Amazon Connect Becomes Author Central

Here's a quick announcement before we get to today's post. The next chapter in the serial release of The Samson Effect, Chapter 6, is out. The suspense ratchets up even more. This is the action/adventure novel that New York Times bestselling author Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." If you haven't started reading The Samson Effect yet, don't worry! You can start now at Chapter 1 or visit the Table of Contents to pick up where you left off. You can even read the announcement about a major Hollywood producer acquiring the film rights for the novel.

Now, on to today's post...

On February 26, 2009, I wrote a blog post entitled, "Create An Amazon Connect Account." It is my belief that setting up an Amazon Connect account is one of the best things an author can do to help promote his or her book. Well, a week or so ago, I found that Amazon.com added a page to their site called Author Central. After finally doing my research, I found that Amazon.com has rolled out a new author page that all Amazon Connect accounts have been migrated to.

Here is the quote I found on their announcement page for the new Author Central:

{Start Quote}
Introducing Author Central

May 26 Update: Looking for AmazonConnect? We're excited to announce that the author blog feature previously offered via AmazonConnect is now part of the brand-new Author Central.

All existing Connect users should proceed to Author Central and use your AmazonConnect user name and password to check out all the new features and update their blogs. If you are trying to sign up for AmazonConnect, you can create an account with Author Central and start blogging from there.

Here are some highlights of Author Central:

--Vastly simplified and streamlined process for updating your bibliography
--Easy uploading of your bio and an image of yourself for use on your Author Page
--Blog posts will now appear on your Author Page
--Get help enrolling your books in programs like Search Inside the Book and Kindle

Please see below for answers to frequently asked questions about your blog and Author Central. Otherwise, click here or the button on the right to start using Author Central now."
{End Quote}

I visited my page and it looks like that my blog feed that I set up in Author Connect has migrated over to the new page. Based on my initial peek at this new page, it seems that Amazon has greatly improved the user friendly nature of their author pages. They also made updating/adding your bibliography and bio so much easier.

A new feature (to me) that looks interesting is a new Customer Discussion that allows a forum for customers to communicate with the author right on the page. Having the ability to communicate with book buyers is an author/marketer's dream come true.

Another thing that I like with the new Author Central page (sort of) is the more user friendly URL. My new Author Page URL is http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B002BLN85U. My old Amazon Connect URL was a mile-long string of symbols and letters:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A32BFD0KWT6WHC/ref=cm_blog_pdp

This is an improvement, but Amazon could have come up with a much better URL convention if they wanted authors to prolifically use this in their own marketing. Something like http://www.amazon.com/author/TonyEldridge would have been nice. Never fear, you can still follow my April 2nd, 2009 blog tip on making ugly URLs pretty with a post entitled, "Increase Conversions With Pleasant Looking Redirects."

If you read my Amazon Connect post, you may remember this quote:

Now, the downside. The interface and navigation is awful. No, let me rephrase this. The interface and navigation is AWFUL!!!!! I really expected much more from a company like Amazon.com, but technically, this is still a new, developing service. So, what do I mean about awful? There is no easy link to your profile page and navigating to the Amazon Connect program is often like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

I have to admit that Amazon.com seems to have taken a step in the right direction with the roll out of the new Author Central page. It does seem to be much more user friendly, which is always a good thing if they want authors to adopt the Author Central pages en masse.

One thing I do not like with this change from Amazon Connect to the new Author Page is that my blog feed for Marketing Tips For Authors used to appear on my Amazon.com book page (for The Samson Effect). It no longer does; instead it appears on the new Author Central page. This takes a customer looking at my book an extra step by having to choosing to visit my Author Central page if they are to see that I have a blog and what it says.

All in all, the new Author Central page on Amazon.com seems to be a move in the right direction. I would still strongly urge all authors with a book listed on Amazon.com to set up a Author Central page and start to fill it out. After all, it's hard to beat a free page on the largest bookstore on the planet, isn't it?

Tony Eldridge