Author Topic: Algorithm change in April?  (Read 1409 times)

CoraBuhlert

Algorithm change in April?
« on: May 03, 2021, 08:52:36 AM »
In early April, my sales at Amazon suddenly fell off a cliff, giving me the worst month since 2012.  There's no issue with the books themselves, they're not blocked and available for sale. It's just that people stopped buying them. And yes, I've had dry spells at Amazon before, but never one that lasted almost a month.

So has anybody else noticed sales suddenly dropping or stopping altogether in April? Because I'm wondering if it might be an algorithm change, which hit me badly.

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angela

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Re: Algorithm change in April?
« Reply #1 on: May 03, 2021, 10:56:53 AM »
I'm sorry to hear that! It sucks.

My sales are currently the lowest they've been since 2013.

I publish in a few genres with a few pen names, and it's been bleak across the board with the whole catalog. Things were sliding in April, but I wouldn't say it was an overnight cliff.

« Last Edit: May 03, 2021, 10:58:58 AM by angela »
 

Eric Thomson

Re: Algorithm change in April?
« Reply #2 on: May 03, 2021, 11:06:04 AM »
April was actually my best month since last September. My sales took a nose dive in December and didn't recover until this month.
 

Wonder

Re: Algorithm change in April?
« Reply #3 on: May 03, 2021, 02:23:18 PM »
I had a slight increase in April due to a new release. But my new release was less "lifty" than my last one, despite good reviews. It's possible that as people are getting vaccinated (particularly in the US) folks may be focusing on activities they've been missing out on, and if so, books/TV may dip a little.

I haven't noticed any algorithmic changes, but I don't monitor that kind of thing too closely.
 

cecilia_writer

Re: Algorithm change in April?
« Reply #4 on: May 03, 2021, 04:06:52 PM »
I didn't see a very dramatic downturn in sales in April but what I did find was that the series I have in KU seemed to do a bit better than the things that are wide. But everything has gone right downhill since the 1st of May! It might be a reporting blip or the fact that it's a holiday weekend here and people are starting to go out and even go away from home for the first time in ages, so I'm not too worried yet.
For some reason Amazon are recommending my own books to me at least once a day so I don't think they hate me too much. I just hope that means they sometimes recommend them to other people too.
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littleauthor

Re: Algorithm change in April?
« Reply #5 on: May 03, 2021, 11:19:21 PM »
It happened to me in March. April was sort of back to normal.
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R. C.

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Re: Algorithm change in April?
« Reply #6 on: May 06, 2021, 08:17:15 AM »
Something is up... The last two weeks of April were good for me. (It's all relative.  :doh:)

No change to the AMS ADs and May is a starting out a disaster.  Daily impressions this week are 1/3 of last week's numbers.  Accordingly, clicks and sales are down.

Cheers,
R.C.