How to Upload Your Book to KDP & 7 Keywords Optimization | Free Self-Publishing Course | #17

About this video

In video #17 of his free self-publishing course, Sean walks through uploading a book to KDP and optimizing the seven keywords boxes. He starts the ebook upload at kdp.amazon.com — language, title, subtitle, series, author, HTML description pasted in, and selecting ‘I own the copyright’ — then covers keywords in depth. He explains Amazon mixes and matches multiple words placed in one box, ranking for many combinations but more weakly for each, while one keyword per box ranks stronger for that term. Citing Dave Chesson from Kindlepreneur’s split testing, he recommends a hybrid: use 3 to 4 boxes for hyper-targeted, profitable keywords not already in the title or subtitle, one keyword per box, and use the remaining 3 to 4 boxes for mix-and-match coverage. Rules he lists: do not repeat title or category information, make no quality claims like best or top, make no temporary claims like on sale or new, do not add generic words like book, ebook or Kindle, and do not use misspellings to game the system. He advises choosing two relevant categories, setting no DRM, uploading a doc/docx manuscript and JPG cover, and previewing. He recommends enrolling in KDP Select at launch — noting it requires 90 days of Amazon exclusivity and violating it can close an account, but Amazon promotes Select books more and it enables Kindle Countdown Deals and five-day free promotions. For launch he says set the ebook at 35% royalty and $0.99, keep the file below 3 megabytes (compressing images, e.g. with TinyPNG), save as draft, then create the paperback with transferred metadata, a free KDP ISBN, PDF manuscript and cover, a $12 starting price (generally $12 to $16), and expanded distribution always selected.

Key takeaways

• Optimize the seven keywords with Dave Chesson’s hybrid Sean cites: 3 to 4 hyper-targeted keywords, one per box for strongest ranking, and mix-and-match word groups in the remaining 3 to 4 boxes
• Do not waste keyword boxes on words already in the title, subtitle or categories, quality claims like best, temporary claims like on sale, generic words like book/ebook/Kindle, or misspellings
• Enroll in KDP Select at launch despite 90-day Amazon exclusivity: Sean says Amazon promotes Select books more and only Select enables Kindle Countdown Deals and five-day free promotions
• Launch the ebook at $0.99 at the 35% royalty tier and keep the file below 3 megabytes by compressing images so that price point is available
• For paperback, use the free KDP ISBN, start around $12 (Sean suggests $12 to $16 generally), always select expanded distribution, and save as draft until after the launch video

Episode details: published April 3, 2020 · 13:01 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Sean Dollwet’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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