It amazes me just how many authors are not using Amazon's author blogs to touch base with fans, find new customers and increase their SEO.
If you don't know, Amazon offers a blogging service – called a Plog – to authors who sell on the site. This service is available via AmazonConnect.
Top excuses I hear for not blogging on Amazon include:
- I don't have time to do another blog.
- Amazon is putting indie's out of business.
- I didn't know Amazon offered this.
Here are my responses:
- Amazon Plogs allow you to pull your current blog RSS and feed it directly into your Amazon account. You can do new posts especially for Amazon, or just let your current blog posts fill your Plog.
- Amazon is the No. 1 retailer online. People shop there. It's your loss as a business person (Yes, fiction writers are business people, too.) to not participate.
- Well, now you know.
Hot Tip: Before you set up your AmazonConnect blog, create a new account on Amazon using your pseudonym or preferred author name. This will separate your personal Listamanias, Wish Lists and Friends from those on your professional roster. This is especially important for authors writing under a pseudonym, or who target a difference audience than their personal tastes. (Example: Children's authors will want lists that include kid-friendly content.)
I have a question that's more general — how should authors blog to their readership (whether via Amazon or some other way) and not turn into annoying shameless self-promoters? What valuable and desirable content can we provide via blogging that connects in a meaningful, not too commercial way? And how often, in your opinion, do we need to update those blogs to create a valuable connection?
I have an RSS feed over there, so my daily blog shows up on Amazon. If I have something special to say only for Amazon, I'll do a separate blog there as well.
well, as they say, ya learn something new every day!
thanks for the info!