Why Your Amazon Book Sales Are Down

Have you noticed a dip in sales?

You’re not alone! Many indie authors, myself included, have experienced lower pre-order numbers as well as lower income in the last 6-8 weeks. 

This is partly due to an unstable economy and less disposable income, but something else has been going on in the background. Amazon recently changed their algorithm to prioritize external traffic (clicks from outside of Amazon, like Facebook or your newsletter) vs. their previous algorithm, which heavily relied on keywords.

This has been discouraging for lots of authors and small businesses on Amazon. When sales are down and it feels like the machine that is Amazon is working against you, it’s easy fall into a downward spiral. 

Are my covers bad? Do people not like my books anymore? Should I start a new pen name? Do I need to start writing a book a week? 

These are some thoughts that come to my head when I see a dip in sales. HOWEVER, I’m reminded of something I often tell my coaching clients: Don’t make business decisions or publishing decisions out of fear.

Yes, the game is changing. Yes, it will require us to change with it. But that’s not a reason to give up! We’ve never had control over Amazon (or Facebook, for that matter), so let’s focus on what we CAN control:

• Strong branding. What 3-5 tropes can readers expect from your books? Do your covers, blurbs, tagline, and logo line up with your chosen tropes?
• Grow your newsletter!! This sales tool is more important now than ever. This is how you’ll get a majority of external traffic to your Amazon landing page. Pro-tip: Use attribution links via services like Bitly or GeniusLink! This way, you can keep track of how many people clicked as well as where that traffic is coming from.
• Grow your social media platforms. This is going to be another way to get external traffic. Share on all platforms, stick to a schedule, and test new kinds of content.
• Be consistent. Aside from external traffic, the new algorithm picks up on sellers who put out consistent, quality products (in our case, books). Set a schedule for 2026 and stick to it!
• Paid promo. Be picky! Romance-specific promos are going to yield better results. Using a first-in-series book will make you the most money since people will *hopefully* read the rest of the series.
• Ads. No one likes ads – at least. I don’t. However, if you have the budget, Facebook ads might be a good idea. I’m waiting until after the holiday season to tweak my ads since this time of year has a crazy high CPC.