**UPDATED POST – Booklinker have just given the site a makeover, so I have changed the screenshots. All the info is the same**
This post is about how to make your book as accessible as possible to everyone online. I found out about the website I am going to talk about from someone on Facebook, some time ago. I had posted a link to my new book, and they had clicked on the link, hoping to purchase it. The link I had posted was for the book on Amazon.co.uk. But the person was in America. So they were taken to the UK site, but of course they couldn’t order the book from there. So then they went to Amazon.com, and had to search for my book, which all took time.
Luckily, they were determined enough to buy the book, that they took the trouble to find it. But what about people who aren’t quite so motivated to search it out? The person sent me a message saying –
Get a universal book link so you don’t lose customers!
Intrigued, I checked out BookLinker. It’s a free to use website, that creates universal book links out of your Amazon product URL. You customise the URL, so it looks good too. When someone clicks on the link, they are taken to the Amazon of their own country, where they can buy the book!
You can choose the prefix (there’s a couple available) and you can also create a link for your Amazon Author page too.
Enter the URL of your book on Amazon in the box on the home page, then click Create universal link. If you haven’t got an account, you have to set one up (only basic info needed) and then when you start using the link (I use these links everywhere, I never use country-specific links anymore) you can then see the stats by logging into BookLinker and clicking on ‘My Links’. You will see your author link first –
Then you can choose Books from the drop drown list and see your book stats:
Because Amazon doesn’t give you any stats on how often your books are viewed, this at least gives you some idea of where your audience is from and may help you with the marketing of your books.
It can also help you see how effective your book cover/blurb is, because if you’re getting thousands of clicks on the link but no sales – then perhaps you need to tweak things.
Michelle is the author and publisher of 8 Visionary Fiction novels, all available on Amazon in paperback and on Kindle. She spends her days helping Indie Authors to publish their books, taking photographs and making gluten-free cakes.
If you need any help with your publishing journey, please do get in touch with her by emailing theamethystangel@hotmail.co.uk. You can book a Skype session or a phone call with her, or ask questions via email. Please do follow this blog to receive more posts on Indie Publishing.
Disclaimer:All views, ideas and tips presented on this website are my own, based on my own experience and the experience of my clients. It is by no means the only way to do it, or the right way to do it, but it is the way that works for me. Please take what helps you and makes sense to you, and don’t worry about the rest for now. Please know that I take no responsibility for anything that happens as a result of you following my advice. I have created this blog as a resource for Indie Authors to help them make the publishing journey a little easier. I am not affiliated with any of the companies I mention, other than the fact that I use their services myself.
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