I’m an avid reader and love recommending books (and other resources) that have been helpful to me in my business. Reading a good business books on a regular basis is a fantastic way to stay creative, grow your knowledge base and move forward with your business.
Do you enjoy business books? Books related to your craft or area of expertise?
Last week I found a cool Amazon widget to add to my side bar. It allowed me to easily create a “bookshelf” of business books I recommend. I thought I’d share how I created and added it.
The Amazon widget allows me to easily recommend those books, showcase what I’ve been reading, and earn a small affiliate commission if any books are purchased through my widget.
Here’s how you can create your own:
- Sign in to your Amazon account
- If you aren’t already signed up for the Amazon Associates program you’ll need to create an account with them
- Go to https://widgets.amazon.com/
- Look for the “My Favorites” widget option and click the “Add to your Web page” button
- Now you’ll get a page with a search box – search for the book or other item you want to recommend
- When you see the item listed, click the “add product” button for it and it will be added to your widget list on the right side of the page
- You can then choose to add comments (or just click “cancel” if you don’t want to comment)
- Continue searching and adding the items you’d like to your widget
- When you’re done click the yellow “Next Step” button
- Now you can customize the title, size and design so choose the options you’d like
- When you’re happy with the preview, click “Save” (so that you can come back and edit later without needing to create a whole new widget)
- Then click the “Add to my Web page” button and a popup with some code will appear on your screen
- Copy the code
- In another window/tab login to your WordPress admin
- Go to “Widgets” under “Appearance” on the left menu
- Create a new text widget (drag it from the left widget boxes to your sidebar) and paste your code there
- Save
- You’re all set!
You can also copy and paste your code into a page or blog post (by going to the HTML view) and create a display like this:
What have you been reading lately? Anything great you want to share? I’d love it if you leave your suggestions in a comment – I’m always looking for good books to add to my “must read” list!
Joyce Hansen says
Michelle,
Thanks so much for the tip for Amzon.com reading recommendations.
I’ve been meaning to do this but haven’t had to the time to figure it out.
I’ll be back, you have some great posts. I also like your sidebard Michelle Shaeffer Training.
Nice touch.
MichelleShaeffer says
Thanks, Joyce!
Gonzalo J. Suárez says
Hey Michelle!!
This is a win-win idea!! You give better content to your users, but also get commision on Amazon Sales on your site!
Thanks!!
MichelleShaeffer says
Win-win is always good. :)
Michele Scism says
Awesome tip Michelle – Thank you! I totally agree with Gonzalo – it is a win-win! Great content which builds credibility and commissions which build your bank account.
Thanks,
Michele Scism
The Results Lady
Michelle Shaeffer says
It sure does. It’s awesome to check out a potential coach or consultant’s reading list and see that he/she is keeping up with their education/niche/whatever.
Kristen Robinson says
Great post Michelle! That is great to put the Amazon widget on the blog to share with your readers what books you recommend. It makes it easier to find the book instead of searching for it. Thanks!
Michelle Shaeffer says
I’m a big reader so I also enjoy seeing what other bloggers are reading. :)
Sarah says
A great way to offer additional resources and share the books you find
insightful and useful.
Michelle Shaeffer says
Hi Sarah, thanks for stopping by and commenting. I really enjoy seeing reading lists from others. It’s a great way to discover new books.
Nancy Goldblatt,WardrobeWizard says
Michelle, I am voraciously reading all of your great information and I want to suggest a terrific book. I know you are homeschooling your 3 children and this is a great book for understanding your children. I am a former teacher and now a psychotherapist as well as image consultant. This book can be used to understand your own learning style as well as your children’s. I use it with my clients all of the time. title: “Your Child Is Smart,” by Dawna Markova. There is also an associated web site: http://www.Smart Wired.org
Delia says
Wonderful how-to tutorial, Michelle! I was looking for this also and I knew I might find it here ;) I was wondering, how do you maintain the list? Is there an easy way to add to it directly from your blog? Or do you need to go back and recreate the code and update the widget in WordPress? Thanks!
Michelle Shaeffer says
I believe when you make a change to it in Amazon it automatically updates the widget displaying on the blog. So any changes should show up without needing to recreate the code.