Submitting your blog to kindle

[christinaschim]

Has anyone here submitted their blog to kindle? I just discovered an article about it today, randomly. I was searching google to try to figure out how and which banner ads to display on our new fashion site. (Shameless plug) I thought it might be of interest to other bloggers. Here is the link to submit to kindle
https://kindlepublishing.amazon.com/gp/vendor/sign-in/187-0210881-7401562?ie=UTF8&originatingURI=%2Fgp%2Fvendor%2Fmembers%2Fkindle-blogs%2Fdashboard

I would love to hear about your experience with kindle. Once I have fully organized/tweaked/prettyed the blog I am loading ours to kindle too.
https://www.modevillemag.com

[dgaughran]

I only heard about this from your post. I just tried it to see what happens.

One tip: make sure it picks up the right feed, it tries to be clever and pick it up automatically, but it tried to pick up my comments feed and I had to put the RSS feed in manually.

I got halfway through sign-up, and then when I went to fill out my address, the drop down menu lets you select between the U.S. and the U.K. only, so I can go no further.

Post back if you try it.

[muravyets]

I wouldn't dare load my collaborative one to Kindle. It needs way too much editing, and somehow, I just wouldn't want something as raw as that project on Kindle. Don't know why. Maybe I'll rethink that. But I would be very interested to know what benefit people get from kindling their blogs.

[FocusOnEnergy]

I tried it with one of my blogs, sounded like fun. I have a friend in another country with a Kindle and once it goes live I can email them and let them know they can read my blog with it.

Focus.

[dgaughran]

Do you get any payment?

Is there any downside?

[batyler65]

Wow, this is something I never thought of. Of course, I'm still trying to get up to speed on a lot of the newer tech. I think I might give it a try.

Thanks for posting, Christina! :)

[Twizzle]

Mine's avail.http://www.amazon.com/Angiomas-Suck/dp/B00466HHPU I'm trying to remember when I first signed up. I think late Fall-ish? Like 7 mos or there about.

Yes, you earn royalties. But read the fineprint about getting paid-esp the when. The only downside, if there is one, is you have to post regularly. They check and enforce it.

[dgaughran]

How regular is regular?

And I don't want to ask you how much you get paid, but can you give us an idea of how it works - i.e. is it based on views and so on.

[batyler65]

They have little check boxes for how often you update your blog. I don't remember what all the options were. I know the one I checked for mine was 2-5 times per week. I'm guessing they use whatever response you give as a way to check up. I can't answer any of the other questions, because I haven't even finished signing up yet. I'm still not sure how well this system works.

Here are the other things I know for certain:
1: You don't set the price, Amazon does.
2: You can't make your blog free.
3: If your blog feed is a preview (as opposed to a complete post) that readers have to click on, you have to change your feed so it displays the whole post.

I'm still wondering why people would pay for something they can read for free elsewhere. Maybe it's a convenience thing.

Hope this helps some. Others with more experience may shed more light than I can.

[ResearchGuy]

. . . Maybe it's a convenience thing.. . . .
That's how I'd bet. Can't take my laptop everywhere. Can take my Kindle pretty much everywhere.

--Ken

[Melisi]

Fascinating...

I'm with you on not getting the "pay for something you can get free elsewhere" thing. But I do recognize that, while I'm broke and can't imagine doing that, others have money to spend for convenience.

Lately I find myself torn between amazement and confusion when I look at the world.

[dgaughran]

I was surprised (and curious) when I heard about this. I would love to know the numbers, i.e. how many people actually pay to read blogs on their Kindle.

There must be some money in it though, Amazon have been doing this for a couple of years now, and are looking to expand it internationally.

Kindle owners constantly surprise me with their desire to pay for free stuff for the convenience of reading it on their Kindle.

However, I should note, is there a real future in this? As e-readers add more functionality, and browsing becomes easier, why would you pay for a blog if you can go to the site on your Kindle?

[ResearchGuy]

. . .why would you pay for a blog if you can go to the site on your Kindle?
Because (at this time, anyway), Kindle's browser is slow, clunky, and limited.

--Ken

[dgaughran]

Ken - exactly, but how long do you see that lasting in the face of increased competition from the iPad, Nook & Kobo?

Already in Europe we are seeing a preference for multi-function devices over dedicated e-readers, and Amazon is rapidly losing market share.

[ResearchGuy]

Ken - exactly, but how long do you see that lasting in the face of increased competition from the iPad, Nook & Kobo?. . . .
I also have a Kobo device (Literati), with no 3G wireless and no browser that I know of (other than dedicated to the Kobo store). No competition there.

Anyway, not an apples-for-apples comparison (no ref. to Apple(TM)!), as there are no monthly fees for the Kindle. Amazon will eventually come out with its own tablet to compete with iPad, etc.

The whole e-reader landscape will be radically different in a few years. Hang on to your hat. It's going to be a bumpy ride.

--Ken

[dgaughran]

I also have a Kobo device (Literati), with no 3G wireless and no browser that I know of (other than dedicated to the Kobo store). No competition there.

As far as I know (and I could be wrong), Kobo have a new device coming out in Europe to tie in with their launch of the new European local-language websites in Spain and Germany which will be wireless. Presumably this will be on sale in the US too. I have no details on browser capability, but I think it would be extremely foolish to launch one in Europe without one.

[batyler65]

I agree that we're in for a bumpy ride. I'm still trying to decide which new technologies to commit to, given the fact that the landscape changes so rapidly and I have only so much time and energy to devote to this.

[dgaughran]

I'm looking at buying some kind of e-reader in the summer, I might swing for a Kindle, I just don't know yet, maybe it's better to hold off for the Fall when there might be new models/better deals.

[frolzagain]

Thanks for sharing the link Chrsitinaschim! I uploaded mine about a week ago, just to try it out, and I already have a couple of subscribers. I didn't do any promotion or anything. They are probably just free-trials but it's still extra traffic to my blog. This may not be such a bad thing. I do wish you could set your own price though. It seems silly to me to charge for something that is already free. I guess if people are willing to pay for it i'm not going to complain too much.

[batyler65]

Thanks for sharing the link Chrsitinaschim! I uploaded mine about a week ago, just to try it out, and I already have a couple of subscribers. I didn't do any promotion or anything. They are probably just free-trials but it's still extra traffic to my blog. This may not be such a bad thing. I do wish you could set your own price though. It seems silly to me to charge for something that is already free. I guess if people are willing to pay for it i'm not going to complain too much.

Thanks for posting this. I guess I'll get on the stick and finish registering mine. Can't hurt, right?

[batyler65]

As of today, I have officially submitted my blog to Kindle. Now the waiting will begin.

I'm looking upon this as a traffic-generating experiment. We'll see what happens. It would be nice if Amazon were to include blogs in their main menu for Kindle. They have Newspapers, Magazines and E-zines (if memory serves) to find blogs you have to explore the Kindle store.

I'd be interested to hear any updates from those of you who've been at this a little longer than I. I'm still skeptical about the earning potential, but if it generates traffic, I'm on board.

[veinglory]

Their review process clearly takes longer than they upper limit in the email....

[batyler65]

Their review process clearly takes longer than they upper limit in the email....

I take it you've been waiting for review for awhile?

[veinglory]

About a week now.

[frolzagain]

It took them about 5 days to approve mine. They have a forum where others have posted complaints about the wait and they seem to respond to those people so if it's taking too long you might want to post there to let them know.

[batyler65]

Mine is now officially live here (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004Y4YDIS). Except for some reason it won't display the image I uploaded to the form. I had to go in and load a customer image so that it wasn't blank. Not real happy with that, but, it is what it is.

It took 3-4 days? I don't know exactly, because I didn't check yesterday. It was up and ready to go when I checked it this afternoon.

[batyler65]

Interesting. I just noticed today that they dropped the price from $1.99 per month to $0.99. I wonder if this is a universal change? Anyone else doing this notice a price drop?

[johnnysannie]

Mine is up and live today here:

http://www.amazon.com/Love-Tattoo-ebook/dp/B004SIQYO6


Approval took just two days and now I get to see what - if anything - happens with it there.

I'm more looking for exposure and promotion than money although if it accrues any it would be nice.

[Queen of Swords]

I checked out the forums and there's a message saying that this is only available if you're in the US or UK.

Not pleased.

[frolzagain]

I think they drop the price on a lot of blogs but no one seems to know what the reasoning behind it is. It's just whenever they feel like dropping it. Mine's still at 1.99 but it will probably drop eventually.

[batyler65]

I think they drop the price on a lot of blogs but no one seems to know what the reasoning behind it is. It's just whenever they feel like dropping it. Mine's still at 1.99 but it will probably drop eventually.

Maybe they reduce the newer ones as part of a promotion or something. I really don't care. I didn't sign up to get rich. I wanted to see if it generated any kind of traffic. I don't see that they do much in the way of promotion.

Which reminds me, I ought to post something on the blog about being available on Kindle.