What Is Amazon A+ Content and Why Should Authors Care?
Have you ever gone book shopping on Amazon and wished you could see more information? Perhaps you wanted to read more about the book before buying, beyond the teeny tiny sample that Amazon doles out in the "Look Inside" section. You may want to see the covers of other books written by the same author. Or, you were knee-deep into a book series and wanted to know how the current title fit into the overarching timeline of the shared universe.
Whatever the case, you wanted more. And if you were browsing a title marketed by a savvy publisher or self-publisher, you could find it.
Some books on Amazon give prospective buyers a lot of information to ease their purchase decision. This extra content is known as Amazon A+ Content. When you market your book through Amazon, you can get additional real estate to engage prospective buyers and give them persuasive content that makes them want to buy your book immediately. A+ Content gives you a great way to reach your audience and will give you a leg up on the competition. You’ll want to welcome any advantage you can get as a self-published author, and this one will guarantee more engagement. And what’s even better? Amazon A+ Content is completely free to do.
Let's discover the bold, new world of Amazon A+ Content and how you can use it to grow your reader base.
What is Amazon A+ Content?
Previously known as Amazon Enhanced Brand Content, Amazon A+ content is a feature available through Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing or KDP for short. Amazon KDP is Amazon’s ebook publishing platform. Through KDP, authors can self-publish their books and make them available for sale directly to consumers through Amazon.com. KDP is a free-to-use program that earns money by taking a portion of your book’s profits. You, as the author, earn royalties from your book sales. The percentage varies, depending on many factors.
You can read more about self-publishing through Amazon's KDP, including how to calculate royalties, here.
Amazon A+ content allows booksellers to enhance the simple description section of their book's product page. You can add all sorts of multimedia to your product page, including images, videos, and comparison charts, which all help you drive more book sales. Think about it this way: If someone scrolls through the product page, they want it to convince them to purchase the product. Most people scroll down to read reviews, but if you can provide other persuasive content along the way, you may be able to sell another copy of your book.
Where do you find A+ content?
On your book's listing page, A+ content appears in the section "From the Publisher." This section is immediately below the basic book information, such as title, author, available formats, price, and general description. The A+ content is above the product details and reviews sections.
The Benefits of A+ Content
Compared to a basic product page, one with enhanced A+ content will, of course, give you a greater chance of selling your book. But why?
First, A+ content commands attention. The average Amazon shopper knows what to expect from a book page and is likely scrolling down for reviews. However, seeing your A+ content can and will stop them in their tracks. The human eye is always attracted to imagery. You can add a lot of eye-catching graphics to your A+ content that can make a potential buyer stop and consider what you're saying in your promotional content.
A+ content provides a great first impression of your book. It shows potential buyers that you've invested time and energy into promoting your book. It demonstrates that you care about how your book presents to the public. Being thoughtful in your marketing presentation inspires buyer trust. They'll be more likely to feel comfortable buying a book that appears professionally produced. And, as a self-published author, you need that added veneer of respectability.
Finally, on average, Amazon listings that include A+ content receive 10% more sales. Likely, this results from buyers sticking around a little longer to consider purchasing.
How to Best Use Amazon A+ Content to Sell Your Book
Let's discuss the best ways to use A+ Content to generate more interest and sales for your book.
Give More A Greater Glimpse Into Your Story
Let's say you've written an epic novel in the spirit of Tolkien, Lewis, or Hobb, and you'd like to share a map that illustrates your fantasy world. It would be wonderful to include that map in your A+ content, wouldn't it? You can't hang all of your hopes on the "Look Inside" feature. What if prospective readers miss it? When you take advantage of A+ content, you can ensure that anyone scrolling down your book's product page will see the maps you've taken so much time to create.
Of course, maps aren't the only way to give readers a glimpse into your book or story. You can include snapshots from different book pages in your A+ content section. This tactic is especially beneficial to non-fiction titles, like self-help, reference, guides, and journals. If you'd like to share more content from the pages of your book, you can use A+ content to do it.
Give Buyers a Reason to Buy Your Title
It isn't easy to stand out in a sea of similar titles. Buying books blindly, without operating from a recommendation at first, is always a gamble. Sometimes, the odds are just in your favor. But, when you use A+ content correctly, you don't have to be at the mercy of a coin toss. Use A+ content to speak directly to your potential readers. First, figure out what will make your buyer more motivated to purchase. For example, are they interested in reading titles similar to a popular book in your genre? If so, you can use your A+ content to highlight reviews that explain how your book has a similar vibe.
Promote Your Other Books
A new reader may not know that you've written half a dozen other books following the same cast of characters. One way to tackle this is to include a phrase such as, "By the best-selling author of XYZ and LMNOP comes..." You can forge an unmissable link between this book and the others in your series by showing how they connect in your A+ content.
Extra information about your other works may be overwhelming for the basic book description but will be welcomed in your "From the Publisher" section. Readers may be interested to discover other books from your catalog. Including book cover images in your A+ content is especially useful because they engage the eye and encourage the reader to consider the connection between all titles.
Follow Amazon A+ Content Guidelines
While you have a lot of freedom to create your A+ content, you must follow a few guidelines. According to Amazon:
Do not include pricing information in your A+ content. This constraint applies to promotional wording, such as "free" or "affordable."
You cannot include customer reviews in A+ content. However, you can incorporate editorial reviews and up to four quotes from well-known publications.
You shouldn't add time-sensitive language to your A+ content. Avoid using words like "latest" or "now." After all, if you plan to publish more content later, this information will become outdated.
Learn more about A+ content guides here.
Introduce Yourself as an Author
You can use A+ content to introduce yourself to your readers. People are curious, and they want to get to know you. The easiest way to satisfy their curiosity is by saying "hello" first. You may create an Amazon Author Central page on Amazon.com. This page will serve as your central hub for everything you do, including a catalog of your titles. However, you can also include a quick bio or introductory video.
Setting Up Amazon A+ Content for Your Book Page
Let's get practical. Here's what you need to know to set up A+ content for your book:
- Visit your KDP Marketing Page here.
- Scroll to the A+ content section and choose your desired marketplace. (Currently, you can choose from 12 Amazon markets.)
- Select Manage A+ Content.
- Click Start creating A+ content to create new content.
Note: When designing your page, you can choose between 17 modules and use up to five modules per detail page layout.
Final Thoughts
Leverage Amazon A+ content to sell more books. It's free and will give you an incredible advantage over the basic book description. It may take longer, but it will pay off in more significant book sales.
