How do I tag my novel? Well, I know a lot of people would rather watch a "how to" video than read a long blurb on how to do something, so check this out!:

Listmania

Isn’t it true that when you search for a book on Amazon, other books pop up? These are books that Amazon suggests for you. For example, when I search for my book Second Coming: A Horror Novel I’m suggested to look at Risen by Jan Strnad and Days of Vengeance (A Horror Novel) by Tim Kizer.

Why is this? It’s because of Listmania. Lilstmania is a great promotional tool that allows you to link your book to other books with common themes. When your book is in the list it can be included as a suggested book for all the other books on that list. With that said, it makes sense that the more Listmanias you create the more chance you have of your book popping up.

How do I create a Listmania? I’m glad you asked!

These are Amazon.com’s instructions, but . . . you’re going to add a little twist to make sure your list is more captivating (see below).

1. Visit your Profile page and log into your account if requested.
2. Click the "Edit Your Profile" button on the top right-hand corner of the page.
3. Click the "Lists" tab in the Contributions section of Your Profile.
4. Click the "Create your first one now" link or "Manage your Listmania Lists" link if you already have existing lists.
5. Provide the requested information for your list and click the Preview button to review your list and Publish list when you are finished.

·  Name Your List: Enter a friendly title for your list.
·  Your qualifications: Your qualifications should be a description of why you're an expert in the subject of your list.
·  Introduction: You can add an optional introductory paragraph to describe the list.
·  Add tags: This allows you to add keywords that help others discover your list.
·  Add a product: This is the core of your list! You can add anything from the product listings on Amazon.com

Okay, so how do you make your list stand out above others? First, you have to name it. Try using something catchy with the word “you” or “your” in it. That’s right. By tailoring the list to the readers they will feel that you are doing them a favor, creating the list especially for them. Take for example the name of one of my Listmania lists:

“15 bone-chilling novels to speed your heart!”

YOUR heart. Makes it seem like I know these books will really hold your interest, right? Correct!!!

Second, you’re going to have to enter your qualifications. What’s so special about you that you can suggest books for other people? Well you may be an avid reader, you may have once been a victim in a zombie apocalypse, or, wow, you might be a WRITER!

For example my qualifications are: "Vincent Bivona, author of Second Coming and Luke’s Situation."

Simple, right? By documenting yourself as an author you are branding yourself! Everyone on Amazon will know that an author is suggesting awesome books. And if those books are awesome, well, it must make sense that his are, too!

Next, the introduction. Basically why are you creating the list. This is also easy. You can either write about your passion for books. Or . . . you can immediately engage the reader by a gripping question. Such as:

“Do you want a scary, suspenseful read that will keep you up all hours of the night?”

Hell yes I do! Sign me right up!!!

Last, you should add products. This is the most important part of your Listmania. You MUST add your book to this list!!! If you don’t it’s not going to pop up! Add it first for good measure. Then, find other books (15, for example, since I used it in my Listmania name) that are within your genre. Similar books with similar themes. They key to this is adding ones that are bestsellers. If you’re going to increase your exposure you’re going to have to link your books with ones that are best-sellers. You can do this with traditional or Indie authors alike. Your choice. But the most important thing is making your book visible.

Try to make at least one Listmania a week. The more you make, the more exposure you’ll get!

Check out one of my Listmanias to get an idea of how to proceed: http://www.amazon.com/lm/R3BXD6CYOPZ137/ref=cm_lm_pthnk_view?ie=UTF8&lm_bb=

Okay, I wrote the book. What next?

The next step is marketing! This may seem like a daunting task, and believe me, I feel it is, but it's something that you have to do.

Today we're going to talk about tagging. What are tags?

These are tags ^^^^^^^^^
Tags help you navigate to pages. The more tags you have, the better. So, how can you increase your exposure? First: Get more tags! Tell your friends and family who have Amazon accounts to click on the little check boxes (they can click on 15 total) to increase your tag count.

Also, there's a great website dedicate to authors to tag one another and help each other out:
http://www.kindleboards.com/index.php/topic,22473.23475.html

Give it a shot! Tag me while you're at it. After all, one hand washes the other right?