So, you’ve written an e-book and you want to promote it in some social networks. Facebook and Twitter will enable you to get your new book noticed by several hundred followers. But how many of those will be avid readers, and interested in the subject of your e-book? Wouldn’t it be more efficient to promote your book in a social network of avid readers where you can connect with people who are interested in the same stuff as you? That’s where the Kindle social network comes in, at kindle.amazon.com.
If you open a free account there you’ll quickly notice that the people who have large followings are people who a) read a lot of Kindle books, and b) write wise and helpful comments about them. Using a Kindle hand unit it’s easy to make bookmarks (i.e., underline passages or dog ear entire pages). But it’s not very easy to make notes about the passages you’ve bookmarked, because the keypad on the Kindle is small. If you touch type, as I do, you will probably be frustrated because you can’t use the Kindle button keyboard the same way. You end up hunting and pecking. Very slow!
That’s why you may want to download and install a free copy of Kindle for your Mac: or PC. Using that computer Kindle app you can easily underline passages in a book you’re reading and make savvy reading notes quickly, with your computer keyboard. If you set up your account at Amazon.com to allow people who follow you at Kindle.Amazon.com to see your reading notes, then you can attract a sizeable following. The Kindle social network is made to order for authors, because it enables them to connect with avid readers with similar interests. Also, by commenting favorably on other author’s books, you can establish collegial relationships with them, and invite them to read your e-book, and comment on it.
Your profile at the Kindle social network will be very important. Make sure it contains lots of helpful information about yourself. If you belong to other social networks, such as Facebook, you can include your Facebook page link in your Kindle profile. When you sign into Facebook, type in the search window at the top, "kindle group" (without the quotation marks). This will give you a list of several Kindle user groups. None seems to be very active at the moment, but maybe you can start some buzz. Creating followers in one of these Kindle user groups at Facebook would give you a way of inviting new friends to visit your Kindle network page(s).
So, to get started with the Kindle social networking, 1) download and install Kindle for your Mac or PC. 2) visit http://kindle.amazon.com and update your profile there. 3) start following other readers at Kindle.Amazon.com; and 4) make some wise and helpful comments about some Kindle books you’re reading.
These steps will move you in the right direction.