Writing 101: Use Amazon to Find More Buyers

When was the last time you looked at your books on Amazon? If you're doing your promotional tweets and paying attention the way you should, your answer should be today or yesterday at the earliest. If you're not looking at the page all the time, you're missing opportunities to sell more books. You can use that page to find more buyers, and that's pretty invaluable.

Right in Front of Your Face

If you're anything like me, you don't need to be reminded to look at your book's Amazon page. I checked it every 20 minutes for three weeks after I published my first book, no exaggeration. My biggest thrill came from receiving my first review, but this was only slightly more exciting than seeing something in the "Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought" section. Seeing something appear in this section meant that someone actually bought the book, and I paid attention.

I'm still paying attention to that section of my book pages, and you absolutely should be doing the same. It's a gold mine for potential readers. I want you to take a look at all of the books in that section, and pay attention to the authors who wrote them. Look for those authors on Twitter. If you find them there, you're already a whole lot closer to getting more sales. 

Readers who bought your book also bought books by those authors. You know it's true because Amazon says so, and they probably have an underground lab of statisticians who do nothing but invent new algorithms all day long. So it follows that people who like those authors will also like you, right? Yes, good logic. That's where Twitter comes in. 

First, follow the authors that you can find on Twitter. Next, look at their followers -- and follow them. Now, not all of those followers are going to follow you back...but some will. And those new followers are more likely to purchase your book, because they already like books that are similar to yours. See how it works? 

That's how you use Amazon to find more buyers. So stop reading blogs and start getting to work. You've got stuff to do.

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