Link Apps, Pt 3

Bitly is an app that helps with
those long, cumbersome URLs from blogs and booksellers. Use of the site is free
with signup, but your bells and whistles are limited. The Basic plan is $29 a
month for custom links, some email support, bulk shortening on links, and
redirecting a current link. For that cost, you get 1500 links monthly. Premium
is $199 per month with 3000 links per month. You get additional analytics,
campaigns, and more high-end items. You can also go custom at the Enterprise
level. Call to find out what they can do for your business for 10k links a
month. I use the free plan for 1000 links a month with a customizable “back half” of the link. It
works for my books.

Once you get your account set
up with the level needed, shortening links is super easy. First, copy the long
URL from the original site—your blog, your website, a bookseller, etc. Go back
to Bitly. On their main dashboard screen, click the orange Create button. Then
paste your long URL and click the Create button on the bottom of the screen.
After a moment, the new URL will be listed at the top of the pop-out menu.

With a free plan, all shortened
links will have bit.ly at the start of it. You can edit the link to make it
more usable for your customers. For example, if you are selling books from your
website, you can use the bit.ly at the start of the URL and your book name at
the end, e.g. bit.ly/StrandedGF. That one’s not real, but here’s one I made for last week’s blog https://bit.ly/ulinks2.
Bitly will check to ensure the customized link is available. Click Save.

On the same pop-out menu, you
can also copy and share the link. It’s
nice not to have to highlight and copy. Just click the button. If you are on a
paid plan, you can make a QR code. These links might be worth looking into if your
books are digital and you attend conferences or book shows. Handing out a card
with a QR code with a direct link to your book makes it easy for the readers.
(Or it could link to your Linktree to sell multiple books!)

When you finished editing your link, save it. Close the pop-out with
the X. Now your dashboard will display the new link with a few stats, including
the number of clicks and location of clicks. All links will be displayed on the
lower left. As you add to your shortened URL list, the side panel will grow.

I use these on my website to
see the number of clicks and where people are clicking. (Hmmm, I have a few
from Germany. Maybe I need to look into foreign rights.)

As writers, we
are encouraged to use multiple social media sites, write blogs, and diversify who
we publish with. Bitly can assist you in consolidating all your data into short
usable links.