How Should Authors Sell Themselves?

Remember when you applied for your first job or internship?  You had to sell yourself with a certain level of confidence and conviction even if you felt more fear and desperation during the process.  Selling yourself and your book is no different.  You need to go out there and convince others to buy your book, embrace your writing, see you as a dynamic speaker and view you as an expert worthy of media attention.  Sure you may feel like you aren’t ready, but it’s time to get out there and sell yourself as if you’ve been doing it for 20 years.

Here’s what will help you sell yourself:

·         Come across as a likeable, personable, friendly person.  No one wants to deal with a grump or pain in the ass.

·         Present yourself as being resourceful and helpful.  No one wants to feel you have nothing to offer.

·         Speak with confidence and clarity.  It can be seen in your eyes, heard in your voice, felt in your handshake.  Just assume the persona of the secure individual.

·         Put yourself in the right frame of mind, with lots of sleep, proper diet, regular exercise, and refrain from excessive binges with alcohol or drugs.

·         Stay informed.  Know what’s going on in your industry, the news, the world – and pepper your conversations with statements that reflect you are in the know.

·         Sell by doing your homework.  Know more than others do.  Learn about things few invest time in.

·         Walk with mojo.  Comport yourself in a way that exudes strength, determination, and conviction.  Of course beauty, youth, and nice clothes are a plus.

·         Support others with encouraging statements.  Showing empathy can go a long way to people liking you.

·         

      Be a story-teller, a joke-teller, or someone who always says something in a way few have expressed.  

Sell yourself with an outgoing personality.

·         Sell yourself in a way that’s not obvious.  You can reference things, drop names, or make provocative statements without coming off as being too pushy or self-centered.

Authors may believe that a book should sell itself, but behind every book is a human being, none with ideas, stories, and all kinds of things that, if shared, could seduce others to buy in.  The media likes a fresh face.  Book buyers want something fresh or useful.  Sell yourself the way others want to see you and you may find yourself advancing quickly.\

All-New 2017 Book Marketing & PR Toolkit 

http://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2016/11/2017-all-new-book-marketing-book-pr.html

Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog 2016 ©.

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