I am immersing myself in the world of Amazon.com: Amazon Book Detail Page. Amazon Author Profiles. Amazon Connect. Amazon Marketplace. Amazon Advantage. Amazon Customer Reviews. Amazon Tags. Amazon Blogs. Amazon Wikis. Amazon Guides. Amazon Listmania. At 5′3″, I’m an Amazonian.
After spending the last several weeks getting my foot in the door of several independent bookstores around the country, I am now shifting focus to the Mother of All Bookstores. Little did I know that great knowledge and skill are required to travel on the Amazon. This weekend I studied (for the third time) my roadmap called Sell Your Book on Amazon, by Brent Sampson.
The book instructs us fledgling writers of self-published books how to raise our visibility in the vast landscape of online bookselling. Sheesh! I thought it was hard enough to write the damn book. In order to get my page seen by more of the buying public, I have to create an Author Profile, start an Amazon blog, create lists and guides, write book reviews, and of course, have loads of 5-star reviews.
After working all morning on Amazon, I am happy to report that I now have a few of those items done. (Although figuring it out was akin to my grandmother getting on email for the first time.) The foundation has been laid: I have a profile and a blog. Now I just need to start creating a truckload full of lists, guides, and reviews. I stepped into my Discomfort Zone this morning by using the “Share with Friends” button on my page. This is where I sent an email to 200 of my closest friends asking them (imploring them, begging them) to write a 5-star review for me. I admit it; my online hat was in my hand.
My goal is to get to 50 5-star reviews by the end of next month. According to Mr. Sampson, customer reviews are one of the most effective elements in the mysterious world of the Amazon algorithm and product placement. Thanks to my whimpers and the kindness of readers, my review numbers are already starting to grow. Plus, I get the added bonus of reading incredibly heartfelt and moving feedback about the book. You like me; you really like me!
(Insert shameless plug here: If you feel so inclined as to add your own 5-star review, please click here and click on the Create Your Own Review button at the bottom. Thank you, thank you, thank you!)
Time is a tickin’. I better wrap up this blog, upload it to my Amazon Connect blog (in addition to my MySpace, Facebook, and Blogger blogs), and learn more about Amapedias, whatever the hell THEY are.
Being an Amazonian Woman is not for wussies.
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