Amazon Booby Trap for Authors

Issue #774 Nov. 30, 2013
Publisher: Joan Stewart

“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”

In This Issue

Amazon Booby Trap for Authors
Use Captions on YouTube Videos
Bad LinkedIn Profile Photos
Hound Video of the Week

This Weekend in the Hound House:

Can you believe it’s only three and a half weeks until Christmas? I’d be panicking, but most of my friends and relatives stopped exchanging gifts long ago. That makes it so much easier to enjoy the season.

1. Amazon Booby Trap for Authors

Authors are furious yet again at Amazon.com.

A few months ago, it started eliminating books from the site that obtained objectionable keywords.

Now, Amazon is at it again. This time, it’s pulling books that include within their descriptions names of other book titles or other authors.

Example: “If you like Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder, you’ll love…”

This is happening with no warning whatsoever to many of the authors caught in this booby trap.

Book marketing expert Penny Sansevieri is furious, and she emailed Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, to complain.

She writes about the entire ugly mess at her blog, and explains what authors can do to keep from falling into this trap.

Start at her post and follow the links and other updates.

“How to Launch a Book, Promote It and Sell a Truckload–Without an Expensive Publicist,” a two-hour webinar I recorded with Penny, explains more about Amazon tips and tricks. It’s perfect if you can’t afford a publicist or you want to breathe new life into an old title. Learn more about how to access it along with the huge bonus package here.

2. Use Captions on YouTube Videos

I started using captions on my YouTube videos about a year ago when someone reminded me that it’s just one more place where Google can find keywords.

That’s Reason Number 1 and it’s reason enough for me.

Reason Number 2: It helps people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

I just found an Twitter discussion on Storify that explains 11 more very smart reasons to use YouTube captions. Most include not wanting to annoy other people who are within earshot while you’re watching videos. But I saw a few more reasons I hadn’t thought of.

Bottom line: Captions expose your videos to a much wider audience.

Read the entire post at my blog.

3. Bad LinkedIn Profile Photos

Hard to believe, but many LinkedIn users are still uploading photos of themselves lounging in the back yard, standing in front of the fireplace with a plant coming out of their head, showing cleavage, holding drinks, or clutching their babies. A few are even uploading the entire family portrait!

Stacy Donovan Zapar, a recruiter and one of the most connected people on LinkedIn, writes about the 11 types of LinkedIn profile photos gone terribly wrong, and provides examples.

If you’re among the guilty, change your photo, pronto.

4. Hound Video of the Week

Meet Meysi, quite possibly the world’s smallest dog, about the size of a soda can and slightly heavier than a hamster.