This new feature, Bubbly Berls Babbles (or BBB), is kind of an adaptation of my old feature, Fun Questions, back at Fantasy is More Fun. And the title tells it all. I’m Bubbly, I’m Berls, and I’m about to Babble about something! I hope you’ll babble along with me 🙂
Today Bubbly Berls Babbles about Book Links
Let me preface this discussion by saying that I KNOW it’s not that big of a deal. I just what to know why… okay 🙂 ?
So book links. You’re reviewing a book or telling people about this book you just grabbed or that’s coming out, etc. I get that several bloggers use affiliate links and they like to use their Amazon link so that if I buy the book they get a tiny kickback (and I do mean tiny… once upon a time I cared about that and it was so small it just wasn’t worth it). But why can’t we also get the Goodreads link?
Stick with me for a second.
Monetizing your blog is all well and good IF it doesn’t overrun the blog. I hate going to blogs where ads pop up non stop and I can’t find the content for all the ads. And I realize that using affiliate links instead of a Goodreads link is nothing compared to that. But it is really inconvenient if I don’t want to buy the book right now – I just want to add it to my TBR or check where it falls in a series I may or may not have read, see if some of my other goodreads friends have read it, etc.
Yes, I’m fully capable of opening Goodreads (who am I kidding? It’s always already open in another tab) and typing in the name of the book. But we all also know that Goodreads search feature is not the best and I may have a little fun finding the book, especially if it’s one with a weird/unusually styled title or a title that’s been done a few times. So no, it’s not necessary to give me the Goodreads link. But if you give me the Goodreads link, I can then do everything I want to do PLUS from there I can easily go to Amazon and purchase the book. Or, if I use other retailers (GASP!) look it up with them.
So, as I said… I know it’s not a big deal. I can and will continue to find my books on Goodreads. But man would it be nice if a Goodreads link was a standard I could count on.
Oh and side note – can our links be clearly indicated? Like, “clicking on image will take you to Amazon” and so forth? Sometimes it’s like roulette clicking on an image! You never know where you’ll land lol!
I always link to Goodreads. I may also put up some buy links (even though so far, I’m not an affiliate anywhere), but I’m with you: I want to check it out on GR, maybe put it on my TBR, not necessarily buy it this instant. I”m thinking I need to make the Goodreads link more prominent in my reviews though.
I HATE blogs that have all the pop ups or blinking ads. It drives me crazy. I just want to read the review and when I click on a link, I don’t want to go to amazon. I am also sorry to say that I don’t do affiliates anymore when visiting blogs. I have amazon open and will go on myself because a lot of people have said that once you click on the link for the affiliate if you don’t close amazon and reopen, EVERYTHING you buy will be linked to that person affiliate so they get a kick back for all the purchases you might have made after purchasing the book. I know this was how it was a while ago and I assume it still is but I usually just like links to go to goodreads so I can add it because I most likely I wont be buy that book at that moment anyway.
Great post! 🙂
I like to see a GoodReads button And the Amazon button so I can do either one. I can’t remember if the first blog I wrote for had a GR button but the other two definitely did or do. Fun post!
I agree with you. I only include the Goodreads link unless I’m doing a blog tour in which case I include the purchase links. But hey! You can get to the purchase links from Goodreads so…I just like including GR best. 🙂
{{{BIG HUGS}}}
I use both… all of my covers link to Goodreads and all of my titles link to my Amazon affiliate links {I have no idea how to do buttons}. And I have one ad in my sidebar {also Amazon affiliate}. I used to have 2, but had difficulties with my Google Adsense, so removed it.
I’m not fond of the posts that have ads in the middle of the post {the end, ok, but not the middle} or the ones that have the newsletter popups.
I agree about the popup ads ! I haven’t found them to be as much of an issue on book blogs but there are a couple of food blogs that I’ve quit following because of that. I switched to a Goodreads link just a little while ago partly because I realized that that was what I preferred and partly because Amazon won’t let me review anymore so I’m not speaking to them at the moment.
I agree with you that blogs that have too many ads can be annoying. I get that blogging isn’t cheap and time consuming. But, I also don’t want to be overrun with ads either. I usually look for the “add to goodreads” link or button. I do appreciate when there is one. Great topic.