[Alex Anders]

A few years ago I would publish a book and over the next 2 months it would slowly rise in the rankings followed by a slow decline. That doesn't happen for me anymore. My books will only stay on the charts for a 2 - 3 weeks plus as long as I'm paying for advertisement. I think two things could be happening. It could be that my book is ending up in fewer 'also bought' lists and hence I'm not getting much discoverability. Or/and, Amazon has changed the algorithms in favor of a much faster rise and fall.

I was planning on switching subgenres to address the first possibility. But before I take such a big step, I wanted to reach out to find out if others are experiencing a quicker fall off the charts as well. If everyone is experiencing it, then the change I'm experiencing is probably due to algorithmic changes and my switching subgenres won't help.

So, have you been experiencing a much, much faster rise and fall than in 2018?

 

[Carol (was Dara)]

Yes, the cliff has been shortened but there are things that can still slow the descent, to an extent. I usually hit peak rank between 1 week and 2. With advertising, my tail lasts about 3 months before I see significant drop-off, although there's a gradual dwindle before that. So much depends on genre, advertising, and new releases that it can vary a lot.

 

[jb1111]

Probably algo changes and the cliff is shorter. Probably depends on the genre as well.

I've seen the 'cliff' shorten in half since 2018 at least.

 

[Justawriter]

Advertising helps my books keep selling consistently.

 

[Christopher Gray]

What's an effective medium for advertising, Amazon ads?

 

[Justawriter]

What's an effective medium for advertising, Amazon ads?

I like Amazon ads and Facebook ads. But Bookbub promos are also good.

 

[Alex Anders]

Hmm... Then I guess it has a lot to do with Amazon. Thanks. This makes me second guess my genre switch.

 

[jb1111]

Hmm... Then I guess it has a lot to do with Amazon.

That -- and increasing numbers of authors and books every year probably also has something to do with it.

 

[Doglover]

A few years ago I would publish a book and over the next 2 months it would slowly rise in the rankings followed by a slow decline. That doesn't happen for me anymore. My books will only stay on the charts for a 2 - 3 weeks plus as long as I'm paying for advertisement. I think two things could be happening. It could be that my book is ending up in fewer 'also bought' lists and hence I'm not getting much discoverability. Or/and, Amazon has changed the algorithms in favor of a much faster rise and fall.

I was planning on switching subgenres to address the first possibility. But before I take such a big step, I wanted to reach out to find out if others are experiencing a quicker fall off the charts as well. If everyone is experiencing it, then the change I'm experiencing is probably due to algorithmic changes and my switching subgenres won't help.

So, have you been experiencing a much, much faster rise and fall than in 2018?

It is also possible that more people are discovering kdp and suddenly fancy themselves as writers. This means that thousands, even millions of books are being uploaded and genuine authors are being buried under the rubble. I'm not saying they are all bad, but the fact remains that I see so many new authors of self-help books and autobiographies that are only of interest to the immediate family and the author themselves. Visibility is the hardest thing to come by nowadays.

 

[Kathy Dee]

That -- and increasing numbers of authors and books every year probably also has something to do with it.

^My thoughts exactly. There's loads more competition, I believe, but there are still only the same number of days in a year. That inevitably means we all get favoured treatment (such as it is) for less time, and the decline must continue as long as the rate of supply (authors and books) continues to rise.

 

[chrisstevenson]

I pretty much have to use ads to keep a decent sales rank. Ultimately, they do start to decline, which prompts me to ad again. I only see sales with the heaviest of free promotions on my FB groups (30) and Twitter, and these are primarily announcements with the catchiest hooks I can write. I always link to the book or always place the cover for all eyes to see. But I can tell ya, after spending $30 for a one-day ad and making three or four 99-cent sales, is really counter-productive. I seesaw my rank and end up going broke doing it. Of course, I've never used the big BookBub feature ad yet. I was rejected for the first book I ever applied for a year ago, and that really shocked me to the core. I didn't understand the competition for slots at the time. But for me, ads are not working like they used to. Not at all, and that takes in about 15 vendors that I know of and have used.