Featherstone 
Why do authors need to know about key words? And how can Publisher Rocket help?
Understanding and investing in keyword knowledge is important for any writer who wants to approach being an author in a professional way. It’s just part of the business of being a writer (whether you’re traditionally-published or an indie author).
I use a keyword and category research tool (it’s actually quite fun to use!) called Publisher Rocket at various stages of my book writing process including:
- when I’m initially fleshing out a book idea to see if there is a market for it
- at book proposal stage (whether my proposal is for my own indie publishing planning or traditional publisher)
- as the manuscript nears completion and I need to nail the keywords for the title, sub-title and book metadata
- during the creation of content for my author website and author blog
- when planning book marketing campaigns using Amazon Ads and Facebook Ads etc.
But how are keywords relevant to your writing, your book and your author brand? I cover these off in more detail in Look – It’s Your Book!) but to give you a taste:
- We all rely on keywords to help us find things on the internet
- Readers rely on keywords and categories to help them find books in online book stores
- Librarians type in keywords and browse through categories to find relevant books
- Media looking up topics come across sites due to relevant keywords
- The right keywords used in your book’s title, sub-title and your book blurb help discoverability for your book on online book sites including Amazon, Booktopia and independent bookstores
- Using the most effective keywords in your book’s metadata and your author bio (which appear across the internet on services such as Nielsen, Thorpe-Bowker, IngramSpark) will help your book and author site appear higher up in search engine listings and book industry databases.
As writers we use words all the time, but…how do we know what keywords to use for this purpose? And how do you know what keywords and terms readers are actually typing in to Amazon?
I use a keyword research shortcut, a program called Publisher Rocket (and yes, I’m an affiliate for Publisher Rocket because I wholeheartedly believe it’s a great tool for authors whether you’re traditionally published or self-published). Why? It saves so much time and provides a wealth of information to help you quickly and easily see what the best keywords and categories might be for your author brand and your book.
For me, I’ve used Publisher Rocket for market research to decide on the keywords for my sub-titles, blurb and book metadata (what is book metadata? there’s info on that in my book too).
I also use Publisher Rocket to get insights on other books and authors who are targeting the same readers as me, as well as for deciding which categories to list my books in. It is basically a book marketing tool that helps me navigate the ins-and-outs of Amazon listings and discoverability, but with the added bonus that it improves my books’ all round performance and discoverability across the internet.
There is no free version of Publisher Rocket, but it has been available for $USD97 (about $129AUD) which I think is great value for the clarity it offers. It also has a 30-day money back guarantee. That said, Dave Chesson and the team at Kindlepreneur are about to release some upgrades in 2022 so the price will be rising soon. The upgrades include:
- Improved Amazon Ads System – new capabilities and ways of pulling targeted keywords
- Historical Category Data – See the sales and popularity of all +14,000 categories and their trends
I like too that I was able to buy Publisher Rocket once, and use it for multiple books. I much refer that than an ongoing subscription program. Anyway, if you’re thinking of writing and publishing a book in the next year or two, and all the book marketing it entails, grab it today at the current price.
Happy book writing, planning and marketing to you. 🙂