It seems like everybody uses Google because it’s a powerful and effective way to find information for your book or blog post. But there’s another powerful tool that doesn’t get as much press: Amazon.
Obviously, you can use Amazon to search for books, but don’t stop there. Here are six ways you can use Amazon to do a better job of writing.
Look for authors. Authors are usually experts at some level. You can find out what else they’ve written or contact them for an interview.
Look for other experts. Many experts write reviews on Amazon.
Look for quotes. Those expert reviews can often be a great source of quotes because expert reviewers usually write about the topic as well as the book.
Verify quotes and facts. If the quote or fact is from a book, look inside the book to find it and vet it. Finding a quote or fact in a book also gives you a location you can cite.
Get quick overviews of a topic. Books have tables of contents and they usually outline the book and the author’s key points.
Look for books you didn’t find in your original searches. Amazon tells you what other people bought and looked at when they looked at books that interest you. That information can help you find more books and author.