Jimbaran Bali Indonesia
I stumbled across some heavy duty blogging – and marketing – influencers over the years.
Some of their horror stories make you piddle in your pantaloons.
I even came across an OG from the mid-90’s (around the time of Bezos) who got banned from Amazon.
He got da boot recently.
He has been around the block a few times. He has no idea how the ban came down.
Imagine spending 30 years online building your brand. In one fell swoop, Amazing Amazon bans you with no reason, no feedback and no reliable way to get a genuine response from the behemoth.
Crazy, right?
Well I have a simple solution for you.
Instead of tap-dancing on razor blades for those rat b*stards over at Amazon….joking of course……just do this:
- build your blog into a trust-inspiring resource
- publish long form, practical content for your ideal reader
- be consistent
- earn credibility
- let trusting readers buy your eBooks without needing to review the eBooks since the trusting readers believe you based on your blog posts not some airy, questionable reviews which may or may not sound like AI-generated content and could be a common cause of the ban smack-down going down over there
Minus the not-so-credible review thingee, Amazon is unstable by default because it is so big.
Let us re-think this one.
The world in its foolishness says that “big” is stable. But unless you own the big company it is highly unstable for you. Why? You are the product not the owner. Who sets the rules? The product or the owner? Do the owners always think solely about the product before making business decisions? Never. Owners think about the bottom line first and foremost. This is why big is highly unstable for the little guys depending on big business for their meager returns.
People Buy What They Want Not Necessarily Because Someone Says Nice Stuff About You
I can get pretty much most people to say nice things about me.
But does that prove I know what I’m talking about as a blogger? Does that prove I know how to become a successful blogger? Does that prove I know how to teach bloggers how to succeed?
Of course not!
Getting people to drop positive reviews for your eBooks proves that you know how to manipulate people. In most cases at least, bloggers get positive reviews by:
- asking for positive reviews or manipulating readers
- guilting
- cajoling
- begging
- bugging
- demanding
- bothering
- pestering
Some reviews occur organically. Yet a decent chunk flow from manipulative methods. I see this as wasted motion.
I see nothing wrong with these strategies. But Amazon does. Amazon boasts plenty of rules because a world-wide user base demands one to enact a crazy volume of rules to avoid the ship from sinking. The gen pop is kinda nuts.
Anyway, building your blog into a trust-building resource with practical blog posts goads readers to buy your stuff based on:
- long form blog posts
- practical content published to your blog
…….NOT based on sugary sweet Amazon reviews.
Do you see the difference?
You can control one.
You cannot control the other.
You can be truly helpful through one.
The other is about a lesson in manipulation.
Wouldn’t you rather turn your blog into a money-maker versus capsizing on the ever-changing whims of Amazon to earn your daily blogging bread?
Do you want people to pull the trigger based on what Amazon users say or how you explicitly help people on your blog?
What appears to be the most sustainable blogging income model?
Should you profit through your true helpfulness or personal opinions about your premium offerings on a site where you wield no real power?
How this Looks
OK.
Imagine if a blogger wants blogging tips.
He types in “successful bloggers to follow” on Google and sees this at position 1:
14 Successful Bloggers to Follow
He reads the post, deems me to be a credible blogging tips blogger based on the depth of the blog post and buys one of my eBooks or courses because he trusts:
- me
- my content
- my brand
- my online business
I helped solve one of his blogging problems. He trusts me for that. He buys my stuff because he trusts me and my content.
Do you see the elegance of this tactic? Publish something helpful. Help your targeted reader. Earn their trust. Earn blogging income. No manipulating, begging or bugging goes into this process. No Amazon politics get factored in. I do not need to chase down random strangers with my “eBook review begging bowl” to get 5 star reviews in order to generate sales.
My blog content generates sales.
Consider the passive income implications here.
Think about being free from time and location as passive blog traffic and passive blogging income flourish in such an environment.
Most of all, consider being free of Amazon’s at times impossible to guess tendrils.
Sell eBooks through dozens or hundreds of digital store fronts other than Amazon. Who cares? The blog earns the income not the platform. Sell eBooks through carrier pigeons for all that I care. Readers trust your content then pull the trigger on your premium offering. The blog does the work after you work on the blog.
Going this route immunizes you from Amazon.
You can then remove all eBooks from Amazon to focus exclusively on building your blog traffic organically.
What Is the Catch?
Versus chasing positive reviews you patiently publish:
- long form
- practical
- detailed
blog posts to:
- solve reader problems
- drive organic traffic
- increase passive blogging income
Is the process long?
You bet it is.
Yet the process is an investment in freedom not a painful sacrifice taking you nowhere of note.
I wrote and published 2 blog posts today as of this post. Each works for me around the clock like a passive Blogging From Paradise Dot Com Employee. Does that sound like a painful sacrifice or wise investment?
I’m going with a wise investment on this one.
Conclusion
Turn your blog into a credibility building machine.
Generate eBook sales through your content.
Dissociate yourself from the fickle world of Amazon.
