The last 5 years have changed what, and how people read. Why does this matter to you ? Apart from the fact that you are almost certainly part of this amazing revolution in reading (how many books or magazines are on your smartphone/Ipad/Kindle device ?) it provides previously impossible opportunities to spread the word about your business, connect with others and express your passions.
6 years ago, Kindle did not exist. If you wanted to read a book, you had to hold the paper in your hand. You might have found an ebook in pdf format, but they were generally sold on individual websites for each book, established by innovative entrepreneurs, charging relatively high prices, and with no central location to find them, or standard tool, beyond Adobe Reader software, to read them with. Then Amazon invented Kindle, and put the full force of their marketing behind it. Why ? because more ways for people to read content meant more content that they could sell, and make a profit on.
What happened then is interesting. They succeeded almost too well. So many people, globally, started using Kindle devices and readers (because you can read anywhere, anywhen, and carry hundreds of books with you, in one tiny device, and no-one can pick up your book and be nosy about what you are reading….) that Amazon did not have enough content to sell, to keep up with the demand. That is where innovation really happened. They could have just let it fizzle out, but instead, they came up with an amazing way to exponentially increase the content that they had to offer their customers, and exponentially increase their profits as a result.
Amazon set out to make it possible for any person with content that they wanted to publish, to do so, with no traditional publishers involved (and you can imagine just how much the traditional publishers liked that…. NOT…). So now millions of people, who would never have previously been published, are publishing. You can find a book on almost anything (but that almost is key – there are still many many niche opportunities for YOUR content to shine!), and you can find an audience for almost anything.
People connect online, and electronic books are sliding seamlessly into that mix – they can contain live links to websites, they can contain video and can be amazingly interactive. So those with something to talk about, which they feel personally passionate about, can now connect with millions of others who care about their topic. Dedicated readers, who connect emotionally with what you write, will collect anything you publish, they will come to your website and buy from your business, wherever you are in the world, they will connect with you on FaceBook, they will tell their friends, and in many cases, they will become your personal friend. All as a result of your words being out there, available to the world.
So, consider the possibilities – in Facebook groups, people post things that express their personal passions and connect with others for whom those things resonate. When you post, you have no idea of who, amongst the potentially thousands of members, will even see what you write – you just trust that someone will see it, and find it worthwhile – and they do, and friendships result. Imagine the concept of Amazon as a giant group, – you put your words out there, in the form of a book, never knowing who, among Amazon’s over 300 million customers, may see it, but people do, and sales, and friendships, happen as a result!
