Monday, July 8, 2019

Book Lovers Get Ready for Amazon Prime Day!


If you’re a book enthusiast and love to browse through an endless supply of great authors and titles, you won’t want to miss Amazon Prime Day.  This is much more than just a one day event.  It actually goes on for 36 hours, and takes place on July 15th and 16th this year. 




Amazon Prime Day is an annual online shopping holiday that was designed exclusively for individuals who have a subscription to Prime.  But now, you might be asking the question:  

What is Amazon Prime and why should I get it?
 

Amazon Prime

Amazon Prime allows you to get the best discounts and savings on all your online shopping, from music and entertainment, to all your favorite authors and book titles available on Amazon.  The cost is only $12 a month, and you can cancel at any time.  If you’d like to try it out on a trial basis, now is a great time to do it.  The upcoming Prime Day deals will last up to 36 hours, and you can get in on them if you take advantage of the current trial offer.  By enrolling now in Amazon Prime, you’ll get access to Prime Video, Prime Music, and the awesome Kindle Owners' Lending Library.  Enjoy new and undiscovered Amazon Authors who submit their titles via KDP Select.  You’ll even be eligible for FREE Two Day shipping, in case you like to read books in the traditional print format.

Kindle Unlimited




Are you, for some crazy reason, a book lover who buys books on Amazon, but don’t have a Prime OR Kindle Unlimited membership?  If you are, you’re encouraged to take advantage of Amazon Prime Day by activating the trial offer.  This will be a great way for you to get a taste of what you can have (and more) with Kindle Unlimited.  While Amazon Prime gives you access to all sorts of products, Kindle Unlimited is specifically for Readers.  This Amazon reading service is only $10 a month.  Members can enjoy over 1 million books and thousands of audio books, and wouldn’t you know it; Amazon has a trial offer for this service as well. 

Take the time to learn all about Amazon Prime by going to Amazon Prime Terms & Conditions.  When you’re ready, feel free to use my affiliate links to check out the Prime trial offer or even the Kindle Unlimited trial offer (and I might just earn a few cents when you do).

Free Book Days: Historical Novel With an Entertainment Based Theme

If you want to cash in on some free book days this week (July 8-12), you can pick up a copy of the historical novel “Lights Out at the Moulin Rouge” for no charge.  This novel is based on many of the true events that surrounded the opening and closing of the historical 1955 Las Vegas Moulin Rouge casino.  To this day, the short-lived fame and popularity of the casino continues to remain a mystery to many people.  


While the controversial story deals with a number of serious topics, including race, politics and mob corruption, the novel addresses the material in a less than heavy tone.  In fact, the story focuses more on the entertainment aspect of the casino and what the venue meant during the memorable 1955 black entertainment era.

To help readers paint more of a visual picture when they take time to read the book, a brief video slideshow is currently available for viewing.  The video contains historical images of the former Moulin Rouge, as well as photos of related people and places.  Be sure to check out the video on Youtube, or by visiting the Charm Baker Amazon Author’s page.

2019 National Black Book Festival: Author of Historical Based Novel Hopes for Exposure

As an African American self-published author, it can be quite a challenge trying to gain exposure for my Amazon KDP titles.  Recently, while looking for opportunities to promote my historical novel “Lights Out at the Moulin Rouge”, I came across the Cushcity.com website.   



It was this newly discovered website that introduced me to details about the annual National Black Book Festival (NBBF) and the kind of exposure the festival can bring to an unknown author.  I began to scour the information on the Cushcity.com website, hoping to find a way to benefit from the site’s targeted audience.  

 
African American Audience


Cush City describes itself as having the “world’s largest African-American selection” of dvds, and books (among other things).   It stands to reason that they would have a huge African American audience consistently seeking out the products they promote.  A thorough analysis of the website confirmed that belief, especially after I saw how active a role the website plays in the National Black Book Festival every year.  When I noted the October date for this year’s festival in Houston Texas, I realized I wouldn’t be able to make the 2019 festival.  I did, however, still find a way for my book to benefit from the event. 

NBBF Facebook Page


In preparation for the 2019 NBBF, the owner and operator of the Cushcity.com website has a detailed Facebook page to help spread the word about the event.  They use the help of this popular Facebook page to provide an affordable book marketing and promotional service.  Their Triple Play Marketing Program sounded just perfect for authors like myself, who hope to see a boost in their Amazon book sales.  I paid the special discounted fee of less than one hundred dollars, in order to make “Lights Out at the Moulin Rouge” available to a well-targeted audience.  What better audience to be able to expose my novel about the first racially integrated casino in Las Vegas?  

Book Club Exposure



While being able to attend the National Black Book Festival doesn’t seem probable for me this year, I have plenty of time to make preparations to attend next year’s event.  By that time, I hope to have gained a larger following and fan base, thanks to the potential book club exposure for my historical novel.  The Cush City and NBBF Facebook pages claim to reach several thousand followers.  Included in the promotional package I selected was the opportunity to reach out to 200 book clubs or more, all in hopes of sharing details about my current Amazon novel, as well as my other KDP titles.


Lights Out at the Moulin Rouge - Available on Amazon