by Penny Sansevieri
If you’ve ever wanted to sell more books in other countries, then you need to start exploiting Amazon’s international Author Central pages! We have a client who reviewed her Amazon KDP Sales Dashboard and noticed she’s selling a bunch of books in Japan. Naturally, she wondered if there’s a way she can rack up more sales there, so we began exploring the options together.
There are of course plenty of things that can be done, including some of the more obvious options like pitching specific blogs in those regions or creating targeted advertising geared to that market. This takes time and money. Another route is to spend a few minutes and claim your Author Central pages in these international countries. It’s very easy to do, and is a quick process. However, the cherry on top is that all the international Author Central pages are the same. Before I teach you how, first let’s go over the countries that do not have Author Central pages set up.
- Brazil
- Canada
- China
- Mexico
- Netherlands
These countries all list your book but don’t have a page connecting all of your titles. Authors don’t sell a lot of books in these areas unless the book is connected to them specifically. For example, a book about Mexican heritage may do well on Amazon’s website in Mexico.
However, for the purposes of this article, we’re going to focus primarily on the countries that do have Author Central pages:
- France
- Japan
- UK
- Germany
Not sure what you can expect to see on these pages? We will go through them one by one.
First, let’s look at France:
It’s only slightly different from your USA Amazon Author Central page, albeit in a different language, right? Your author bio will remain in English, but if your books are in English too, this works just fine.
Next, let’s take a look at Germany:
The German version of Amazon Author Central looks more like the version you’re used to seeing, once again simply in a different language.
Japan’s Author Central pages are slightly different in that you first must register yourself there. This is actually quite easy to do, so don’t let the new registration deter you. In reality, you’ll use the same username and password as you do for the US site, and it takes just a few clicks. From there the system will ask to verify your email; in fact, all of the sites do this. Once it’s verified, though, you’re good to go.
Your International Author Central Tools
TIP FOR SUCCESS!
If you don’t already use the Google Chrome browser, consider downloading it! Chrome features a “translate” button, which is far more accurate than any other translation options I’ve tried. In one quick step, you can easily translate a Japanese website into English.
As you claim each page, be prepared with your bio. While you can use the same bio that appears on your US page, definitely consider enhancing it to fit your new target country. So, you may want to address any international connections—either in the story/subject matter itself, or your own personal connections—in your bio. It could make all the difference to build your readership in that country.
Images and Video
A while back, Amazon moved “add images” from the actual book page to the Author Central page. It allows you to include up to eight images, which you can update and cycle through as often as you want. Each time you release a new book, you can add a new image. Or, if you have a promotion coming up or recently won an award, include images that feature those. Readers love seeing awards you’ve won!
Video is a great enhancement tool, and yours can feature anything from you talking at an event to an actual book trailer or a reading of your book. The sky is the limit! And, you can upload several; I’ve done as many as three or four, but I did not see a video limit per se.
Your Books
Making your life even easier is the fact that Amazon’s system is great at grabbing all of your books. Just make sure that you click on the “Books” tab.
Putting it All Together!
Want to see the final results for the author we worked with on this process? You can see her Author Central pages across several countries below. And the best part is that they’re robust, engaging, and keep all of the author’s books in one place so her readers can spot them easily.
Access International Author Central Pages
Since my goal is to empower you to boost your international sales, I’m going to make it easy for you! Below are the links to access and update each of your pages in these countries:
Is it Effective?
In a word, Yes. In fact, authors we’ve helped with their international Amazon Author Central pages have seen a substantial uptick in sales in international markets. It will be especially helpful if you are already selling books in these markets. If you aren’t selling books in Germany, for example, you may not see an immediate effect there. But it’s still a fabulous sales tool at your disposal to have, update, and optimize!
Penny Sansevieri, CEO and founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc. (AME) and an adjunct professor at NYU, is a best-selling author and internationally recognized book marketing and media relations expert. Her company is one of the leaders in the publishing industry and has developed some of the most cutting-edge book marketing campaigns.