How to Sell Books by the Truckload on Amazon - Updated 2021 Edition: 2021 Amazon Ads Powerhouse Edition

by Penny C. Sansevieri

How to Sell Books by the Truckload on Amazon (2021 edition) teaches you exactly how to do it – but smarter and with more success.Named as one of the top influencers of 2019 by New York Metropolitan Magazine, Penny Sansevieri has also taught Amazon-centric classes and webinars to thousands of authors leading up to the release of this ultimate guide to mastering the Amazon marketing system. The 2021 edition also introduces a brand new Powerhouse Amazon Ads chapter! Learn how to set up, manage and run your Amazon ads to gain more visibility for your book without breaking the bank.The proven strategies in this book will get you immediate results and increased target market exposure while dramatically upgrading your book marketing efforts to sell more books!Don’t waste time with all the disjointed misinformation out there, instead, let Penny Sansevieri show you how •Develop book descriptions that convert more browsers to buyers •Find keywords that help you connect with more shoppers • Increase sales through perfectly timed pre-order campaigns•Create Amazon ads that sell more books • Boost sales with strategic eBook marketing strategies•Capitalize on the secret Amazon relevancy score for your product• Get your book ranked #1 in its category How to Sell Books by the Truckload on Amazon is your must-read, go-to resource for finally making sense of all the features Amazon offers that have already proven successful for thousands of authors! Buy it on Amazon and you’ll also receive these FREE Blogger and social media listings, sample templates, and dozens of additional resources to get started with smarter book marketing right away.A special code to get this great information in our Master Amazon Video Program which is a step-by-step video companion program that ensures you’re executing each strategy exactly right! If you’ve bought one of my Amazon Truckload books in the past, this is the new, heavily updated, 2021 edition.

Genres: Nonfiction, Writing, Business, Self Help

142 pages, Paperback

First published December 3, 2013

About the author

I am the founder and CEO of Author Marketing Experts, Inc., a best-selling author and internationally recognized book marketing and media relations expert.

I am also an Adjunct Professor teaching Self-Publishing for NYU and was named one of the top influencers of 2019 by New York Metropolitan Magazine.

My company is one of the leaders in the publishing industry and has developed some of the most innovative Amazon Optimization programs as well as Social Media/Internet book marketing campaigns.

I am the author of 25 books, including How to Sell Your Books by the Truckload on Amazon, Revise and Re-Release Your Book, 5 Minute Book Marketing, and Red Hot Internet Publicity, which has been called the "leading guide to everything Internet."

AME has had dozens of books top bestseller lists, including those of the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal.

Please find me on Facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/pg/therealbo...

On Instagram at:
https://www.instagram.com/therealbookgal

And sign up for my free Monthly Book Marketing Planner:
https://www.amarketingexpert.com/mont...

Reviews

[Jessaca Willis · Rating 1 out of 5]

Outdated and Not Very Useful

This author has a blog post about Amazon keywords that ended sort of abruptly, but since it had a solid start and suggested reading this book to learn more, I gave it a shot.

I’m definitely glad I have a free/trial Kindle Unlimited membership right now because I would’ve felt swindled had I spent real money on this book.

Within the first couple pages, it became glaringly obvious that the information in this book was outdated. It made reference to Shelfari.com (which has merged with Goodreads), as well as a few other minor things.

Mostly though, none of the information in this book went deep enough to be helpful. Every time I thought I was finally reading a meaningful section, it would end and we’d move on to the next thing...

I also got the sneaking suspicion that everything said in this book can easily be found online. So do yourself a favor and just Google “how to sell books on Amazon” or something.

[Grady · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Let your book go to work for you'

Penny C. Sansevieri’s credentials are impressive: she is the founder and CEO of Author Marketing Experts, Inc., an Adjunct Professor for NYU, the book marketing and media relations expert, and the author of twenty books on every aspect of publishing and marketing books! And in this book she once again demonstrates why she is the ’go-to’ person on success in book publishing and marketing. She offers keen insights on unearthing options and opportunities, leaving the eager student to decide ‘How big do you want your business to be?’ Competition aside - Penny C. Sansevieri has the experience and the knowledge and the success of being a first rate writer. And she gets to the core of all aspects of her art/business to make it available to all wannabe authors.

As her legions of followers know, Penny offered this advice in her prior books on sales on Amazon, but this new, updated version is so much more detailed. She addresses the particularly effective Amazon Ads as a means to enhance marketing skills and sales! She states as she opens this new improve/enhanced version of her successful SELL BOOKS BY THE TRUCKLOAD series, ‘As of this writing there are approximately 8 million books on the Amazon site, with more being added every day. According to best estimates, there are 4,500 books published each day in the US, yet only 1% of those authors bother to spend any time on their Amazon page. What does this mean for you? It means that if you juts implement one strategy from this book, you’re 90% ahead of most of the authors our there vying for reader attention.’ Challenge – Accepted!

Now in addition to her sections on well timed pre-order campaigns, keywords and categories that increase attention (and sales!), using Kindle Unlimited to increase visibility and availability for sales (and reviews!), secrets as to how to enhance your book description, how to utilize Goodreads (Amazon owned) to promote interest and sales of your book – this new edition adds info on Amazon Ads: finding great keyword strings for your Amazon Ads, product targeting ads, running ads internationally, and writing a great book ad. This is realistic, factual and very valuable information to increase book sales the Amazon way!

As always, Penny keeps her guide accurate and to the point – a very valuable resource for all authors who want to sell their books! Very Highly Recommended for all authors – new and seasoned.

[Michael Slavin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is excellent!

It goes through the Amazon Marketing system as well as Goodreads in reference to what to do to help you position yourself and sell more books. The best one I've seen so far.

[Nancy Basile · Rating 5 out of 5]

So Helpful

Can’t wait to implement these strategies for my next book launch and beyond. Amazon doesn’t seem so overwhelming now. Thank you!

[Reagan Rothe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for New Authors

If you are an Indie author with very little knowledge of Amazon and KDP, then this book would be helpful.

[W. Whalin · Rating 5 out of 5]

When it comes to getting reviews, you want to listen to someone who has experience and can guide you through this specialized—yet significant area of publicity for your book. Let’s face it, customers (your readers) make buying decisions every day 24/7 on the basis of customer reviews. I’ve been writing reviews for print and online publications for years. In fact, I’ve written more than 450 customer reviews on Amazon.

Even with my extensive background, I learned a tremendous amount of insights throughout HOW TO GET REVIEWS BY THE TRUCKLOAD ON AMAZON http://amzn.to/JDwGLc. Penny Sansevieri knows her stuff—not only for marketing her own books but she has successfully helped many authors through her PR business. She takes this experience and pours the details into this valuable resource. Every author needs to get this book and read with your yellow highlighter. Then go back through and take action on the various suggestions. You can read this book multiple times and follow the links and resources.

In the opening, Sansevieri includes this guarantee, “let me make you a promise as a person who’s been marketing for many, many years. This book works. I guarantee it. If the methods in this book don’t get you more reviews, more exposure and more sales, you can return it to me, personally for a full refund.” Now when do you see that promise in a book? Rarely.

The examples and how-to information make this book a “must have” for any author. Whether your book is brand new or has been out for several years and you want to give it a new blast of promotion. Use the advice in Sansevieri’s book. Getting reviews by the truckload is not magic or something that happens without work. It will involve personal and consistent effort from you. I highly recommend this book. In fact, I’m going to take action on a number of things that I learned reading this resource for my books.

[E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75 out of 5 stars

"How to Sell Books by the Truckload on Amazon - 2020 Updated Edition" by Penny Sansevieri contains great information, laid out in an easy-to-follow format with pertinent illustrations (a little hard to see in the review copy, but hopefully they are larger in the published version).

I particularly appreciate having detailed explanations for how to use various aspects of Amazon and Goodreads as well as observations on what will and will not work and pitfalls to avoid. I am always energized after reading one of this author's books, and this is no exception, although my head is buzzing with ideas on what to try, so I suggest reading a couple of chapters at a time and putting those into practice rather than trying to do everything at once. There are so many little gems that it becomes challenging to decide what to focus on first. The bonus resources alone are invaluable because they will save time by providing links to sites that can help spread the word about your book (if you follow the author's advice and approach folks in the proper manner).

I've spent a lot of time telling some of my authors bits and pieces of the advice that is included in this book. It is wonderful to have all of this in one volume that I can recommend!


A copy of this title was provided to me for review.

[J.E. Nickerson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An invaluable resource for the self published author

When I found this book, I was trying to learn how to promote my newly published books on Amazon as a self published author. I didn’t have a clue what to do or who to talk to about my books. This book gave me a lot of great and helpful ideas on how I can promote my books and reach out to the community of readers and reviewers.

Some of the topics I learned about include:

-Using Amazon tagging system
-Where to go for reviews
-How to create compelling descriptions for my books on my blog and Good Reads

I felt a little overwhelmed with the amount of information in this book. I also felt empowered to take the next steps in my writing career as a self published author. I had a roadmap for my promotional endeavors and I understood how to talk to other authors and readers. Thank you Penny Sansevier for writing a book that was so perfectly tailored to the needs of a new author.

[Shani · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this new addition to her other resourceful books, the author focuses on how to really sell not only your book but yourself as an author. It's about using things like keywords, increasing your visibility through Amazon ads, and various smaller ways to get the word out there.

I loved that not only does she take time to give well thought out advice, but it's not overly complicated. You don't feel like you're reading a textbook on how to do something. Instead, it's a guide that encourages you gives simple examples. It's an excellent guide and resource for any author, but especially for ones that are just getting started within the arena of self-publishing. This has been useful for me as one of my main goals for the year is to finish the book I'm writing. This is a must read!

[Mary Jackson _TheMaryReader · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this in hopes of helping an author with her book sales. But as a reviewer I found a lot of useless information and some that was just over the top. At one point the author tells you that you need to ask reviewers to leave a 450 word review sorry but most people don't have time to read that. They just want to know if its worth the read. They can read the synopsis to find out what the book is about.
I will say this is not a book to help most authors. It's just very wordy and over the top.
2 stars and you are on your own if you grab this one.

[Robert III · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a new author-an independent author- I found this book extremely helpful in learning strategies to gain more exposure for my book. I would recommend this book for any author (independent or not). Only complaint I had of this book was that the screen shots in the book; the print was extremely small, and as someone that has vision problems, I often had to skip over those parts because I could not make out what was written.

[Joseph T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good. A lot of information but I am mad that ordered it on Kindle. It is not a book for that. There are graphs that do not show well and I think a book version would be better to reference things with.

[Deborah Gatchel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brave author, Good info

Writing a book for authors has to be one of the bravest moves ever. We in our time researching, writing, and editing. It's a tough crowd to please.

I bought this book after listening to Penny's book marketing podcast. I knew I would get solid information, and I did.

I finally understand keywords and was able to, in one sitting, come up with over 100 for my Amazon ads and I got some great ideas for marketing.

Downsides
There were a lot of screenshots in the book. They were too tiny to see on my Kindle app and when I click to zoom into them, the resolution was too low. I cannot read any of them.
There were a lot of random, wrongly hyphenated words. My guess is, this was a carryover from transferring the book from the print format.
Lastly, I will blame this on Amazon because I'm sure Penny knows what she is doing, some of the information is outdated. For example, she suggests adding reviews and promotions to your book description. Amazon does not allow this. Also, a lot of the features she. Mentioned in the Amazon Author Central section are no longer available.

So, this book can be a great addition to your resource Library. Do make sure you are up to date with the current, ever changing, terms and conditions for Amazon KDP

[Lynne Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I deliberated somewhat before buying this book because there had been some recent very negative reviews of it. However, at the price point offered I felt I had little to lose. The criticisms about book presentation I saw in previous reviews are very valid and rather surprising given the advice she gives about the importance of good presentation. On a kindle almost all the screen shots are impossible to see. That said, however, I feel there are some real nuggets in this book which I think will be very beneficial to me with respect to my own book I have just self-published on Amazon. The contents made me realise there was so much behind the scenes capacity I wasn't even aware of, let alone making best use of. It really made me take a good look at what was available to me in order to increase the visibility of my book in an extremely crowded Amazon space. I have no regrets at all about purchasing the book (despite the 4 star rating which was given because of the poor presentation of the visuals) and would recommend it to any novice self-publisher.

[Ella Mogensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This guide offers an updated, in-depth approach to selling books in volume on Amazon, blending tried-and-true sourcing methods with fresh insights into Amazon Ads as of 2021. The updated ad strategies are well‑explained, giving sellers a clearer roadmap to drive visibility and generate reviews at scale. Its strengths include a conversational tone and actionable advice on inventory planning, listing optimization, and PPC campaigns. On the downside, the heavy emphasis on large-scale volume may mask the importance of managing individual book profitability and cash flow. Some ad tactics may already feel outdated given how fast Amazon’s ad platform evolves, and a few sourcing suggestions seem geared toward North American markets, limiting their global applicability. It’s essential to study competitors on Amazon to benchmark ad models, pricing trends, review generation techniques, and niche saturation before scaling up, ensuring tactics fit your market and budget.

[C.L. Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book with excellent advice and marketing strategies. I don't know much about marketing, and I needed some help quickly as I was launching my second collection of short stories, A Candle in the Dark and other tales.
I had an Amazon Advertising campaign in progress when I began reading this book and I was getting mediocre (well, poor, honestly) results. After implementing some (some, mind you, not all) of the strategies and advise found in How to Sell Books by the Truckload on Amazon, I started a new campaign.
Within two days, my new campaign has more than 20,ooo impressions with a number a clicks and a few sales. That is a tremendous improvement over what I had been doing on my own.
I recommend this book to anyone trying to figure out SEO algorithms on Amazon or Google. The results are speaking for themselves after just a few short days.

[Laurisa Reyes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book about what to do to properly sell books on Amazon, but it lacks a lot of the "how". It's a quick easy read with lots of great ideas. But if you don't know how to navigate KDP & the other suggestions it makes, you'll have to learn most of that on your own. However, this is a good place to start.

[Shayla Raquel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn't sure how much I could learn from this book because I'm a self-publishing mentor and book marketer.

How wrong was I!

I must've taken 100 screenshots of my Kindle when reading this dynamite book. It's overflowing with information, and I'm shocked it's this inexpensive. Outstanding value for more information on Amazon than you'll know what do with.

[J.E. Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

just what I needed

I’m not even done editing my first book and I already feel like I’m prepared for the launch. I know she said too many 5 stars get suspicious on the ratings but I truly plan to read and watch everything she’s got before I self publish my book

[Dodo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very insightful and helpful book to anyone interested in selling on Amazon. Penny Sansevieri is clear and easy to understand in her writing. I highly recommend this book.

[Keri Kruspe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good info

[Wolf Cub · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

Gems inside. Quick, to the point and Well worth the read. If you are an author or aspiring author you need this book

[Maryjane Nordgren · Rating 4 out of 5]

exciting, challenging, but assumes i know more than i do

[Tricia Gardella · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those beginning indie authors trying to figure marketing out, this is a good one. Even if you are not ready to absorb it all, this book points you in the right direction.

[Giulietta Passarelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful and informative - much to digest - good reference book to keep on the shelf

[T. Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful

There is a lot of useful information here. A good resource for
learning the ropes. I will look over again I am sure.

[John McBrearty · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book I have found on how to sell books on Amazon, and I have read a bunch! I literally have read and reread this book at least five times. Extraordinary. JM

[Nuccia Ardagna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given a copy of this "power pack" book titled “How To Sell Books By The Truckload On Amazon” to review and for selfish reasons I was ecstatic to get my hands on it. Having published my very own book just recently, I was extremely curious to see if I had missed any key steps when marketing my book and I really did learn vital tips!

Not only did I read her book in less than 2 days but even more than that, I decided to try one of her tips on my own book to see if, when put into practice, would generate the success she claims. I will share details of those stats on May, 5th where I provide a full review.

This book is a “Power Pack” and is divided into two books, however, I will point out that they are not really two distinct books, but rather two books in one and is 158 pages total in length. Very easy to read and follow and she makes understanding Amazon’s algorithm very simple to grasp.

The first book focuses on understanding how Amazon works, that it functions like a search engine, like Google. When you understand that fundamental of how Amazon works, that’s when you can truly benefit from that knowledge and implement it. It covers important topics such as key words, SEO, categories, pricing, understanding KDP, and of course PROMOTING your book (or e-book). I gleaned quite a bit from that first part and I really want to share my first-hand experience with you in trying one of her tips.

I tried one of her promotions and that tip generated 886 downloads of my e-book in one day and it also helped close the gap on my rankings!

The second part of the book goes into detail on the importance of reviews. She offers valuable and practical advice on how to get reviews, interact with your readers and the power of networking with publishing houses, bloggers and sites such as Goodreads. There too, I am working on her suggestions and looking forward to the results.

With the book, I also received two sets of mini flash cards. A set of red ones called “RED HOT BOOK HACKS” and a blue set called “TIP” cards. Just as their names suggest, they offer tips and links to sites for more information.

The only drawback to the paperback format that I could see are the images of the screenshots. They are not too clear and not easy to see. In most cases I went online when I really wanted to understand what she was trying to show. However, that didn't stop me from giving it a 5 star.

The paperback sells for $6.99 and the Kindle edition sells for $3.09. At these very inexpensive prices you are truly getting your money’s worth! I highly recommend this book to any author who will be releasing a book in the near future or even authors like myself who already published a book (or books). The information is extremely valuable!

Based on my own positive results obtained in following Penny’s advice, I will be looking at more of her books.

[Iola · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mixture of Good and Less Good

Despite the title, How to Get a Truckload of Reviews on Amazon.com is about getting reviews from a range of sources, including traditional media, book bloggers, blog tours, and Amazon reviewers.

Some of the advice seems a little over-the-top for the average self-published author, such as compiling review packets to submit to newspapers and magazines in the hope of gaining a review. Sending unsolicited books in the hope of getting a review will rapidly get expensive (especially as I suspect the books will typically end up in the circular filing cabinet rather than being read and reviewed).

Some of the advice was excellent. As a book blogger, I absolutely agree on the importance of thanking bloggers who have participated in your blog tour. It’s a simple matter to send a quick email, tweet, or even comment on the blog post, but so few authors do it. I believe it improves your chances of being featured on the blog with your subsequent release. I also agree that it’s dodgy (she says unethical) to offer ‘incentives’ for positive reviews, and that offering to ‘edit’ a review (or write one) for a reviewer is less than honest.

However, I absolutely disagree with the recommendation to thank Amazon reviewers by commenting on the review, even if Amazon do suggest it. Thanking every reviewer looks needy if you have only a few reviews, and stalkerish if you have a lot. It looks self-serving if you only thank the positive reviewers, yet condescending if you thank the critical reviewers. This isn’t just my opinion: it’s one shared by a lot of the Amazon Top Reviewers (although, as stated above, thanking reviewers on blogs is appreciated, especially when the author has personally requested the review).

I also believe her advice to gift ebooks to reviewers via Amazon is outdated. A number of reviewers have recently had their reviews deleted, and many of these were reviews where the book had been gifted via Amazon. It’s a lot safer to either email the mobi file directly to the reviewer, or gift via Smashwords. Scuttlebutt is that Amazon sees gifted Kindle books as compensation, as the gift can be regifted, or declined and the value credited to any other purchase on the site.

While the good advice more than outweighs the bad, it’s likely the authors who are interested in buying a book like this aren’t themselves experienced reviewers, or experienced at dealing with reviewers. They don’t know all the ins and outs of Amazon, and are at risk of unknowingly following bad advice—which is why I can’t recommend this book, despite all the good advice.

[Shani · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always been an avid reader. From the moment I read my first book in kindergarten, all the way up until this day, I’ve devoured them. I’ve been told I devour books instead of merely reading them. For someone like me who does look at the reviews on books on Amazon as well as other sites, this was an interesting read. So many authors are coming forward with new and exciting reads each day. Some are published through large publishers, some through smaller ones and some even self-published. Because you can receive books in so many different formats today, it’s important to remember that you have to cross promote. You can’t just add a title to your blog or site; you have to get it out there to the masses. There are endless possibilities for advertisement of course. But in the end, Amazon is one of, if not the biggest retailers for books. As an author of course you’re going to want to get your work to the tops of the lists. As a customer, you want to see what the best from the author is at the moment. You want to be able to look through their page and see the reviews, availability and descriptions of current as well as upcoming books.

I think Ms. Sansevieri does a pretty good job of pointing out the key points. One key point is in using keywords. Amazon is like just about any search engine out there. You type in something you are looking for and it brings back a list of items that fit into that. Using a good description with keywords is a must. If you give a good summary of what your book is about, then you are going to get more hits. You can’t just put something like, “this is a book about a man and his dog”, when in actuality it’s a complex story about a man who learns how to accept the terms of his life after war. It’s through the devotion and love of his dog that pushes him to strive for understanding.

She explains things in an easy fashion that doesn't bore you into frustration. The example pictures given in the book can be hard to read depending on what type of format you’re reading it on. I read it both on my kindle and my laptop and portions were difficult to see. My two concerns would be the images not being formatted to the book very well and the fact it’s short. I see there is a sequel to the book and would be more of an asset if they are read together. I received a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.