I strongly suspect I'm paying the price for not being more active about marketing my books last year. I was seeing less and less return on the pay-per-click ads I had up on Amazon, so I gave up on them early in 2018 and figured I'd wait until I was ready to release The First World Problems of Jason Van Otterloo in the fall before investing any more. More books = more bang for the buck, at least in theory. If a reader clicks an ad and buys a book and enjoys it, maybe they'll seek out another of an author's titles.
So I waited it out as my sales shriveled, with as much as 50 percent of my Amazon revenue coming through KDP Select, the program where Kindle Unlimited subscribers can download your book for free, and you get paid for the number of pages they read. And even that wasn't anywhere near what it was a couple of years ago. It was so lame, in fact, I decided to drop out of KDP Select in the fall. I removed my first three books by November, and never enlisted First World Problems.
And now that I'm digging into these Also Boughts, I'm even more convinced leaving KDP Select was the right move. Because I suspect most of these shitty Also Boughts that have nothing whatsoever to do with my novel came about because of indiscriminate Kindle Unlimited subscribers.
Or unscrupulous ones, in the case of the cookbooks, which look phony as hell the closer I look at them. KDP Select has a serious issue with scammers, uploading crap just to earn a quick buck. You tell me, is a book called Mediterranean Diet Cookbook: With Over 100 Best Healthy Food Recipes, Meal Plan to Lose Weight likely to be well written? The title sounds like it was poorly translated from Maltese. Here's a review someone left:
"While this book overall has some good ideas and is informative, there are so many errors and omissions in the recipes that most are useless! If this writing was edited, perhaps they had too many aperitifs before working on this. Very amateurish."
Red-flag scam alert!
One of the other cookbooks is called Fruit Pies: Practical Guide to Homemade Baking. Several reviews are critical of recipes that call for store-bought crusts and canned fruit filling. Sounds less than legit.
So this is the company my book is keeping in Also Bought land. Well, they're not all that bad, but even most of the legit books don't seem like they would share much of an audience with mine. Lots of romances and books about the Holocaust. (Not Holocaust romances, mind, but two very distinct sets of books.) In tabbing through the books listed almost every day, I did eventually notice some changes for the better. Jonathan Tropper's One Last Thing Before I Go showed up a week or so ago. A Camille Pagan book popped in briefly. And this week, one of my own books, Nine Bucks a Pound, appeared. Yay. I mean, ideally, you want your own books all to be there so readers can easily find them, especially if they don't know you've written others.
Wednesday afternoon I went through every book appearing as an Also Bought for Sorry I Wasn't What You Needed. All 97 of them. I clicked on each link and scrolled through its Also Boughts, checking to see if they linked back to my book. Out of 97, only two did, and one of those was my book. The only book that wasn't written by me that linked back was The Drift of Things, by Ben Schwartz. I had never heard of this book, but based on the blurb and the Look Inside, I could tell this was a legit match. It's about a guy in his 30s who returns to his hometown for his mother's funeral and has to deal with crap from his past. Mine is about a guy in his 30s who returns to his hometown for his father's funeral and has to deal with crap from his past. So, yeah, you could see there might be some crossover readership. (And I enjoyed the part I read enough to buy The Drift of Things, so the Also Bought link just got a tiny bit stronger.)
Over the past couple of months, I've been running Sponsored Product ads on Amazon. These allow you to target specific authors or books that are similar, at least in audience, to yours. When a shopper searches for an author or book that you've targeted, your book will appear in the "Sponsored products related to this item" section, which appears right below the Also Boughts. I've had decent luck with a handful of author names, where users search on them, see my ad, click and buy. This is great for two reasons. 1) It's a sale, yay. 2) It's building relationships, in theory, with books that I actually want to show up in my book's Also Boughts. And in time, hopefully there will be enough sales for a link back to appear in the related book's Also Boughts.
This is the ultimate goal. Also Boughts are like free ads, only more powerful. Much more powerful. For starters, they come above the ads. And then, obviously, anyone who understands the difference would likely give more credence to the Also Boughts.
I think I have things moving in the right direction, but this is like turning a battleship and it's likely to take time before all the crap links disappear from my Also Boughts. And this is assuming that my theory of why they showed up there in the first place is correct. I wish I understood better exactly how Amazon makes these associations, how many common purchasers it takes to form an Also Bought, whether free Kindle Unlimited downloads count as strongly as a full-price purchase, and if Amazon weighs them any differently depending upon whether the KU subscriber actually read the book or merely downloaded it.
But I'm learning. Better late than never.
In case anyone is interested, and for the sake of logging all this somewhere I can find it again myself, below are the Also Boughts that were appearing for Sorry I Wasn't What You Needed as of Wednesday, February 6. The KU column indicates whether the book was enrolled in Kindle Unlimited as of Wednesday. Fifty-three of the 97 were, though note that books that were not in KU then could possibly have previously been, as mine was.
| Book | Author | Position | Price | KU | Links Back? |
| Mediterranean Diet Cookbook | Inna Volia | 1 | $2.99 | Yes | No |
| Fruit Pies: Practical Guide to Homemade Baking | Melissa Teigen | 2 | $0.99 | Yes | No |
| The Maddening | Andrew Neiderman | 3 | $6.00 | No | No |
| Air Fryer Cookbook | Inna Volia | 4 | $2.99 | Yes | No |
| Prayers and Lies: A Novel | Sherri Wood Emmons | 5 | $9.00 | No | No |
| Don't Look Back: A haunting mystery perfect for the long, dark nights | Ben Cheetham | 6 | $0.99 | Yes | No |
| A Dog’s Luck: A Love Story and a Family Saga Intertwined | Liora Barash Morgenstern | 7 | $3.99 | Yes | No |
| Gone Hollywood: A Romantic Comedy | Sally Mason | 8 | $3.99 | Yes | No |
| Mary Lincoln: Biography of a Marriage | Ruth Painter Randall | 9 | $0.99 | No | No |
| The Couple on Cedar Close | Anna-Lou Weatherley | 10 | $2.99 | No | No |
| The Distance Between Us: A Novel | Noah Bly | 11 | $4.20 | No | No |
| I'm Not From Around Here: A Jewish Boy … | Ishai Klinowsky | 12 | $2.99 | Yes | No |
| Nine Bucks a Pound | James Bailey | 13 | $3.99 | No | Yes |
| The Third Hill North of Town | Noah Bly | 14 | $1.99 | No | No |
| Tilting: A Memoir | Nicole Harkin | 15 | $3.99 | Yes | No |
| The War of the Worlds | H.G. Wells | 16 | $0.99 | No | No |
| Man Down | Roger Smith | 17 | $5.99 | Yes | No |
| Two Princes and a Queen | Shmuel David | 18 | $3.99 | Yes | No |
| Best Served Frozen (The Derry Women Series Book 4) | Gerald Hansen | 19 | $4.99 | Yes | No |
| The Greatest Gift: Contemporary Romance Novel | Jeremy Asher | 20 | $3.99 | Yes | No |
| American Journey: The First Three Novels | John A. Heldt | 21 | $6.99 | Yes | No |
| Angels: A Paranormal Boxed Set | Addison Moore | 22 | $7.99 | No | No |
| The Drift of Things | Ben Schwartz | 23 | $4.99 | Yes | Yes |
| The Annie Szabo Mystery Series Vol 1-2 | Meredith Blevins | 24 | $7.99 | Yes | No |
| Rethinking Possible: A Memoir of Resilience | Rebecca Faye Smith Galli | 25 | $0.55 | No | No |
| The Gospel of Galileo Galilei | Augustina Comte | 26 | $3.99 | No | No |
| Saving Babe Ruth | Tom Swyers | 27 | $4.99 | Yes | No |
| Swans Are Fat Too | Michelle Granas | 28 | $0.99 | Yes | No |
| The Haunting in Barry's Lodge: A Gripping Supernatural Suspense | Annie Walters | 29 | $0.99 | No | No |
| I Love You My Child, I'm Abandoning You: Holocaust book memoirs | Ariela Palacz | 30 | $3.99 | Yes | No |
| Love For Sale (The Cost of Loving Series Book 2) | Martin Humphries | 31 | $0.99 | No | No |
| Killed | James Kipling | 32 | $5.99 | Yes | No |
| What the Wind Knows | Amy Harmon | 33 | $4.99 | No | No |
| Stim | Kevin Berry | 34 | $3.99 | Yes | No |
| Star-Spangled Manners: In Which Miss Manners Defends American Etiquette | Judith Martin | 35 | $10.49 | No | No |
| Three Brothers Lodge - The Complete Series Box Set | Morris Fenris | 36 | $9.99 | Yes | No |
| Mr. Love: A Romantic Comedy | Sally Mason | 37 | $3.99 | Yes | No |
| Emergency Exit (The Derry Women Series Book 8) | Gerald Hansen | 38 | $4.99 | Yes | No |
| The Munich Girl: A Novel of the Legacies that Outlast War | Phyllis Edgerly Ring | 39 | $0.99 | No | No |
| A Heart's Assurance (Bellingwood Book 21) | Diane Greenwood Muir | 40 | $3.99 | Yes | No |
| The Medium: A Paranormal Adventure Novel Full of Supernatural Events | Ori Koskas | 41 | $0.00 | Yes | No |
| Beneath these Stars (Lucy Mitchell Book 2) | Hannah Ellis | 42 | $4.99 | Yes | No |
| Songs in Ordinary Time: A Novel | Mary McGarry Morris | 43 | $9.99 | No | No |
| The Risen: A Novel | Ron Rash | 44 | $10.99 | No | No |
| Dog Gone Lies (Pacheco & Chino Mysteries Book 1) | Ted Clifton | 45 | $4.99 | Yes | No |
| Good Crime: A Kat Makris Greek Mafia Novel | Alex A. King | 46 | $3.99 | Yes | No |
| Killer | James Kipling | 47 | $0.00 | Yes | No |
| Magical Cool Cats Mysteries Boxed Set Vol 1 (Books 1, 2 & 3 & A Christmas Feral) | Mary Matthews | 48 | $1.20 | Yes | No |
| The Odds of Loving Grover Cleveland | Rebekah Crane | 49 | $0.99 | Yes | No |
| Real Life & Liars | Kristina Riggle | 50 | $7.99 | No | No |
| Escape to Osprey Cove: Book 1 of The Osprey Cove Lodge Series | Luisa Marietta Gold | 51 | $2.99 | Yes | No |
| Mommie Dearest 40th Anniversary Edition | Christina Crawford | 52 | $1.99 | No | No |
| The Year THEY Tried to Kill Me | Salvatore Iaquinta | 53 | $2.99 | No | No |
| My Father's Kingdom: A Novel of Puritan New England | James W. George | 54 | $2.99 | Yes | No |
| White Jaguar: An Inspector Marco Nayal Crime Detective Thriller | Preben Ormen | 55 | $3.99 | Yes | No |
| The Self-Care Project: How to let go of frazzle and make time for you | Jayne Hardy | 56 | $0.99 | No | No |
| Texas Troubles (An Ollie Stratford Cozy Mystery Book 1) | N.C. Lewis | 57 | $2.99 | Yes | No |
| Stepmother: A Memoir | Marianne Lile | 58 | $5.56 | No | No |
| I Only Wanted to Live: The Struggle of a Boy to Survive the Holocaust | Arie Tamir | 59 | $3.99 | Yes | No |
| A Drop in the Ocean: A Novel | Jenni Ogden | 60 | $3.35 | No | No |
| Round the Corner (Sister Circle Series Book 2) | Nancy Moser | 61 | $3.99 | Yes | No |
| One Last Thing Before I Go: A Novel | Jonathan Tropper | 62 | $8.99 | No | No |
| The Four Gifts of Anxiety | Sherianna Boyle | 63 | $12.99 | Yes | No |
| Can You See Us Now? | Cheryl Benton | 64 | $4.99 | Yes | No |
| Shoot to Kill | James Kipling | 65 | $5.99 | Yes | No |
| Veronica's Grave: A Daughter's Memoir | Barbara Bracht Donsky | 66 | $5.56 | No | No |
| 1123 Hard To Believe Facts: From the Creator of the Popular Trivia | Nayden Kostov | 67 | $4.99 | Yes | No |
| Illegal: A True Story of Love, Revolution and Crossing Borders | John Dennehy | 68 | $2.99 | Yes | No |
| Saving Noah | Lucinda Berry | 69 | $4.99 | Yes | No |
| A Dark and Bloody Ground: A True Story of Lust, Greed, and Murder | Darcy O'Brien | 70 | $1.99 | No | No |
| Magnolia Gods (River Sunday Romance Mysteries Book 2) | Thomas Hollyday | 71 | $2.99 | Yes | No |
| Skip Langdon Vol. 1-9: (The Skip Langdon Series) | Julie Smith | 72 | $9.99 | Yes | No |
| Brought To Our Senses: A Family Saga Novel | Kathleen H. Wheeler | 73 | $7.49 | No | No |
| The Essay: A Novel | Robin Yocum | 74 | $10.99 | No | No |
| Fragments of Isabella: A Memoir of Auschwitz | Isabella Leitner | 75 | $6.00 | No | No |
| The Road to Bittersweet | Donna Everhart | 76 | $9.99 | No | No |
| 223 Orchard Street | Renee Ryan | 77 | $4.99 | Yes | No |
| Fleeing The Jurisdiction (The Derry Women Series Book 3) | Gerald Hansen | 78 | $4.99 | Yes | No |
| Gold (River Sunday Romance Mysteries Book 4) | Thomas Hollyday | 79 | $2.99 | Yes | No |
| Those Children Are Ours (Jennie Bateman's Story Book 1) | David Burnett | 80 | $2.99 | Yes | No |
| Family Ghouls (A Greek Ghouls Mystery Book 1) | Alex A. King | 81 | $0.00 | No | No |
| Riding Standing Up: A Memoir | Sparrow Spaulding | 82 | $4.99 | No | No |
| Southern Magic (Sweet Tea Witch Mysteries Book 1) | Amy Boyles | 83 | $0.99 | Yes | No |
| While My Sister Sleeps | Barbara Delinsky | 84 | $5.99 | No | No |
| Sleeping Arrangements | Laura Shaine Cunningham | 85 | $2.99 | Yes | No |
| Breaking Out of Bedlam: A Novel | Leslie Larson | 86 | $10.99 | No | No |
| The Grass Harp (Vintage International) | Truman Capote | 87 | $5.99 | No | No |
| Harvesting the Heart: A Novel | Jodi Picoult | 88 | $12.99 | No | No |
| Face Of Our Father | G. Egore Pitir | 89 | $2.99 | No | No |
| The Vanished Child: A Jayne Sinclair Genealogical Mystery | M J Lee | 90 | $4.99 | Yes | No |
| Rent A Husband: a Romantic Comedy | Sally Mason | 91 | $4.99 | Yes | No |
| The Group: A Novel | Mary McCarthy | 92 | $10.20 | No | No |
| Bread Toast Crumbs: Recipes for No-Knead Loaves & Meals to Savor Every Slice | Alexandra Stafford | 93 | $15.99 | No | No |
| The Night Child: A Novel | Anna Quinn | 94 | $0.99 | No | No |
| Remedy House (Home Sweet Home Book 3) | Ruth Hay | 95 | $3.99 | No | No |
| Up the Down Staircase | Bel Kaufman | 96 | $1.99 | No | No |
| In a Different Key: The Story of Autism | John Donvan | 97 | $14.99 | No | No |
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