Wattmag Issue #5

Linking Books

Spinning your book out to the world is a daunting experience. You have the formatting, uploading, marketing and so much more. In fact, this can sometimes be a bigger jon than writing in the first place.

Then, when sharing the links to your books, you have to remember the URL for the myriad sites, particularly with Amazon, which has the Big Daddy '.com' one, plus '.ca,' '.co.uk' and a great many more. The number is growing too. Someone who resides in the UK, such as myself, for example, won't want the amazon.com link to your book. I'll want the amazon.co.uk one, being a UK resident. But do you want to be remembering all the different links? Even if you make it easier using a URL shortener such as bit.ly, it's still a job and a half of full cream, dairy stress-head.

Thankfully, there's a website which leaps to your defense, all caped up with its underwear on the outside. That website is BOOKLINKER. Duh-duh- duhhhhhh!

I can't actually remember how I came across the site, but I assume Google was my friend. I was frustrated with wondering where my readers were and how to tell them which link they needed, especially with the 140 character limit of Twitter.

Luckily, Booklinker solves those woes. With just a few clicks, you can set up what's called a Universal Link. This magical thing of wonderment is a single - yes one - link which will take the give the bearer access to your book on their very own Amazon site.

So, where is it, I hear you ask. Well, of course I don't. I'm not telepathic and you didn't shout. But I'll tell you anyway.

http://www.booklinker.net/

Once you've entered the site, you're presented with the option to create a Universal link immediately. It's very simple. Copy the Amazon link for your book and paste it in here. It doesn't matter if you're on the US, UK, Canadian Japanese site, or any other. Simply click on the Create Universal Link button and you're good to go.

You even get to choose which link format you'd like. There's getBook.at/yourbook, myBook.to/yourbook and viewBook.at/yourbook. Choose any one and customize the link to make it yours and you're done. You now don't have to remember half a dozen different Amazon links for your international fanbase. You need only the one. Someone in the UK can use exactly the same URL as someone in the US. It takes them to whichever is their native Amazon page with your book front and center!

And, there's more!

Booklinker also gives you the option of creating a Universal Link for your Amazon author page in the format viewAuthor.at/yourname or Author.to/yourname! How cool is that? For example, if you go to viewAuthor.at/ShaunAllan, it takes you to my very own Amazon page, listing all my books in one place.

Pretty cool.

Once you've registered with the site, it not only keeps track of the links you've created, but also their statistics, showing how many clicks in each of the 12 Amazon domains, each book has had. This is great for targeting your marketing and knowing where people are reading your work.

So, next time you want to reel off a gazillion URLs so everyone can find your work, no matter where they are in the world, don't. Give them one. Easy peasey, lemon squeezy.