Why is a Universal Link your secret author tool
Until a year ago, I hadn't known numerous things about strengthening my platform as an author. The tools I needed under my belt and how I could increase my reach to readers had yet to be learned. However, with the connections I made with other seasoned writers on social media, I learned so much. One of those things was the importance of creating a universal link for my books.
Why is creating a universal link so important?
Let's use Amazon as an example. Amazon has a marketplace for each country, and not every marketplace is accessible for readers outside of its marketplace. So, since I live in the United States, Amazon's United Kingdom marketplace doesn't bring up certain items for me to purchase. This is where you're universal link comes in.
Having a universal link is how you access readers across the world. No longer do you run into the problem where readers come across your books and are unable to purchase them.
Where do you place this universal link?
This is more of a strategy. You need readers to find this universal link so be sure to make it easy to find.
Social Media: A great place for social media is right in your bio. For Twitter and Facebook, creating a pinned post will make what you're aiming to sell easy to find for first-time visitors. Once you get numerous universal links under your belt, however, (for all the books you'll have written) you may want to consider a link tree. Be sure to check this step-by-step article by Samanthabilty for making a link tree on your website and LinkTree for making a general, easy way for readers to find all of your links.
Author Central: Author Central has way more to offer than I originally thought (allowing you to add blog posts, videos, and photos to your author profile). But more importantly, in your author bio, you can place these universal links or link tree links. If the reader is interested in your work and can't purchase your work because of the marketplace mishap, they can simply find it there.
Bloggers and Reviewers: As you make a name for yourself in the writing world, you will undoubtedly come across bloggers and professional reviewers to try to spread the word. Providing them with a universal link will help them when they write a review for their audience and allow their readers to have a link for any marketplace too.
Now that I've talked your ear off about why you need these magical links, here is how to make one. For creating universal links, I personally use Booklinker, but there are tons of sites out there.
Step one: (Use a laptop) Have the Booklinker site open on one tab and your book's Amazon page open in another tab.
Step two: Copy the URL in the top bar under the tabs for your book's Amazon page.
Step three: Paste it in the bar labeled Paste the Amazon URL for your Book or Author on the Booklinkers page.
Step four: Click the Create Universal Link button.
Step Five: Type in the title of your book with no spaces in the name your link section. (There is a character limit, so choose which portion of your title to feature if it's a long title.)
Ta-da! That's it! You have created a universal link that enables everyone to purchase your book. Simply copy and paste the link they give you wherever you like.
When you need to access it later, follow these steps.
Step one: Sign In to the Booklinker site.
Step Two: Click the Books button.
Many other sites are similar and easy to use. I hope this helps you on your writing journey allows you to grow your reader's base.