Is it possible to engage a Kindle
Bloggers, Amazon is giving you the opportunity to reach Kindle users with your content and make some money at the same time. Unlike RSS subscriptions, which are free, Kindle users will shell out a dollar or two each month for the privilege of reading your blog.
In theory, publishing a blog on Kindle sounds like a winning idea. Earning $USD .30-.60 (depending on plan) per subscriber month sounds like a simple way to expand a blog monetization plan.
But will it work for you?
Do your articles have the guts to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with literary greats? This is not RSS. You aren’t just competing with other bloggers for attention. You’re competing with the contents of every user’s Kindle for attention and continued readership.
When a Kindle
Amazon has taken another step in bridging the gap between books and blogs. Will the writing that serves you well online keep a Kindle reader’s attention? I, for one, can’t wait to try this out!
What about you? Would you consider publishing your blog through Amazon? Do you see any additional complications?
Leave a comment or Share this post on Twitter!
I think this is a great step forward. I signed up myself, after reading Amazon’s license and making sure I was granting them the “non-exclusive” right to publish my material. The sign-up process was easy and took about five minutes. I am looking forward to seeing what happens and maybe even collecting some royalty checks.
What sort of interaction do you expect from Kindle readers? Have you thought about how you’ll try to reach more of them?
Since the Kindle has some browsing ability, I suppose readers could, when connectivity is available, go to the blog and leave a comment. But I don’t see reading my blog on Kindle and reading it online as mutually exclusive. The Kindle feed is just another version of subscribe to, like RSS or feedburner by e-mail. People don’t want to have to visit the site. They want the latest post to appear automatically wherever (and this includes several places) they might be inclined to read it. The difference is, the RSS and feedburner updates are free for the user, whereas the blogger can receive a little money for the Kindle feed.
Hm.
Well, why would anyone pay for a blog if their mobile devices these days can access the Internet and allow them to read blog content for free? Other than the Kindle platform itself (bigger screen size, technological dedication to reading pleasure and needs), the benefits of “free” might outweigh everything else.
I.
Perhaps, unless you tend to read a lot on your Kindle…in which case it offers a good chance to catch up on blogs in places you’d not want to break out your laptop. Reading anything substantial is a pain with most PDA’s so the Kindle wins for ease-of-reading.
It may just be a really smart move by Amazon to get bloggers talking about the Kindle. It worked on me!
Interesting concept – from a reader’s perspective, this is what I do everyday. I have a 30 minute train ride to & from work. Each night, I pull up my favorite blogs, articles I’ve “faved” in twitter that day & my daily news briefs on tabs in Firefox (this is why I’m known as 20 tab Gina – although I usually have WAY more than 20 open) and catch up during my commute. I actually have the time to comment when I want to & just hit send when I connect at the office.
From a blogger’s perspective, I’m a beginner that’s just having fun with my blog, so what do I know?
NOW you tell me your secrete code name! =)
So you’ve found a way to get everything done…for free. I think you’ll be in the majority until (if it does) the kindle really takes off.
Interesting idea! I like the concept of being able to read fresh blogs on kindle. This is something I definitely will consider as a way to offer more of my work to kindle readers.
Thank you for posting this information, Seth!
But do you think they’ll love it enough to pay a monthly fee to read your work when they could easily wait until they get home and read it for free?
very thought provoking as usual. The way you describe it makes me nervous though — I’m not sure I’d stand up very well against Steinbeck (a NY Times, writer, maybe . . . but Steinbeck?). Here’s a thought though — depending on how Amazon let’s you classify your blog it it might be a good idea to sign up if only to get some exposure to a broader audience.
Admittedly, I’ve done zero research, but what’s to prevent a Kindle user from finding your blog on Amazon, liking what it has to say, and then going and subscribing to the RSS for free? You lose the revenue but gain a reader, anyway. They can’t read your content on Kindle, but are Kindle-users that rabid that they only read stuff on Kindle now?
Final question: if you are paid for your content on Kindle, are you then a published author?
Good post, good question.
Not published. I think it would count as syndication though! =)
You make a great point about expanding awareness no matter what the financial result ends up being. It’s not actually lost revenue. It’s a reader gained.
You benefit either way. Catch them through Kindle, pennies per month. Throw ads at them while they visit your site, pennies per month. It’s a win either way.
It does not work unless you have a bank account in the US, so I’m out.
I just did a quick check on the help page for this and it looks like you only need a US account if you want payment by E.F.T. Otherwise, you can opt for a cheque. Note that US publishers that want cheque payments will be dinged $8 but international publishers won’t.
Account Setup at Kindle Publishing Help Center
If it doesn’t cost anything to sign up for this, then there is really no downside. You get exposure as Ted mentioned and possibly some income from subscriptions.
If you don’t get any subscriptions then all you’ve spent is your time and it doesn’t sound like there is much of that involved since you’ll be writing posts anyway.
I’ll definitely be checking this out, but Miguel’s comment about needing a U.S. account may prevent me. I’m sure that restriction will quickly be lifted as the Amazon affiliate programs don’t have this restriction.
It’s an interesting concept, although one I think will need more fine-tuning. As a lot of the comments here have said, who’s to say that readers won’t simply see the feed and subscribe when they get home?
It is becoming much more widespread now, though – companies like Newstex.com are also syndicating blogs to targeted audiences via keywords. I think it’s a great time to be a blogger, and about time we received more recognition as a viable media source.
What? This is a possibility? Hm.. there’s a thought… sandwiched between all the greats….