Every author, regardless of when or what theyāve published, has an Author Central page. But many authors have not claimed theirsāwhich is a big mistake.
Visit Jane Friedmanās highly useful website for a continuous stream of practical information for authors of all kinds.Ā This post is by Penny Sansevieri (@bookgal), CEO and founder of Author Marketing Experts. She recently released 5-Minute Book Marketing for Authors, from which this post is adapted.
Most authors have learned by now that itās critical to have a great Amazon book description and metadata. But incredibly often, authors donāt take the time to also leverage their Amazon Author Central Page as a sales tool. And it could hurt your sales, especially as you develop your reader base. Readers tend to use Amazon to look at an authorās complete list of books, so by optimizing your Author Central page, youāll find that you draw in more repeat readers than before. Perhaps exponentially so!
Every author, regardless of when or what theyāve published, has an Author Central page. But many authors have not claimed theirs. If youāre not sure youāve claimed yours yet, head on over to Author Central. You can access it using your usual Amazon login credentials. Even if you are traditionally published, you still have an Author Central page.
To claim the page, you must sign in and add content. First, make sure that all of your books are claimed under your author page. Itās easy enoughāsimply list them in Author Central by inserting their ISBNs and posting them to your page. Amazon will double-check your entries for accuracy. Once they do, youāll find a library of your books on your Author Central page.
In addition to your Amazon US page, also check out your Amazon UK page. (I donāt know why Amazon keeps these separate.) If you grab this page as well, itāll help drive attention from Amazonās UK site. You can find it here. There are also Author Central Pages for other countries, which youāll also want to claim; Iāll offer more detail on that later.
Not sure what a standard Author Central page looks like? Check out Janeās.
As you can see, she has added her bio (under her photo), listed her books, and has fed in her blog posts. Amazon allows you to add these types of items to your page:
RSS feedsāsuch as those from your blog or Tumblr account
Events, including speaking engagements and bookstore appearances
Up to 8 images of yourself (which you can update any time) ā this is a great opportunity to feature new books, upcoming promotions, or even awards won! Readers love seeing things like this on your page.
Multiple videos of yourself ā you can use anything from you talking at an event, a book trailer, or a video customized for the page.
Amazon Author Central also offers you important sales data (for free!)
Read the rest of this valuable post here.
