by Sherrie Wilkolaski
Knowing the ins and outs of Amazon is a must for any author, whether they are self-publishing or have a traditional publishing house behind them. Either which way, it boils down to the author still being responsible for their own book marketing and Amazon has one free marketing tool, that I really like…Listmania!
What is Listmania!?
Listmania! comes complete with an exclamation point, so you know it must be exciting. In a nutshell, Amazon allows all account holders to create a “list” of their favorite things…like books and it is called, Listmania! So if you’ve written a book, you can create a Listmania! list, and include your own book, along with your competition. Simple as that. 
Why would you want to include your book with your competition?
Listmania! provides the perfect opportunity to cross-promote your own work with best-selling titles that are in your own genre. You want to create a book list that will attract your potential audience. You can create more than one list, if you want to cross promote your work to different audiences. If you have a cookbook that is about 30 minute Vegan meals, you may want to create a list for Best Vegan Cookbooks and another for Quick and Delicious Vegan Cookbooks. Get creative. I encourage all authors to utilize this tool to better market and promote their books. Also, ask a friend to create a list and include your book in their Listmania! lists as well.
Many people use Listmania! lists as a way to get recommendations from other readers to find books they may want to read and buy!
How to Create a Listmania! list (information provided courtesy of Amazon.com.)
To create a Listmania list:
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Visit your Profile Page and log into your account if requested.
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Click the "Edit Your Profile" button on the top right-hand corner of the page.
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Click the "Lists" tab in the Contributions section of Your Profile.
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Click the "Create your first one now" link or "Manage your Listmania Lists" link if you already have existing lists.
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Provide the requested information for your list and click the Preview button to review your list and Publish list when you are finished.
Here's the information you'll be asked to enter:
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Name Your List: Enter a friendly title for your list.
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Your qualifications: Your qualifications should be a description of why you're an expert in the subject of your list.
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Introduction: You can add an optional introductory paragraph to describe the list.
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Add tags: This allows you to add keywords that help others discover your list.
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Add a product: This is the core of your list! You can add anything from the product listings on Amazon.com.
Click here for more information on Listmania! at Amazon.com.
Please post a link to your Listmania! list below.
