Do you know that you can nominate your ebook on Amazon KDP and give it the chance to appear in special promotions like Kindle Deals and Prime Reading?
It’s a free Amazon book marketing opportunity for extra exposure, but there’s an important detail to note: nomination doesn’t guarantee your ebook or ebooks will be accepted.
But still, because the process to nominate your titles is very easy, and the potential rewards are pretty attractive, it’s well worth understanding how it works.
Promoting your book always involves time and effort, but this one might be an easy win for you.
What does it mean to nominate your ebook?
If you decide to nominate your ebooks (yes, you can pick two), it’s a bit like raising your hand and waving to let Amazon KDP know you would like your title(s) to be available for special promotions.
The specific promotions are Kindle Deals and Prime Reading. Both of them can help give your book a potential bump in visibility.
Kindle Deals highlight your ebook on Amazon’s storefront and usually at a discounted price for a specific period. It has the potential to get your book in front of thousands of new readers.
Prime Reading is totally different. It’s a program that lets Amazon Prime members borrow and read ebooks for free each month as part of their subscription.
The upside is that your book gets much more exposure. But the downside is that you don’t earn royalties on Prime Reads. However, it’s a separate choice to nominate for this.
But both options might help you gain more exposure, new book reviews, or increase downloads, which could spark follow-on sales.
But here’s the key detail to remember. Nominating your ebook or ebooks doesn’t guarantee that Amazon will select them.
It’s probably best to look at it as submitting your book for consideration. Then it’s up to Amazon to decide which ebooks fit its promotions at any given time.
That decision will depend on factors that you can’t control, such as timing, genre demand, or how Amazon wants to balance its promotional lineup.
Still, because it costs you nothing and takes only minutes, you’ve got nothing to lose by nominating your ebook for Amazon KDP promotions.
How to nominate your ebook on Amazon KDP
If you want to go ahead, it’s quick, easy, and very straightforward.
Log in to your KDP account, and click on the “Marketing” tab in the top menu.
Then scroll down until you see this section.
Now click the yellow button “Nominate a book”. You will see a list of all your titles.
You can select up to two titles. Click continue, and you will see the confirmation box.
You should note the details here. “This book will remain nominated for 90 days,” and the tick box option, “Automatically renew this book’s nomination for another 90 days.”
It’s up to you, but perhaps if you want to promote different titles after the 90 days expire, don’t agree to automatic renewal.
The process for including your book in Prime Reading nomination is exactly the same, except that you can only choose one title.
Amazon can take many weeks to review nominations, so don’t expect any news immediately. But if your ebook is selected, you’ll receive a notification in your KDP account and by email.
One last important point is that once you nominate, you can’t cancel it during the 90-day period.
As a side note, the red beta banner in the top right corner of the option pane means that this is a service that could be subject to changes, improvements, or modifications in the future.
What ebooks can you nominate?
Not every title is eligible.
To take it one step at a time, your ebook must be enrolled in KDP Select to be eligible for Prime Reading.
For Kindle Deals nomination, your ebook doesn’t need to be in KDP Select. But it must have been available for 90 days, and be priced between $2.99 and $9.99. (The 70% royalty threshold.)
Not that it would affect many authors, but to qualify, an ebook must be available for purchase in at least one marketplace where the primary language matches the language of the title.
Also, erotic titles or ebooks containing sexually explicit images or language are not accepted in either program.
Is it worth nominating your ebook?
I suppose the short answer is yes, it’s probably worth it. Perhaps it might be more effective than offering free ebooks.
Only for the fact that nominating your ebook costs nothing, and it only takes a few minutes to do it.
If you’re lucky, and your book gets selected, the upside could be helpful.
Kindle Deals and Prime Reading are two Amazon promotions that showcase ebooks for thousands of Amazon readers.
Extra visibility like this could certainly lead to more sales, new reviews, and even potential growth in your readership.
However, it’s worth keeping your expectations on an even keel. Amazon doesn’t say how it chooses ebooks, so your nomination is definitely not a guarantee that Amazon will pick your ebook.
While the upsides might all be very appealing, the process is a bit opaque, so don’t get your hopes up too high.
The best way might be to look at it as a lottery. So, you have to be in it to win it.
Summary
Nominating one of your titles on Amazon KDP is a simple, zero-cost way to give your ebook a chance of some extra promotion.
But it doesn’t come with any promises.
However, the process is quick and easy. So authors with eligible titles can enroll their books and participate with just a few clicks.
Even if you miss out, you’re not going to lose anything. Your book will remain available for sale on Amazon or in Kindle Unlimited as usual.
Promoting your book is always about variety and finding new ways to attract or connect with readers, especially if it’s a free and easy promotion option.
So this one fits that bill perfectly. It’s free, and you can do it in less than a minute.
Related Reading: Amazon Book Promotion Tools On The KDP Dashboard
