I was sweating on a treadmill early Friday morning when an email popped up on my phone.
“It’s out!!! Can I tell the world???”
It was from Cheri Ben-Dov Williams. We had been eagerly checking Amazon, waiting for her book to be approved for the retail site.
And there it was: Cheri’s story of faith. It recounts her journey from military service in Israel to flight school in America, from doubt to revelation, and ultimately from an inherited faith to a life-altering encounter with Jesus Christ. Today, Cheri is a motivational faith speaker, ordained minister, and founder of Dove Ministry.
I responded to her email with a resounding, “Not yet!” As exciting as it was, I wanted to share a “clean” link before her big announcement.
If you don’t already know the importance of “clean” and direct links, here are some dos and don’ts of sharing your Amazon page. I’ll share two must-have links with you. When you announce your book to the world, keep these two links handy to boost your book marketing efforts.
1. A clean link to your Amazon book page.
Why does it matter?
A link is essential to motivate people to check out your book. It ensures readers are just a click away from your page, without the fuss of searching for your name or book title. And while you can provide links to other retailers, an Amazon link takes your readers to the most popular site, where they probably already have an account.
A clean link is even better. It’s not just that it’s shorter, less cluttered, and more professional-looking than a long URL. It’s also better because a clean link helps boost your Amazon page.
That’s because a long URL contains information that tells Amazon how someone got to that product page. The information helps Amazon improve its search engine and marketing efforts. The problem is that a long URL hurts your marketing efforts.
When you share your long URL with everyone you know, and then they click it, it signals to Amazon that all these searches originated with you. Your long URL tells Amazon that everyone clicking on your book is connected to you.
A clean link does the opposite. Because it is stripped of the extra information coded into a long URL, Amazon can’t trace the link back to you. It counts each click as a unique visitor to your Amazon page. That’s how it can boost your book.
How do you create a clean link to your Amazon book page?
Don’t copy and paste the long URL from your browser search. This is what the long URL looks like when I search for Cheri’s book. It’s 304 characters long!
Do clean up the link. Remove the phrase “ref” and everything after it. This is what the clean link looks like for Cherie’s book:
https://www.amazon.com/Chasing-Stars-Finding-Heaven-Israeli-American/dp/B0FMFLKT8Z
2. A direct link to your Amazon review page.
Why does it matter?
It’s hard to get people to leave book reviews.
They mean well, but most people don’t follow through. There are many reasons. People feel pressured, or they don’t have time. They don’t know what to say or where to go. And they don’t know how much it matters in influencing others to buy your book.
The good news is that you can overcome some of these obstacles with a thoughtful approach.
One way to make book reviews easy is by providing a special link that takes readers directly to your review page. This way, they don’t have to scroll and search for the review button on your Amazon book page.
How do you create a direct link to leave an Amazon review?
Don’t give people the link to your Amazon book page. It’s great for finding your book, but not so great for leaving a review. Readers would have to scroll and search for the review button. I found the button to leave a review for Cheri’s book near the bottom of her Amazon book page, between two ads. This is what it looks like:
Don’t expect reviewers to scroll to leave an Amazon book review
Do take two steps to create a direct link to leave an Amazon book review. Using the two-step formula, the direct link to leave an Amazon review for Cheri is: Amazon.com/review/create-review?&asin=B0FMFLKT8Z. Once your reviewers log in, this link will make it quick and easy for them to leave feedback. Here’s the formula to create your own direct link:
- Copy and paste the following Amazon link: Amazon.com/review/create-review?&asin=
- Add your book’s ASIN or 10-digit ISBN number to the end of your link (not your 13-digit ISBN).
This is what Cheri’s Amazon book review page looks like using her direct link:
Do also be aware that Amazon has policies about who can leave a book review. Reviewers must have spent at least $50 on Amazon in the last 12 months. They can’t be on your friend list, share the same IP address, or have the same last name. And they can’t engage in a review swap or payment for review. If one of your reviewers encounters any difficulty, it may be for one of these reasons. For most people, the direct link to leave an Amazon review works like a charm.
Final Thoughts
Book marketing is all about inspiring your audience to take action – and then making it as easy as possible for them to do so.
Keep these two must-have links at your fingertips, perhaps in a note on your phone. They can come in handy as you engage with readers.
If you want more help getting people to read your book and leave book reviews, let me know! You can check out five options for book marketing services.
Happy book marketing!
Ella Ritchie is the founder of Stellar Communications Houston, the “missing piece” in premium, end-to-end nonfiction publishing, marketing, and PR team for self-publishing memoirists, business leaders, nonprofits, families, and corporations. Subscribe to the blog at https://stellarwriter.com/blog.