“Where can I buy your book?” That’s the question every author loves to hear. Some answers could be “Go to the bookstore” or “Search Amazon for my book title” or….”Well, let me send an email to you with this big ugly Amazon link.
But, what if you’re on a podcast? What if you’re speaking on a virtual live? What if you’re standing in a line at the grocery store and get into a conversation with someone and your book comes up?
The answer is to register a domain name for your book.
The obvious choice would be YourBookTitle and then add the word Book in the domain name too.
For example, my book title is Lions Always Win. So I have a domain name LionsAlwaysWinBook.com, which will take you right to the Amazon book page.
Go ahead and try it. Open up a new browser window and in the address bar, type in lionsalwayswinbook.com.
It’s a “forwarded URL,” which is a free service (or should be!) depending on who your domain name registrar is….once you pay for your domain name.
I’ll say that again. First, you have to buy your domain name. Then, you should have a free feature inside your management settings for that domain name that allows you to apply the URL Forwarding feature. That’s the industry term: URL Forwarding.
There’s just one problem at the basic level of registering a domain name. The forwarding itself only works if someone types in the domain name exactly how you tell it to them.
Go back to your browser window and type in www.lionsalwayswinbook.com and it still takes you to the right spot.
Now go to your address window again in your browser and type this in: https://lionsalwayswinbook.com.
Takes you nowhere right? White screen!
That’s because forwarded URLs are by nature “not secure.” Once a visitor gets to your Amazon book page, of course the connection is secure. But, the “s” in https indicates a secure connection, which, this domain name has only been setup to redirect to where I want people to be sent to.
There IS an additional level available for using URL forwarding and that would involve creating an https connection. If it’s really important to you to have your book domain name redirect properly to your Amazon page in whatever way people attempt to type it in, https or otherwise, please contact me.
But, I’ve found for most books, simply having a URL redirect like my Lions Always Win book has is enough. When I tell people on podcasts, virtual live presentations or in-person speaking events to go to LionsAlwaysWinBook.com, they get it. That’s exactly what they type in.
To make a live link in emails or some social media pages, you would use http://LionsAlwaysWinBook.com without the “s” in http. I’m going to say 99.5% of people wouldn’t know the difference. They will just click on the http link. But, if your book is technical or serves an internet marketing type of audience, you would maybe consider going the extra step and get the https.
I know I’m getting “in the weeds” here, but getting a good grasp on domain names is an important part of being an author. You should also register yourname.com and, if possible, your book title without the word book at the end. That’s three total domain names for you to own as an author.
Choosing the right domain name registrar is tricky. Some places claim to offer “free” domain names. Yeah, right. They’re just trying to lure you in so that you’re forever tied to that company, usually for website hosting.
GoDaddy is usually a default sort of (everybody I know gets domain names there so I should too). GoDaddy is better, but they use some pretty slimy tricks to get you into their system, like $.99 domains. Then, when your renewal comes up the next year, you’re paying twice as much!
In 2003, I had to figure out a solution for domain names for my clients. Ever since, I’ve been a domain name reseller. I’ve stripped out all the fancy discount schemes and you know exactly what you’re paying for every year without surprises.
I strongly suggest you register your book domains through my domain name reseller account at BestDomainPlace.com which you can find here:
Once you find out how it works, and the consistent pricing, consider transferring all of your domain names there.
No worries if you already have a domain registrar you’re happy with. Go register your book domains and your name as an author, use the URL Forwarding feature and get selling those books!
