Besides being a great place to shop, Amazon also offers considerable marketing opportunities for anyone willing to take the time to explore them. Here are just a few you might want to consider. Keep in mind that Amazon”s site is not static, meaning that they are in a constant state of change. If any of these items arent available on the site, keep checking back because Amazon will often shuffle features to gauge their individual popularity.
Tell Amazon Who You Are
One of the first things youll want to do is register yourself on Amazon. Once you do youll be sent to a “Friends & Favorites” page (or you can click through to there by clicking on your name i.e. “Jacks Page” on the top tabs when you get there youll see a space to add info on yourself. You can add bio information, your website, email and also a picture. I highly recommend you do this as this information will follow any reviews you should make on the Amazon site.
Have people review your book
Very few people buy a “naked” book – meaning that they wont buy a book that has no reviews on it. Have people review your book and add any reviews that youve gotten from other sources!
The Publishers Page
A page on Amazon will allow you to upload content related to your book to their site. This will allow you to add reviews, descriptive text, bio info and much more. The link for this page is:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/subst/partners/publishers/publishers.html/102-5354958-1668109
Amazon.com Reviewers
Take a look at other books similar to yours and see whos reviewed them. If they are Amazon.com reviewers you might want to go after them. Especially if they are one of the top 10 reviewers, these reviewers carry a certain amount of “clout” on the site and with other readers, and many times reviewers like Harriet Klauser (Amazon”s #1 reviewer) will send your review out to other sites as well!
Reviewing Books
Its always a good idea to review other books in your genre. When you do this, dont just review from the perspective of a reader, review from the perspective of an expert and make sure to add your contact info (or your website) in the review area!
Make a recommendation!
Recommend an item on Amazon.com similar to yours! This is a great thing to do whenever a new book comes out in your genre.
So Youd Like To… (SYLT) Guides!
This is another great place to promote any articles youve written. You can load your advice/articles/book excerpts onto the So Youd Like To… Guides at Amazon.com by clicking on the “Friends and Favorites” link at the top of the Amazon site, then look for “Write a So Youd Like To…” Guide and start the process. They key here is to make sure you have a list of books you recommend to go with your SYLT guide (including yours!). The links to your article will be featured on each of your recommended book pages.
Using Amazon as an additional promotion tool is a savvy way to make sure your presence on the net doesnt end with your web site. Go where the readers go and in so doing, youll lead them right to your book.
Happy Selling!
