It’s
a simple enough question but many struggle to answer it. It is worth exploring:
Why will people buy your book?
Here
are 21 potential reasons why someone may buy your book:
1.
Someone
buys it as a gift for another person.
2.
Someone
needs the information in your book.
3.
Your
author credentials are better than those of authors for competing books.
4.
Your
cover price is cheaper than the competition.
5.
Your
cover image and title are catchy.
6.
Someone
the consumer trusts – friend, family, colleague -- recommends it.
7.
One
reads a favorable review of your book.
8.
One
likes the way your book is presented in an advertisement.
9.
Someone
enjoyed hearing you speak somewhere.
10.
Someone
identified with something about you – maybe they grew up in the same city as
you or graduated from the same school.
11.
You
pushed their emotional buttons and they bought your book out of fear, anger,
love, desire, etc.
12.
Your
book appears to deliver solutions to their problems.
13.
Your
book comes off as being entertaining, helping them to escape the burdens of
reality.
14.
Your
book’s descriptive catalog or back cover copy draws them in.
15.
The
reader bought your book because they mistakenly thought it was about something
else.
16.
The
consumer may like the same charity that you support and bought the book as a
showing of solidarity.
17.
The
consumer is exposed to media coverage about you and or the book – an article in
a newspaper or magazine; an interview on radio or TV; a blog review or
interview.\
18.
Your
book is packaged with another book, product, or service that is in higher
demand.
19.
Someone
likes your previous work and/or enjoyed reading a free sample of your new book.
20.
Someone
likes your blog and/or Web site and buys based on that.
21.
A
tweet or Facebook posting from a respected source supports your book.
So,
why will people buy your book? Once you figure out what would drive your reader
to purchase your book you need to aggressively appeal to and pursue those who
are similar to your buyers.
No
need to keep trying to appeal to everyone. Figure out what specifically drives
others to buy your book and just exploit that for as long as you can. Support
your strengths and ignore your weaknesses.
People
buy your book for all kinds of reasons but somehow they had to have heard about
it, whether by accident or on purpose, whether by friends or enemies, whether
by a paid process (ad) or an organic/free one.
What
else moves people?
·
State
of mind: Are they happy or sad?
·
Culture
and race
·
Faith
and religion
·
Sexual
identity
·
Intellect
·
Health
·
Location
·
Age
·
Lifestyle
·
Attitude
·
Time
constraints
·
Perceptions
·
Acceptance
or denial of something
·
Finances
Statistics
show that over 100 million Americans in 2011 did not buy a single book. Not
one. Not a 99-cent ebook, not a six-dollar mass market paperback, not a $25 hardcover,
or a 15-dollar trade paperback. Why? The availability of free information
online and at libraries contributes to fewer book sales. Tens of millions of
illiterate adults also contribute to this. Plus there are many Americans who
struggle with English as their primary language and prefer Spanish or whatever
is spoken in the country from where they had come from. We need more readers
and book consumers.
It
is hard to imagine a world without books playing a key role in one’s life.
Books today can be rich in text and images, and can offer the reader a worldly
education. The world is books and the published word means everything to me.
Others out there will buy books, not because they are deeply passionate about
books, but because they see it as a viable option at that moment. Go find out
what moves people to buy your book and go sell it to them the way they need you
to.
Featured In
Publishers Weekly
The firm I head up
marketing for was featured in the leading industry trade magazine last week. I
hope you enjoy the story: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bea/article/52260-bea-2012-pta-celebrates-gold.html
What Will Books &
The Publishing Landscape Look Like In 2016?
by Mikki
Sadil
I think in today's world, the publishing landscape is already
changing, and in another four years will probably be quite different from what
we authors have always been used to. To be blunt, we don't need the "Big
Six" publishers. There are too many options now, from small, independent
publishers to ebook publishing to many more "legitimate"
self-publishing options. I use the word 'legitimate' only because I believe
that those who are going the self-publishing route are doing so on their own,
rather than going with the so-called 'vanity' publishers who only want your
money. There are so many avenues for authors to use to self-publish, with
services like Smashwords and Amazon's Kindle Direct, as well as others. You
don't have to have a world of technological knowledge to do this, either, since
these services give you the tools for converting your work and formatting it to
fit their requirements. Of course, it still costs money, and time, but if an
author has that to spare then there is nothing to prevent him/her from
successfully publishing, distributing, and selling their own books.
E-books were supposed to be the 'wave of the future,' but
guess what? The future is here, as e-books today account for almost 10% of book
sales, and they are predicted to account for as much as 50% of sales by as
early as 2014. Even the Big Six publishers are realizing that the print option,
so hard to come by from them today, is not going to continue to dominate the
publishing market in the future as it has in the past. For that reason, many of
them are now beginning to extend their services to include e-book publishing.
As for the smaller, independent publishers, some consider them
"tiny," "microscopic", and barely one step up from the OLD
version of self-publishing, or the 'vanity' publisher. However, for the most
part, that's not true. There may be a few who are not quite on the "up and
up," but there are
many small publishers who are just as dependable and legitimate as any of the
Big Six were when they first entered the industry.
Print books will never die out, but by 2016, I believe the
publishing industry will have gone through a dramatic change. I think ebooks will account for at least 50% of the books
sold to consumers, and probably even more. With all of the different
kinds of ebook readers already on the market, from the original Kindle and Nook
to the iPads, SmartPhones, and so on, with ebooks already in libraries and
schools, with the cost of ebooks so much less than print AND authors getting so
much more from ebook royalties than print books, digital publishing can only
continue to change and improve. Ebooks and self-publishing are the cornerstones of the
publishing landscape of the future, and possibly by 2016, the Big Six
publishers will either have taken a big bite for themselves out of those corner
stones, or they may be relegated to a section in "Ancient History!"
Mikki’s blog can be read at: www.mikki-wordpainter.
Have You Seen This Past Week’s
Posts?
You
Can Use Crowdfunding On Your Next Book -- Turn Your Idea Into A Business http://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/crowdfunding-your-next-book.html
Using Video To Market An Author, Book, Or
Publisher http://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/should-you-use-videostto-market-your.html
What The Bestseller List
Sales Numbers Reveal
How Promoters, Authors & Publishers Get Others
to Say YES
Shrinking Newspaper Industry Hurts Authors,
Publishers, Publicists, & Citizens
The Appeal
& Necessity Of Fiction
The Appeal & Importance Of Audiobooks http://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/listen-up-audiobooks-speak-louder-than.html
Don’t Make Me Like You!
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