Twitter Author Tip and Novel MRS. LIEUTENANT

Here is a Twitter tip that other authors may appreciate knowing:

If I tweet:

MRS. LIEUTENANT: A SHARON GOLD NOVEL (2008 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award semifinalist) FREE on Kindle Aug 20 & 21 http://amzn.to/TKTk4B

At the bottom of the tweet Twitter automatically adds the words “View Media.”

If a person clicks on those words, this is what appears:

Mrs. Lieutenant: A Sharon Gold Novel
Phyllis Zimbler Miller | Kindle Edition
4.5 out of 5 stars (35)
$2.99

Most Helpful Customer Reviews:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Best of Everything for Vietnam-Era Miltary…
Phyllis Miller sent me this book after seeing my name on an Internet forum. I was a little concerned because many first novels are really amateurish, almost embarrassing to read. But I really… Read more
Published on May 27, 2008 by Dr Cathy Goodwin

4.0 out of 5 stars The Women Behind the Men
“Mrs. Lieutenant” presents the vivid, personal stories of four young wives as they learn to cope with military life, against the backdrop of America at war–both in Vietnam and at home–in 1970… Read more
Published on January 16, 2008 by Newsyrob

And the “View Media” under the tweet changes to “Hide Media.”

Although I use bit.ly to shorten my Amazon links because an abbreviation of Amazon appears in the shortened URL, I use budurl.com for other shortened links.

I experimented with budurl for a MRS. LIEUTEUANT shortened link to Amazon in a tweet, and that shortened URL also got the “View Media” treatment from Twitter.

Bottom line? From a marketing perspective it is very important to include a link directly to your book’s Amazon page in a tweet about your book.

Important Twitter warning: I just looked at an author’s Twitter stream in which the only tweets were about buying the author’s book. This is NOT the way to promote a book on Twitter.

Promoting a book on Twitter means interacting with people on book-related and other subjects and then only occasionally promoting one’s own book. (Unless you are in the midst of promoting your book’s free days on KDP Select, in which case you will probably tweet more than usual about your book.)

When you do tweet to promote your book, you might want to consider using a link to Amazon instead of to the book’s page on your author website. Then with the Twitter “View Media” automatic feature, prospective readers can check out your book directly from Twitter.

P.S. And after studying Amazon’s associate (affiliate) legal terms with my husband the lawyer, I have decided to begin phrasing out my use of Amazon affiliate links for my own books. (The above Amazon link for MRS. LIEUTENANT is NOT an affiliate link.)

Important Amazon associate note: In my book TOP TIPS FOR HOW TO MARKET YOUR BOOK ON AMAZON AND FACEBOOK, the advice for getting an Amazon associate account is ONLY for putting an Amazon store on Facebook. And then, of course, you can only do that if you live in a state in the U.S. that allows you to have an associate account with Amazon.

ANNOUNCEMENT: MRS. LIEUTENANT: A SHARON GOLD NOVEL (2008 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award semifinalist) will be FREE on Kindle Aug 20 and Aug 21. See http://amzn.to/TKTk4B

Click here to see information about MRS. LIEUTENANT and five other free Kindle books at site Free Kindle Books and Tips.

© 2012 Miller Mosaic LLC

Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of fiction and nonfiction books/ebooks. A new nonfiction ebook of hers is TOP TIPS FOR HOW TO MARKET YOUR BOOK ON AMAZON AND FACEBOOK and her newest fiction ebook is the thriller CIA FALL GUY.

Click here to visit her Amazon author page at amazon.com/author/phylliszimblermiller

She also has an M.B.A. from The Wharton School and is the co-founder of the online marketing company www.MillerMosaicLLC.com