How Do Bestseller Lists Work? (And How To Get On Them)

For many authors and writers, one of the most pressing questions that come to mind when publishing a book is how to get on a bestseller list.

After all, there is no shame in hoping for rockstar success.

Many authors dream of this pinnacle of achievement – to have a title in the bestseller list amongst some real celebrities like Stephen King, John Grisham, or Elizabeth Gilbert.

Nevertheless, when you have a clear picture of how these lists work, then you will realize that it is not the ONLY barometer of success.

In other words, you can claim massive earnings and worldwide success for your book even if you do not reach any bestseller list.

In actuality, getting on any bestsellers list is part art and part science. Juggling them can be hard.

The reality is that a bestseller list measures quite a limited number of sales in specific places or target audience and may not be an accurate representation of the popularity of a book.

One list requires a group of people to list what they think are the titles that they most likely will buy. Another method is to obtain actual numbers of book sales in a city or region.

Based on those observations, it is easy to say that the system is not as well-laid out as one expects.

How To Get On The New York Times Best Seller’s List?

So, can you have a fighting chance of putting your title on the most prestigious of all – the New York Times bestseller list?

It certainly depends.

No matter what, it takes a lot of dedication and effort to get there from a lot of people.

These are the steps you need to take:

Step 1: Obtain a Publishing Deal (But you cannot just work with any publisher.)

The New York Times requires that you tap a renowned New York publishing house. So, no matter how brilliant an author you are, if you do not have the resources to get a deal with a New York publishing house, then you are out of luck. But as you probably know by now, you do not need a big-time publishing house to sell your book.

Step 2: Reach Out to Influencers

Take the time to make a list of 50–100 influencers in your industry who can help promote your book. These people can be business people, other authors, or celebrities. Depending on who you reach out to depends on the type of book you have.

You can ask them to share it on social media, write a forward, or a blurb.

If you have been smart, you have cultivated a relationship with these influencers over an extended period of time so you are not just reaching out to them cold.

For those that say yes, make it as easy as possible for them by sending them pre-written, cut-and-paste verbiage and graphics for all the major social media channels, along with links and when they should send it.  These people are busy.

And be sure to send a reminder on your launch day.

You should also gift them a free copy of your book as thanks, but don’t expect that they will necessarily take the time to leave a review. (Although, it doesn’t hurt to ask!)

Step 3: Pre-orders

Another requirement by the New York Times for your book to get to its bestseller list is to obtain at least 10,000 pre-orders. So, if you do not have that number before publication, then you less likely are going to make that list.

While some authors went around this policy by getting a corporate representation to make those pre-orders, you no longer can do that today because The New York Times wants your pre-orders to go through what it considers as valid sales channels.

Step 4: Sell Books Through the Right Channels

What are the right channels you ask?

Unfortunately, nobody really knows.

The New York Times bestseller list is more of a survey list than an accurate mathematical representation of the book’s total sales.

This means they will poll a pre-determined group of booksellers to come up with an estimate of the sales. The New York Times is the one that decides which bookstores are meaningful to their list.

Hence, if you sell your books well in a retail outlet that they do not recognize, then it would not help your case to earn a spot on their bestseller list.

The New York Times and most other publications focus on individual sales in making their bestseller list. It means that they typically ignore the bulk sales.

The Role of Traditional Media

As much as you want to see your book on the bestseller list, you must acknowledge the mountain you have to climb to get there.

Although some might argue that it is not a strict requirement, the truth is that you need to get someone’s attention to be noticed by those big-time publications like the New York Times and Wall Street Journal.

The term “mainstream” means media that is influential and popular in prominent places, i.e. New York City, Washington and to a lesser extent Los Angeles.

You want the elite press to notice you.

If you or your book is something they do not recognize, then you never will get to the bestseller list, no matter how much the title sells elsewhere.

There has been a recent trend of media outlets using their influence and reach to advertise things. Books are one of their favourites to promote.

The goal of putting your title on the New York Times bestseller list is more like a popularity contest. Your most potent weapon to get up there in the media.

If you do not get recognized by the press, it is hard to earn your place on a New York Times Bestsellers list.

How To Get On the Amazon’s Bestsellers List

Thankfully, the Amazon bestsellers list is a little easier to get on than the New York Times Bestsellers list. You don’t have to worry about New York or the mainstream press for one thing.

You will probably not surprised to hear that the Amazon bestseller list is an algorithm. It’s a computer taking a data set and turning that into a ranking.

This means, by default, it’s not a measure of how good your book really is and whether these sales will sustain in the long run. Rather, it’s a measure of how well you understand the algorithm and use it to your advantage.

How to Play Amazon’s game

No one knows exactly what Amazon’s algorithm looks for when choosing bestsellers. They guard that secret the way Google guards its SEO algorithm.

But we can make some educated guesses based on experience and other algorithms.

Step 1: Choose Your Categories

Amazon lets you pick which categories you want your book to be placed in.

But just like it is extremely difficult to compete on the first page of Google for a generic term like “business” or “fitness,” the same is true for Amazon.

Get ultra-specific with your categories instead of choosing a broad category, and you’re more likely to reach bestseller status in that category.

Step 2: Put Keywords In Your Title.

Again we can look to Google as a guide here. When choosing the title for your book, make sure you’re using some keywords that people would search for. This will help strangers find your book when searching for information.

Step 3: Get Pre-Orders

Just like the New York Times Bestsellers list, Amazon will let you offer your book for pre-order up to 90 days before the release date, and pre-orders definitely affect bestseller rankings.

You should aim for a big spike in sales in the first couple of days your book is available.

You should do this by launching your book at a very low price – 0.99 cents for ebooks and $9.99 for a paperback book usually does the trick.

Don’t worry, you can jack up the price later but the first couple of weeks are crucial.

While you can get a lot of downloads offering your book free for a limited time, be aware that Amazon has different bestseller lists for free and paid books.

just because you make it to the bestseller list for free books doesn’t guarantee the momentum will continue when you switch back to paid.

Success in one category doesn’t necessarily guarantee you success in the other.

I suggest you start off with a low price and then offer certain days where it is free

But either way, you need to do some prep work to ensure that groundswell of attention during your launch week that will help ensure that bestseller status.

Step 4: Get Online Reviews

Get as many positive reviews as you can, as quickly as possible.

Reviews definitely seem to help push people onto the bestseller list and, just like any other product or service, they help sell your book in the long run.

Step 5: Build Your “Street team”

In more traditional marketing, a street team would be a team of people out handing out flyers, passing out stickers and buttons. (Think political campaign)

But times have changed and street teams are primarily now online.

A few weeks before your launch date, start assembling your “street team.” These are your close friends, family members and raving fans who agree to help you promote your book.

The benefit they get for joining your street team is first and foremost a free, advanced copy of your book. If you want to throw in other benefits, that’s good as well.

Again be creative. Maybe they get an extra chapter or a recorded Q &A or some other bonus.

Protip:  If you really want to game the Amazon system get a bunch of your friends to pre-order the book through Amazon and then issue a refund through another channel like Paypal. This makes them a verified buyer which counts towards your sale. In addition they can then leave a review which helps with your ranking.

During launch week, it’s a good idea to space these requests out. If you can make one small ask each day, people are more likely to follow through.

Step 6: Create Momentum

It’s launch time!  You have to do the groundwork. Unfortunately, there is no magic bullet. Nobody is going to do it for you.

You have to personally message your friends, remind your street team to leave reviews, and share and promote your book everywhere you can.

Be shameless about it.

I know there can be a real fear around self-promotion. (Believe me, I get it.)

But you need to push past that fear and remember that you are serving your audience.

These people need to read your book because it’s the best thing on the market.

Remember: Amazon is looking at overall engagement and downloads of your book in a short period of time, so the more you can do to promote it all at once, the better your chances of hitting the bestseller list.

Get creative with the sorts of promotions you can do to support your book launch.

Can you do a giveaway?

Can you do a contest?

Here are some other suggestions:

• Email your list
• Blog about your book on your website
• Pre-schedule guest posts or interviews on other websites and podcasts
• Do a Facebook live video introducing the book
• Do an Instagram story about launch day
• Offer a Q&A webinar about the book content or even the process of writing and publishing a book
• Do a challenge in conjunction with the book
• Give away other prizes to people who buy the book on launch day

If you want to learn how to publish on Amazon read this Ultimate guide HERE

Conclusion

After all this work, what does being a bestseller author really get you?

If you are lucky enough to get a New York Times bestselling book or an Amazon bestselling book then you can leverage that in all your marketing material not only to sell more books but to promote your other business activities.

It also lends to authority and credibility to you and your business.

If you are a speaker, put it in your press package, if you’re a service provider, put it on your website and no matter who you are, you should definitely put it in your email signature.

In addition, Amazon is the world’s second-largest search engine, meaning that for as long as your book is available — and especially if it’s in the top 10 for a category — new people will continue to find you and be introduced to your business.