How to "Advertise" Your Book for FREE on Amazon

It is mind-boggling how many authors and publishers ignore the great opportunities of a free author page and all the space Amazon offers them to promote their books.

One of the greatest benefits of selling your books on Amazon is the possibility to "advertise" your work.  If you are a savvy author, take advantage of this marvelous opportunity and insert as much information about your writing and yourself as you can.  So, what can you do to improve your appearance on Amazon and improve book sales?
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Start With an Appealing Cover
Rule # 1 for your book cover at Amazon is NEVER to use a white background! White on white is barely visible and your book will not stick out, especially when you chose to have the text in black.  Your book cover should be:

• aesthetically appealing
• speak to the book’s intended audience
• represent the book’s contents

Furthermore:

• use a clean, readable font
• use bold or complementary colors
• use light on dark for dramatic effects
• visit a bookstore to research book cover designs
• test the cover in thumbnail size to make sure it looks good at Amazon's website

An appealing book cover can be done through the use of software, such as www.bookcoverpro.com - if you are computer-savvy and creative / artsy - or you can hire a professional at Freelancer www.freelancer.com or Elance www.elance.com or just get in touch with your local college / graphic design class to find a young and eager cover artist.
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Your Editorial Review.
Use all the space you get from Amazon:

• Write as much about your book as possible including lots of keywords
• Editorial Review—350 characters
• From the Author, From the Inside Flap, and From the Back Cover—8000 characters
• About the Author—2000 characters - including spaces, for example, a single page in 12 point Arial font is approx. 2100 characters, so can add almost a whole page about you, the author.
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See the detailed information on Amazon:
https://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/help?ie=UTF8&topicID=200649600

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Author Central and Author Page.
At the Author Central page on Amazon you get lots of free marketing help for your book set up your Author Central account if you haven’t already done so.  In Author Central, click the “Profile” tab. You will see sections for adding or changing your biography, photos, videos, speaking or other events, and blog feeds.  Sections are always available in Author Central, so you can add or change the information later.

Sometimes it can take three to five days for the Author Page to appear on the Amazon.com site - so start right now adding content to your Author Page. If you add or make changes later, they will appear on the Author Page within 24 hours of the time you add them in Author Central.  There are lots of features for you to choose from - as more you add, as better:

• Your Profile
• Your Biography
• Uploading Photos & Videos
• Managing Your Blog Feeds & Your Events
• Managing Your Bibliography
• Uploading Book Images
• Managing Editorial Reviews

Get all the information at: https://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/help

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Uploading Videos:
You can share video interviews, book signing videos, and other videos with readers. Your videos should focus on specific features of your books or your experience as an author. If you publish at both, Amazon AND on Barnes&Noble, also use B&N's video feature: "Interviews, Meet the Writers: Video".  Hire a professional video maker to create your book promotion and upload the video to YouTube, as well as your own website, your blog or these of your friends, your Facebook site (ask all your friends to spread the word and to re-tweet).
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Customer Reviews.
Anyone registered as an Amazon.com customer is entitled to write customer reviews. They do not have to buy your book at Amazon, to write a review. Customer reviews are in order from newest to oldest with the exception of "Spotlight Reviews" that are based on how well the review was written and how helpful it was deemed by our customers.
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Invite More Visitors to Your Author Page.
What else can you do to bring visitors to you your Amazon page?     

1. Create a direct link from your book to your Amazon book's page

2. Link from your personal webpage, your email addresses, your blog, Twitter, Facebook etc. to your book's page at Amazon

3. Create a signature with your book link for your email and also for any forums in which you participate. Whenever you write and end with your name, you signature with the direct link is always inviting people to go to your Amazon book page.

4. You can even put this link to your book's page on your business card

5. Join the Kindle Forum to ask questions, get help and support from other authors.
Use every bit of support you can get from Amazon, and also what you find on this blog, and your book - if written well - will be a success!

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