Small-Biz Lessons From the Kindle's Success

"Print books are going to outlive me, my kids and countless generations down the road," says Joe Wikert, a publishing executive and author of the Kindleville blog.

"E-books will continue to improve and add all sorts of functionality, more than we can possibly dream of today, but there will always be a place for print books and even a Kindle-lover like myself can openly admit this fact."

Even if your new product is a technological leap forward, overhyping just begs for a backlash. Amazon wisely promoted the Kindle as a convenience for frequent travelers, rather than a replacement for paper books. This low-key approach has allowed sales to build slowly but steadily.

2. Make Buying Easy

At $350, the Kindle is a significant purchase for most people. But what Amazon is really counting for future profits is e-book revenue: ideally, every Kindle owner will shell out hundreds of dollars or more each year buying electronic reading material, from newspapers to best-selling books.

Find a way to keep customers coming back for content is the first step. But what's crucial is to make each purchase quick and convenient.

"One of the key things Amazon did right was introduce an easy, one-click purchase option, similar to the service they offer on their Web site," says Wikert. "The whole wireless architecture is a much more important element than I initially gave it credit for. I find myself pressing 'Buy' on my Kindle much more frequently than I would have imagined."