How To Use Twitter To Sell Used Books Online

If you'd told me even 6 months ago that I'd even have a Twitter account, I'd have told you no way. I'm not the Tweetin' kind. But I'd be wrong.

These days, when I post an interesting, unusual old used book for sale on Amazon Marketplace, I Tweet my new listing to my growing list of Followers.

And it's working well to bring in new sales. Here's six steps that show how you can "push" your listings for free online!

How Twitter Can Help You Sell More Used Books

Step #1: First of all, don't spam. Only Tweet postings of unusual or relevant books. By unusual, I mean rare, hard to find. By relevant, I mean that people who are following you won't be offended or bothered by your posts.

Step #2: If you don't have a Twitter account, get one. They are free. Post short 140-character posts and link to your sales page on Amazon.

Step #3: As you finish listing your Amazon Marketplace used book, click on the Manage My Account screen and your updated inventory listings will pop up on your computer screen. At the top you'll see a 'Congratulations' message from Amazon, showing the cover photo of the book and stating that it is now available for sale in the Amazon Marketplace. Below it, there is a link to post this on Twitter. (There is also a link to post to your friends on Facebook. I prefer not to do this, but it CAN reach a wide new audience that otherwise might never log on to Amazon.)

Step #4: When you click on the Twitter logo, a small message screen will pop up on your computer screen. This allows you to format your message. The default message will look something like:

"I just posted NAME OF BOOK @ Amazon for $9.99 [Amazon hyperlink will be here]"

I quickly edit the posting to something like this:

"Wow, interesting read on how ancient astronauts founded Atlantis! NAME OF BOOK @ Amazon for $9.99 [Amazon hyperlink will be here] - #findhow2"

As you can see, I delete 'I just posted' and add "Wow, interesting...." comment to front of the generic message, and then add "#findhow2" (my hashtag -- which posts this Tweet to a roll call of prior Tweets.)

Step #5: Click "Submit" and your message is done. (Note: the first book listing you Tweet will bring up a log-on screen from Twitter to ensure your correct ID and password are being entered; after that, the postings ought to publish automatically from the Amazon Seller Account you are working within.)

Step #6: Repeat listing your next book at Amazon Marketplace, and when you're done, repeat the process to 'Tweet' your listed book.

Avoid Spamming Your Twitter Followers

I wouldn't send out a message on every book you list. Only Tweet the juicy ones, the unusual ones, the rare or hard-to-find used books.

Hopefully, you'll found books related to the interests of your Twitter Followers, and the books you are telling them about are the subjects they are most interested in. Ignoring this could cost you members. They'll just leave.

And, with luck (or with a little prodding from you) your own Followers will Re-Tweet your messages to people you'd never be able to reach yourself. Everybody knows somebody. And that somebody they know might be REALLY interested in knowing you have the old used book they've been looking for for years!

My advice: Don't Tweet more than one new listing every 10-15 minutes, unless your Twitter Feed is frenetic. Mine has fewer people than most, and that allows my messages to get bunched up all together and looking like spam if I'm not careful. But by waiting 15 minutes between posts, I can showcase the books I care enough about to list for sale to the people who care about what I'm doing at any hour of the day.

Thus, by combining the free tools and free listings on Amazon Marketplace, with the free broadcasting tools and multiplying 'Re-Tweeting' power you'll tap into an amazing, easy-to-use system to bring new potential customers to your online used book store and earn higher profits.