors predicted trouble, if not outright failure, for Amazon during its early years. It wasn’t until the back end of 2001 that Amazon finally turned its first profit.
Having revolutionised the manner in which many people bought books, Amazon very quickly grew their portfolio by the addition of video, music CDs, toys and games and computer software. There are very few consumer items that can’t be found on Amazon today. You can even do your grocery shopping with them if you like.
Although Amazon now have an enormous range of products on offer, there is still a very strong association with books. The company is clearly very passionate about books - so when the original Kindle e-book reader was launched in November of 2007, it was immediately obvious that this was the ideal product for Amazon - it fitted right in with their business model.
It’s also easy to forget that the Kindle wasn’t the first e-book reader - not by a long way. Franklin’s eBookman had been released a decade earlier in 1999. The Sony PRS also stole a march on the Kindle when it launched in 2006. However, Amazon don’t seem to have suffered very much as a result of their tardiness. Thanks to their link with books, public awareness and trust in the Amazon brand, combined with the fact that there was a large, and ever expanding, selection of Kindle books and Kindle accessories to choose from, the Kindle rapidly overtook its competitors. In February of 2009 the improved and enhanced Kindle 2.0 was launched, rapidly followed by the large format DX model, and Amazon’s leading position solidified even more. The Kindle quickly became Amazon’s best selling product and, during the Christmas period of 2009, the Kindle became the “most gifted” Amazon product ever.
Today, although the Kindle is still very much the number one e-book reader on the market, competition is really hotting up. Other e-book readers with color screens exist, some have touch screen controls. After just a few short months the Kindle, as a piece of hardware, may be becoming slightly dated. However, to analyse the e-book reader market purely in terms of hardware specification would be to miss the point a little.
Amazon, more than any of its competitors, knows exactly what people who read large amounts of books - its target market and best customers - want and value. That’s why Amazon’s dominance of the e-book reader market is likely to continue for some time to come.
Discover the Amazon Kindle and view the wide range of Kindle accessories available to help you customise and protect your reader.
Strangling The Amazon Kindle At Birth
Posted by Abraham Killingholme in eBook Marketing on February 23rd, 2010
The Amazon Kindle e-book reader always seems to be in the news. It certainly attracts a lot of publicity and has had celebrity endorsements, of one type or another, from Oprah Winfrey, Hilary Clinton and Stephen King (amongst others). The constant media attention has turned the Kindle into an almost iconic gadget, like the iPod for example, and it has become part of the landscape of high tech gadgets today.
Hardly surprising then that it’s easy to forget what a relative newcomer the Kindle actually is and just how short it’s career to date has been. The first Kindle was launched in 2007. The upgraded and enhanced Kindle 2.0 came out in February 2009 and the large display DX model hit the streets in June of the same year.
In a way, it’s a compliment to Amazon that every new e-book reader that’s unveiled is hailed as the Kindle Killer. The same applies to other devices such as the Apple iPad for example. Although very different to the Kindle, there are still plenty of industry watchers who suggest that the launch of the iPad will signal the Kindle’s demise. In fact, were the iPad or any other device to put paid to the Kindle, it would be less of a case of killing it and more like strangling it at birth.
It’s easy to overlook the fact that, not only was the Kindle introduced fairly recently, but that Amazon was a relatively late entrant into the e-book reader market. The Franklin eBookman - the first dedicated e-book reader, launched in 1999, more than ten years ago. Sony’s PRS reader was released in 2006.
The fact that the Kindle reader has, in a relatively short period of time, become virtually synonymous with both e-books and e-book readers is a further testament to both Amazon’s business acumen and customer service. Amazon has, simply put, gone way beyond the release of a piece of hardware. The Kindle is much more than a cool piece of personal electronic technology. Amazon seem to have tapped in to a deep rooted consumer need to produce an entire Kindle “experience”.
The hardware itself is undoubtedly well designed and functionally excellent. It’s easy to use with one hand - on a crowded train, bus or plane. The e-ink display is excellent in a variety of different ambient conditions. However, it’s the ease of buying and downloading books (downloads take less than a minute), the convenience of not having to carry heavy conventional books with you, the fact that you can buy a new book whenever you like - without having to move from your sofa, and the enormous selection (over 400,000) of Kindle books to choose from, that has made the Kindle such a ubiquitous device.
Wireless free connectivity - with no monthly fee - and the trust and branding that Amazon enjoys have also contributed to the success of the Kindle. It represents a significant investment of time and effort by Amazon. Having entered the market late, Amazon is not about to allow its new best selling product to be killed off. Expect further innovation from Amazon’s Kindle development team in 2010.
Check out the Amazon Kindle for yourself - and don’t forget to pick up a Kindle cover - it’ll customise and protect your device.
Get Ready For The Apple iPad
Posted by Amanda Kinghorn in eBook Marketing on February 10th, 2010
Apple has finally unveiled their much anticipated tablet computer. The name is confirmed as the iPad, which took some pundits by surprise - earlier guesses included iSlate, iTablet etc. - and it’s fair to say that it has had a mixed reception so far. There is always a certain amount of polarisation where Apple is concerned and that’s pretty much the case here.
Many reviewers seem to be of the opinion that it is little more than a larger version of the iPod Touch. Others are considerably more complimentary about Apple’s new baby and are suggesting that it will lead to the death of netbooks, notebooks and Amazon’s Kindle reader. No doubt all will be revealed in March when the first iPads begin shipping. At this time, another success for Apple seems to be very much on the cards.
Drawing comparisons between the iPad and the Kindle seems to be pretty much par for the course right now. The devices are very different, so comparing them doesn’t make a lot of sense on the face of it. On the other hand, the Kindle has been the absolute “must have” gadget for months now - and has often been suggested to be the “iPod of books” - so perhaps the comparison makes more sense than it appears to. Perhaps we shall find that the iPod of books is actually the iPad before much longer?
The Kindle is undeniably a specialist device. It focuses on its main role - letting people read e-books - and it does it very well indeed. It also eases the process of buying books and having them delivered. Something which is good for both the user and Amazon. It does have some other, rather rudimentary functions, which it performs less well. Apple’s iPad is an enormously versatile device. Its superb color screen features touch screen controls and the device has an accelerometer fitted. It is a real Jack of all trades and will save you having to carry a number of different devices around with you.
So - are Amazon concerned that Apple is about to “eat their lunch” and kill off the Kindle reader (which is now their best selling product don’t forget)? Probably not. Once all the dust settles, and the launch excitement dies down a little, it should become obvious that there is a fairly big difference in pricing. The base model iPad is only $10 higher than the Kindle DX price of $ 489. However, it doesn’t incorporate 3G connectivity. Also there is a different pricing model in operation. The iPad has a charge of $ 15 per month for connection. Depending upon the amount of downloads you perform each month this could be as high as $ 30. The Kindle has 3G included in the price and there’s no monthly fee. Certainly, it’s possible that the appearance of the iPad could drive the Kindle DX price down - but that was always going to happen anyway. The only question was when.
One of the apps that many will use on the iPad will be the “Kindle app”, which basically allows users to read Kindle books on their Pod or Pad. It may be an opportunity for Amazon to increase the size of their potential market in this area. Apple will also have its own book store for iPad users - so there could be some price competition in future. If so, it will be the consumers who benefit.
Don’t forget, when the iPad launches in March, a lot of the potential buyers will be visiting Amazon to claim their new toy. It will probably generate a nice sales spike that month.
So, Amazon have a potential increase in the size of the market for Kindle books. It will also do very well in its capacity as a merchant retailing the iPad. The Kindle DX will probably see a downward price adjustment (which was going to happen anyway) but they will continue to sell well. It really just underscores how well suited Amazon’s business model is to selling electronics and books (e-books).
Discover the Amazon Kindle and cast your eye over the wide range of Kindle accessories available to help you personalise, protect and enhance your reader.
Gunshot Money System - How To Make Five Figure Income Without List
Posted by Jamie Gil Anderson in Google Adsense on February 6th, 2010
Did you struggling hard to make money online? Are you tired of your day job and want to find a change? In case you didn’t know there are plenty of ways to make four sometimes five figure income per month. You don’t need previous experience. Even better, some of the methods are free.
Method 1: Generate lots of money using Google Adsense or Yahoo Publisher Network. This one is the easiest for beginners. For some people, making lots of sales could be difficult and take years of practice. Well, if you just want to make extra dollars online, you don’t need to do that. Google Adsense would a perfect source of revenue.
Google Adsense can be found in several websites. For example, Youtube, Squidoo, MySpace and Hubpages. Notice that these websites have small text links all around the page. Anyone who click the link will be sent to advertiser’s website. Yes, the advertiser will pay both Google and website owner for the traffic.
The key to success with Adsense is your website theme and your ads position. In competitive industries, advertisers are willing to pay high, up to $5 for each click. You can get the ideas of what topic you are going to target by visiting Google Keyword Tool. Search for keywords with average CPC up to $5. Then, create Adsense website based on that keyword.
You can get traffic to your Adsense sites by using search engine optimization. However, this method could take months time to see the result, especially when your domain name is still new. The best would be to utilize web 2.0 sites like Hubpages, Squidoo and Docstoc. These sites are loved by Google and they allow you to publish content and make money using Adsense.
Method 2: CPA marketing method. CPA or cost-per-action marketing is another great way to make a killing without having to learn copywriting or email marketing. Yes, no purchase is required. However, you won’t make the money by just sending traffic. Instead, your visitors must complete the sign up process.
Although you don’t need to sell anything, the traffic must be targeted. Plus, you must choose the right offer to promote. Remember that people don’t like to wait for long process to get free offer. The shorter its sign up process, the better.
Method 3: Product launch formula. This one is taught in lots of courses lately, including Gunshot Money by Mark Dulisse. It is about affiliate marketing, so you need to sell other people’s products.
The method is about targeting product name keyword in search engine optimization campaigns or pay-per-click. People who search the net for these keywords already in mindset ready to buy. Therefore, it is very targeted with highest conversion.
Sick and tired of not making the money? You can try Gunshot Money method. Expect massive conversion.