“U” is for Universal Book Links, Today’s AtoZChallenge

For today’s #AtoZChallenge, the letter “U” is for Universal Book Links

What are Universal Book Links? Let’s assume you’ve published a book. It’s on Amazon, it’s at Barnes&Noble, ibooks, Kobo, and a few other outlets. What do you when you want to blast out to your audience that your book is available? List six or seven links? Keep multiple pages updated on your blog? Track everything on a spreadsheet?

With a universal book link, you need only one link to get your customer to wherever he wants to buy your book. Pretty nifty, eh?

Here’s how Universal Book Links works

First, it’s FREE. Yep. FREE. Go to Books2Read.com and add one link to a page where your book is for sale. It doesn’t matter if it’s Amazon or Joe’s Bookstore. Books2Read will grab certain meta information (author name, cover image, title) and do a massive internet search. In no time at all, it will find everywhere your book is for sale and will stuff all that information into a handy-dandy universal book link like this one: https://www.books2read.com/links/ubl/create/. (This is the link my latest book, Snow White and the Eighth Dwarf).

Once more, if, at any time in the future, you add a new book distributor (say going from just Amazon to Amazon and Smashwords), Books2Read will automatically update the information behind the scenes. You won’t have to update your website, or ANY OTHER PLACE ON THE INTERNET. (Sorry for shouting, but I think this is so cool). Any old blog post, Tweets, Facebook posts, or anyplace else that used a universal book link will be updated and point the person who clicks on it to Books2Read, which will list all the stores where your book is available.

There’s more. A user can designate a favorite store, bypassing a stop at Books2Read and going directly there TO BUY YOUR BOOK.

Universal book links are an incredible tool for authors

You can use one link only  to promote your book.

As you add a new distributor, refresh your Books2Read page, and it will do a crazy search, picking up the new information.

No need to update your blog, newsletters, Tweets, etc, etc, etc.

Your reader will automatically be directed to his bookseller of choice once he selects his preference on Books2Read. (easily changed)

You can make money! Sign up for a free account, provide an affiliate code link, and Books2Read will embed the code into the link, generating money, $$$, when someone clicks on the link.

Sign up for a free account, and Books2Read will track visitor information, click-thru rate, and what store your customers prefer.

Can you think of any other ways an author can benefit from universal book links?

Tomorrow’s AtoZChallenge will be about the letter “V”.

Until then, blessings,

Cheryl

#AtoZChallenge is a blogging challenge

If you’d like to continue reading my entries in the AtoZChallenge* and to receive my blog posts, please use the entry form to the right. Also sign up for my newsletter, and you’ll receive a FREE copy of my short story, Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong, Mr. Alien.

If you know of someone who would enjoy learning more about Universal Book Links, use the buttons on the left to share this post. Thank you.

*#AtoZChallenge is a blogging challenge that takes place in April (except on Sundays). Participants blog every day around a theme of their choosing, in alphabetical order. Throughout the month of April, I’ll share tips, links, and insights I’ve learned in my writing career

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