You probably already know that Amazon is THE go-to platform for selling indie books online. But, I’d like to encourage you to remember your local boutique bookstores when you link out your BUY NOW buttons from your author websites. Plus, I always give my readers the option of buying from Powell’s, IndieBound, and BAM too. And hell, Barnes and Noble is starting to feel boutique against the giant A.
But I digress.
Your Amazon Author Central Account
Did you know that your Amazon Central Author page can actually help you sell more books? Only if you use it to its full potential, of course. A professional looking Author Central page can help you sell your book because it further proves your legitimacy and helps convert your readers into loyal fans!
That’s why I put together these simple steps for you. Follow these and you’ll have everything you need to make your Amazon Author Central page the best it can be! From the basics, like your making sure you have a standout profile picture and bio to adding Editorial reviews and auto syncing your blog.
Ready? Let’s Do This!
First and foremost, you have to have an Author Central Account. So, if you don’t have one, read the section below. If you already have your account set up, jump to Making Your Author Central Page Look Professional.
How to Set Up Your Author Central Account
Go to Author Central and simply click the Join Now button. Then just use your name and password for your regular Amazon account to create your account. Next search your book—either via your name, book title, or ISBN. Now Claim the book.
That’s it!
Now you just have to wait for Amazon to verify you, which can take up to 7 days, so best to do this now.
And just FYI, you’re limited to what you can add to your author page until you’re verified. But for now, you can add your bio and photo—which I’ll tell you about below.
Making Your Author Central Page Look Professional
As with Goodreads, or any other platform, you’ll want a great looking Author photo. You can find tips here.
Your Profile Photo
Choose a photo that is dynamic and lets your personality shine through, while also looking professional. Meaning, make sure the lighting and photo quality are good, and you have a good ratio of head/shoulder/background space.
In other words, wear your power colors, use a background that you don’t blend into, and have at least some of your shoulders in the photo for good perspective and balance—but make sure it’s not so far away that your shining face can’t be seen clearly.
Guess what? You can also upload other photos to your page. If you have some nice shots from a reading, or book promo pics, go ahead and add those too!
Your Bio
Choose a bio that shows off your accomplishments while also showing your personality. If you wrote a how-to or other non-fiction book that required expertise, then lead with your qualifications. If you write fiction, you can list your previous books, your education etc. But you may want to focus more on your passions rather than your expertise for this purpose, this is where readers get to know you. If you need help writing a professional bio, I’ve got you covered.
Here’s a tip! Write your bio first and polish it, then copy and paste into your page, and track it along with all of your other online profiles and refresh them quarterly.
Now It’s Time to Polish Your Author Page to Make it Really Shine!
First, make sure you claim all your books and versions of those books. If your printed books are not linked with your audio and e-book formats, you can request to have them linked through your Author Central account. This way readers will see all available formats of your book on the same page.
If you’ve co-authored a book add that as well. Amazon allows each contributor to take ownership of the book on their page (this includes anthologies you have contributed to).
You do this by searching your book/s and claiming them. Just search by title, ISBN or your name, and click THIS IS MINE. Simple, right?
Add your blog feed
To sync your blog feed, first click on Profile. Then from there, click Add Blog. Next add your feed address. In WordPress you can do this simply by copying and pasting your blog URL and then adding: /feed/ to the end.
If you don’t use WordPress, Amazon can help you with the correct steps here.
Why not add some videos?
If you have a book trailer, a YouTube channel, or even some video of a speaking engagement—whatever quality video content you have—add that too! Readers love the video format, and it can make them feel more connected to you.
To do this, go again to your Profile. Then click on Add Video. Upload your chosen video. Next you just follow the steps from there. This is another process that needs approval by Amazon. But you’ll likely have to wait less than 24 hours.
A Few Extra Things to Consider to Really Stand Out
Add editorial reviews
Adding editorial reviews really raises your authority and builds trust in your potential readers.
To do this simply click on Books at the top of your page. Select the book you’d like to add a review for. Under the Editorial Reviews section of your book, select Add. You will be prompted to fill in all necessary information. Just make sure you preview the review before you click Save!
Add as many (well up to five per book) as you want, and do that for every book. I suggest you pick your best reviews, or the most prominent ones, of course.
Follow Other Authors
Be sure to seek out and follow other authors too. As you find books you like, take a look below the book cover for a button to “Follow” that author. This is also a good way to connect and network with other authors in your sphere of influence.
Customize your URL
Did you know you can add your Amazon Author Page URL to your website, social media, and even your email signature?
Better yet, you can customize your Amazon Author Page URL!
This is simple to do as well. Just click on Profile again. Now click Add Link. Amazon may suggest some for you, but you can also make up your own. I suggest you use your author name or your book title. Make sure to hit Save after!
There you have it! Now you’ve got a great bio, profile picture, all your books, your media—including your blog feed and videos, and great editorial reviews to boost your authority, along with a customized URL to help link your audience back to your Author Central page.
Just complete one step at a time, and if you run into trouble, Amazon has plenty of helpful hints and detailed instructions to help you along.
Oh! Make sure you double check, preview what you can, and save your work! I made the mistake of not saving many things I added to my Goodreads Profile and didn’t even realize it until I checked back in later. Ooops!
I would love to hear what you have on your Author Central page. Leave your comments in the link to share your thoughts with the community. You can even share the link to your Author Central page if you want!
Until next time, friends! Stay healthy. Stay positive!
