Writing
Hyperlinks, Social Media Profiles, and Universal Book Links
This comprehensive tutorial is designed to guide you through the process of using links in a variety of ways to help make your books more engaging, dynamic, and reader-friendly. As we delve into the versatile features of Atticus, we’ll explore how to create and manage hyperlinks, link your social media profiles, and leverage universal book links using Booklinker. With these powerful tools at your disposal, you’ll be able to enrich your readers’ experience and expand your reach as an author. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just beginning your self-publishing adventure, this tutorial will provide practical steps and handy tips to help you make the most of Atticus and all it has to offer.
Adding Hyperlinks
Hyperlinks properly created within Atticus will be live and clickable in the ePub version of your book, taking your readers directly to your webpage, sales page, reference source, or anywhere you’d like to direct them.
They’re easy to create in Atticus, and can be extremely powerful little tools, depending on how you use them.
Hyperlinks and Atticus
Importing Hyperlinks
There are many variables between different types of software, and Atticus isn’t always able to import links from Word documents correctly, so it’s always best to test and adjust any links in your manuscript from within Atticus after importing.
If you have imported links, you can click on any of the blue text or the pencil icon that will appear next to a hyperlink to see whether or not it imported correctly. If it is blank, you will need to edit it and re-enter your url, including the appropriate ahrefs, such as http:// or https://
You can also click the link from the Previewer to test the URL destination.
After entering your link, make sure you click the “Update Button” to ensure the link saves properly.
Creating Hyperlinks in Atticus
To add a new link, you can highlight the text you would like to serve as the hyperlink, and click the “Link” button in the toolbar of either the writing tab or the content section of the formatting tab. Enter your link including the necessary ahrefs and click “Insert Link.”
It’s always recommended to test your links by hovering over the pencil icon and clicking the “Visit URL” option that pops up.
If you have a link attached to the wrong wording or simply a link that you no longer want included, you can click the link and choose “Delete” to remove it entirely.
Internal Book Links
If you would like to jump your readers to a different page in your book, you can also include internal links.
NOTE: Atticus will automatically create and link your Table of Contents, so there’s no need to try to manually create this!
Begin by using the same process to insert a hyperlink, but when the link menu opens, choose “Internal Link” from the top center of the popup.
You’ll see a blank text box. If you click inside it, all the pages and chapters from your book will show up, and you can choose one to link the reader to.
NOTE: You can only internally link to a page title, not to a specific location within a page or chapter.
Using Universal Book Links via Booklinker
A universal book link is a single URL that directs readers to the book’s sales page on any retail site, regardless of where the book is actually being sold. This means that if an author has their book available on multiple retailers, such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo, they can use a single universal book link to promote their book on their website, social media, or any other platform.
BookLinker is a service that helps authors create universal book links for their books, and it’s already integrated into Atticus for extreme efficiency.
If you are publishing wide and want to include a link to your other books from your Also By page, you can easily and automatically create a universal book link powered by Booklinker.
Simply highlight the section of text you want the link to apply to, click the Link icon from the toolbar, and choose Universal Book Link from the top center of the popup.
There is a space to enter either the Amazon or Apple Books URL. Once entered, simply click the Universal Book Link button.
BookLinker will automatically create a Bridge page for you that gives readers all your “where to buy” options in one very convenient place.
Once the link has been created, it will automatically shorten to a simple URL. Consider adding this link to the anchor text for the print version of your book, making it easy for your readers to manually type in the link.
You can also insert a QR code that print book owners can scan with their mobile phones to open the link.
Kindlepreneur has an easy to use QR code creator that will generate an image you can easily insert into your Also By page.
Adding Social Media Profiles
In addition to sending readers to your other books, you may also want to keep your audience engaged on a more day to day basis. Sharing your Social Media profiles for them to follow and connect with you is a great way to stay front of mind and keep your readers updated with news about your books, content about your genre or topics, or even relatable details about your life.
Atticus makes it easy to connect your social profiles and add them in a single click!
To get started, open your book in Atticus and navigate to the page you would like to add your profiles to. Place your cursor where you plan on inserting the social icons and click the @ symbol in the toolbar. This will bring up the Your Profiles section.
The @ symbol in the Atticus toolbar will open the Profiles feature. Create a new profile by clicking the button.
Click inside the Search section to open a dropdown list of all the platforms currently supported by Atticus. These include:
- Amazon
- Bookbub
- Goodreads
- Patreon
- Snapchat
- TikTok
- Youtube
Choose which platform you would like to start with and add your personal handle to the URL section. Repeat for as many social profiles as you’d like to include.
When you have added all your profiles, choose how large you would like the icons to appear on the page.
Finally, give your new Profile a name and click the Save this profile button.
Make sure the profile you want to add is highlighted and click Add to insert it into the page.
If you need to make any changes, click the Edit button to the right to open this profile back up.
If you no longer need a specific profile, you can click the Trash icon to delete it.
You can create multiple profiles if you write under various pen names, in different genres, or for any other reason that you may have to differentiate the social profiles you share.
If you have the Preview showing, you can see the icons are live links in the digital version. Your readers can simply tap the icon they’re interested in and it will automatically redirect to the Social Profile you have linked. You can test this yourself by clicking on the icons in the Previewer.
If you change the Preview to Print, you’ll notice the full URL of your social profile shows beside the icon. This is because physical copies of your book aren’t interactive, so your readers will need the full URL to find your profile.
Adding your social media profiles to your About Author page is an easy, effective way to grow your audience and keep them engaged and now it’s easier than ever with Atticus!
Link Optimization Tips
Here are a few of our best tips to help you get the most out of every link in your book:
- Always Test Your Links: Always test your links to ensure they’re working correctly and leading to the right place. Broken links can frustrate readers and disrupt the reading experience.
- Relevance: Make sure every link serves a purpose and adds value to your content. Each link should enhance the reader’s understanding or provide useful, related resources. Irrelevant links can confuse readers and harm your credibility.
- Anchor Text: Use descriptive anchor text so readers know what to expect before clicking the link. Anchor text is the visible, clickable text in a hyperlink. Avoid using vague phrases like “click here” for your anchor text. Instead, use descriptive text that gives readers a clear idea of what they’ll find when they follow the link.
- Avoid Overlinking: Too many links can overwhelm readers and detract from your content. Use links sparingly and strategically.
- Update Your Links Regularly: If you’re linking to external websites, ensure the links are still valid and the content is still relevant from time to time. Websites can change, and content can move or be removed.
Conclusion
We hope this guide has shed light on the numerous ways you can use Atticus to make your self-published books more interactive and engaging.
Remember, the power of linking goes beyond mere navigation. It’s a gateway to a richer reading experience, improved reader engagement, and increased visibility for your work. By using hyperlinks, social media profile links, and universal book links, you are providing your readers with avenues to connect more deeply with your content and with you as an author. Make sure to test, update, and optimize your links regularly to maintain their relevancy and functionality.
Now it’s time to turn these insights into action. Get creative, explore the possibilities, and most importantly, enjoy the journey of self-publishing with Atticus!
Last Updated: 05/24/2023
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