The Author's Assistants, LLC, Cheryl Callighan

12/31/2024

Wishing my family, friends, clients, colleagues, and associates a very Happy New Year!!

12/24/2024

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to my family, friends, colleagues and associates!

Wishing you a blessed, productive and abundant 2025!!

10/28/2024

Boost Your Book Sales on Amazon with Attribution Links!

Curious about which of your campaigns drive the most book sales? Use Amazon Attribution Links to find out!

Amazon Attribution Links are tracking links that help authors understand how their marketing campaigns drive sales on Amazon. By using these links, you can see which ads, social media posts, or marketing efforts are performing best.

Here’s how they work:

1. Create a unique link: You generate a unique Attribution Link through Amazon's Attribution tool.

2. Customize for different platforms: You can create separate links for each sales channel (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, email newsletters) to track performance individually.

3. Track conversions: These links provide insights into clicks, views, and conversions directly on Amazon, allowing you to see which campaign leads to the most book sales.

4. Optimize marketing: By knowing which platform drives the most sales, you can adjust your marketing strategy to focus on the best-performing channels.
Create customized links for Facebook, Instagram, or any ad campaign. Track clicks, conversions, and sales—right on Amazon! Perfect for authors aiming to maximize their marketing impact.

Ready to optimize your strategy? Start tracking today!

Curious about other sales or marketing strategies? Book a 30-min FREE consultation with me at https://www.theauthorsassistants.com/contact

I’m happy to answer all of your questions!

10/27/2024

Maximize Your Book’s Reach with Wide Distribution!

Want your book available everywhere readers shop? Here’s how to distribute wide using three key platforms:

📖 Amazon KDP: Get your print and eBooks on Amazon worldwide, reaching millions of readers.

🚚 IngramSpark: Print and distribute to bookstores, libraries, and other retailers globally, making your book available beyond Amazon.

💻 Draft2Digital: Distribute your eBooks to all major digital platforms like Apple Books, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, and more!

Each platform has specific advantages. Using all of these will not only get your book in front of more readers, but allow you create a strategic marketing plan for your print book and eBook.

Curious about sales or marketing strategies? Book a 30-min FREE consultation with me at https://www.theauthorsassistants.com/contact

I’m happy to answer all of your questions!

10/25/2024

Did you know you can sell your IngramSpark POD books directly to your readers?

Yes you can!

How?

Through IngramSpark’s Ecommerce!

You can create a purchase link from the Ecommerce dropdown just under “Orders” in the left panel. Then select “Create Purchase Link”. This can be a link, QR code or HTML embed tag to add a buy button to your book’s cover image on your website.

Share this link on your website, social media, in emails, newsletters or use the QR code on your marketing materials (bookmarks, one-sheet, business card, etc.).

And these links can be useful for offering discounts to family and friends, run promotions, sell you book at events.

Learn more here: https://bit.ly/4dZfey7

Do you have questions about self-publishing or book marketing? Schedule a FREE 30-minute consultation with me. I'm happy to answer all of your questions!

Schedule here; https://www.theauthorsassistants.com/contact

Sell your book directly to readers from your author website, social media profile, and more with shareable purchase links!

10/17/2024

Do you have a backlist of books?

When was the last time your updated their metadata? (Categories, keyword strings and book description?

If you publish before 2020 you should revise your metadata! So much has changed in the last couple of years. In June 2023 Amazon revised its algorithm to focus on categories and keywords in big way.

Some categories no longer carry the importance they once did and have been labeled as “duplicate” or “ghost”. You will not rise to an Amazon Best Seller using these types of categories.

Need help? Schedule a 30-minute consultation! (Use the QR code!)
https://www.theauthorsassistants.com/contact-us/

10/15/2024

Keyword Strings

When you think about keywords think in “strings” meaning 2, 3, even 4 keywords strung together like “post-apocalyptic climate thriller” not just post-apocalyptic, fiction, or thriller.

My best example is searching for bath towels on Amazon. You don’t just search “bath towels”. You’ll get all kinds of results to sift through. Instead you search for “light blue cotton bath towels”. This will significantly narrow down your search results.

Need help? Schedule a free 30-minute consult with me: https://www.theauthorsassistants.com/contact-us/

10/11/2024

Categories

Unfortunately, Amazon/KDP categories are different for paperbacks, hard cover and ebook. You might find the same category for the paperback in the category list for your ebook. The best thing to do is first decide on your ebook categories. Why? There are more ebooks sold on Amazon/KDP than paperback or hard copy. Then see if you can find similar categories for your other format(s). Be careful, some categories are duplicates or ghosts. Your book will never rise to best seller status with these categories.

Need help? Schedule a free 30-minute consult with me: https://www.theauthorsassistants.com/contact-us/

10/08/2024

Book Description

This is where you hook your reader. Give them a “what’s in it for me” description using some of the best keywords or keyword strings you have. Do not overstuff your description with keywords. It’s not necessary if you have the keywords in your metadata.

Keep your book description engaging but concise. If your book description has the “Read More” link at the bottom, it’s unlikely a reader will click and actually read more. Today information needs to be complete, concise and engaging, meaning short.

Need help? Schedule a free 30-minute consult with me: https://www.theauthorsassistants.com/contact-us/

10/04/2024

Title & Subtitle

Your title and subtitle should be decided prior to uploading your book files to Amazon/KDP. Once your book file is uploaded you cannot change this information without a big hassle.

Here’s a great use of title and subtitle from one of my author’s sci-fi books:
The Brangus Rebellion: A Post Apocalyptic Climate Fiction Thriller
Author, R. R. Corvi captures the most important keywords for his book!

Need help? Schedule a free 30-minute consult with me: https://www.theauthorsassistants.com/contact-us/

10/01/2024

Amazon Optimization Tips -

1. Title & Subtitle - Your title and subtitle should be decided prior to uploading your book files to Amazon/KDP.

2. Book Description - This is where you hook your reader. Give them a “what’s in it for me” description using some of the best keywords or keyword strings you have.

3. Categories - Amazon/KDP categories are different for paperbacks, /hard cover and ebook. You might find the same category for the paperback in the category list for your ebook.

4. Keyword Strings - When you think about keywords think in “strings” meaning 2, 3, even 4 keywords strung together.

When was the last time you updated your book's metadata? There have significant changes in Amazon's algorithm.

Need help? Schedule a free 30-minute consult with me: https://www.theauthorsassistants.com/contact-us/

09/21/2024

Have you made your book discoverable? I don’t mean only by Amazon Optimization, but on social media, or targeted book promotions and book tours.

Book marketing is an ongoing task for all authors. It does not have to be expensive but it must be consistent.

I offer a free 30 minute consultation to help you strategize book marketing or even the book production process. Schedule an appointment now.

https://www.theauthorsassistants.com/contact-us/

Contact Us to discuss your needs and how we can help.

08/15/2024

Today is my work anniversary. 36 years of self-employment and 21 of those years working with self-published authors. It’s such a blessing that what I do for “work” is something I enjoy so much 😊

06/12/2024

Today is the 20th anniversary of The Author's Assistants, LLC!

Little did I know in that I would change my self-employment career but have so much fun helping so many authors become self-published!

www.TheAuthorsAssistants.com