Is it Cheating or is it Not? - Ploys to get on the Amazon bestseller list

I was over at Angela Hoy's website today and read an interesting comment she made about people getting over on the Amazon ranking system by sending out email lists to get people to buy your book on the same day with freebies as incentives. She honed in on John Kremer who used this tactic to get his books on Amazon's bestseller lists and is urging other authors to do the same on his blog.

John Kremer isn't the only one who has used this tactic, but it is on his blog where a certain "anonymous" poster tells him like it really is. Here's the post that started it all. After that, sparks started to fly after John read Angela's article and posted this on his blog. Whoa...if you want some excitement in your day, this is the place to be. It's like St. Helen's erupting again!

As for me, when my book came out, I had heard of this way to get your book to the top of the Amazon bestseller list, but thank God I didn't have any freebies to hand out because it can be looked at as manipulation of the system. I guess it depends on whether you want to turn a blind eye to this fact and become a bestseller overnight. I know some people - highly respected people - that have done this effectively and I don't think of them less, but I wouldn't do it for personal reasons.

I knew that one day someone was going to have a field day with it and I didn't want to be in the line of fire. Peacetime is waaaay better for me.

But, I'm curious. What are your views on this? Is this cheating or is it not?

8 comments:

  1. I don't consider it cheating only business. Sometimes the business of writing worries people who want to have their art discovered by serendipity and become the beloved soulmate (grin) of the reader. If ithelps sales than that is a good thing. I think it would maybe sometimes depend on the topic. For example I am not going to offer a free prayer cloth for ordering my book Life with Mother to help the reader over come grief... well, maybe not. Wonder if that would work? Absolution anyone?

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  2. Well, you know, I offer a free ebook when someone buys my book at Amazon. I don't consider that cheating either because I'm offering something for free for buying the book, not because I want my Amazon rankings to go up, but because I think people like getting freebies. Now if I said "buy this book to get the free ebook on this certain day" and mailed it to fifty million people, I'm not so sure that's credible. Still deciding what's right on this issue.

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  3. You're right, easywriter. It is business and I think that's what John Kremer is trying to address. I guess as long as it's not against the law and you can sell books, it's up to the individual as to how they sell them. Still undivided on which stand I'm taking on this.

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  4. I would like to clear up one misconception in your post. I have never used the Amazon bestseller campaign to promote any of my books.

    And I really don't tell people they should. I tell them it's an option that they should consider. And whether they buy into a program to teach them how to do it and hold their hands while doing it -- or they simply read how to do it on my web site (http://www.bookmarket.com/jason.html) -- well, I really don't care which option they choose. That is all up to the individual.

    Having said all that, I will use an Amazon bestseller campaign probably when my new 6th edition of 1001 Ways to Market Your Boosk comes out. I think it's a great way to highlight your book whether you call your book a bestseller or not.

    John Kremer

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  5. Thanks for commenting, John. I know a lot of people, highly respected people, that have done this and it worked for them. I considered doing it at one time, who knows what I'll do in the future. BTW, I have your book as millions other people do I'm sure, and wish you much success when your 6th edition comes out. You know, I really don't care how people climb to the top as long as it's legal. Sorry that you had to come into all this controversy and I just thought my readers would like to keep informed on ways people climb up the bestseller list. After all, it's everyone's goals or should be anyway.

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  6. I don't know if the amazon practice is "legal" or "legitimate," but I do know several people at Amazon who get really upset with this practice. Why? Because a lot of the people who order the books (mainly to get all the free goodies) and as soon as they have them they cancel the order or if they get the book, they return it to Amazon.
    My first book, Dunnottar, was the No. 1 bestselling Scottish novel on Amazon for almost 3 months. I didn't even know it until someone else handed me a printout of it. It got there by hard work--over a long period of time--but it stayed there for quite a while, too. Call me old-fashioned if you'd like, but I'd rather do it that way. (Incidentally, it did reach No. 90 on the overall Amazon list during that time, too.)

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  7. See, now Janet's experience to the Amazon bestseller list is, in my opinion, legitimate. It took hard work to get it up there, a lot of promoting and you can stand back in awe of this, but when people tell you to buy their book on a certain day and hand out all these goodies to bribe you to do so, hm...just doesn't seem very credible. I don't condone, I just don't look at it as big a feat than if you did it without bribes.

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  8. My opinion is that I don't care what other people do, that's their business, but I wouldn't do it. I guess I will offer incentives, but I won't tell them either buy it on a certain day or the deal is off sort of thing. When people advertise this, I don't buy. That's just me. If people want to buy my book anytime, the free ebook offer still exists. It makes me feel that people feel that they have to buy it on a certain day to make this particular author become a "best seller." Now if they made this offer year-round, then sure I'll buy the book but it gives me the feeling that they are only offering it to attain their own goals and it just doesn't sit right with me. Of course, that's my opinion. They can do what they want. I don't think worse of them because I am not one to judge; I just would not do it myself.

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