Take these steps to ensure your book is marketable:
·
Research
the competition. What do others offer in their books? Equal it and beat it. Do
something different but don’t dismiss the basics either.
·
Test
it on friends and family. Ask those whom you know and trust for honest
feedback.
·
Sample
strangers. Those you don’t know may be more honest and frank with you.
·
Act
as if you have the book to sell before you even write it. Pre-sell it.
·
Be
prepared to rewrite, edit, add chapters or remove portions of the book to make
it more marketable.
Pricing
Your book is as valuable as people think it is. If your book is the only one of its kinds and
it helps someone solve a potentially costly or challenging problem, they would
pay a ton of money for your book.
To price something to sell, start by looking at what other
books go for on your topic and format. Hard cover sells for costs more than a
paperback or an e-book. Compare what the other books promise to do for readers
and look at the author’s credentials. If you write a book on a topic that has
many competitors or a competing book was written by someone seen as an
authority giant of that genre or industry, you will have to be conservative in
your pricing.
Other factors include: Will people buy the book as a gift or
for themselves? Is your book filling a want/desire or a need? Does your book
have cool packaging that allows, even demands, you to charge more?
What Can Be In Your Sales Offer
- A great price
- The option to pay with various methods (check, credit card,
paypal)
- A money-back guarantee or free trial period
- Free shipping
- Multi-book discount
- Free gift with your order
- Free samples
- Time-limited offer
Package Deals
Can you package your book with something that will not only
make it more desirable, but will also provide a better value?
You Can Package It
With Anything, Including:
·
Another
book – your own or someone else’s.
·
A
DVD – your own or someone else’s.
·
Membership
discount to a group, club, or web site – your own or someone else’s.
·
A
consulting deal.
·
Free
items – other people who seek publicity for themselves may offer you things
that can be physical or electronic to share with others.
·
A
company’s product sample (especially if it is connected to your book’s topic).
·
A
CD – you own or someone else’s (audio downloads as well).
·
Coupons
that, by themselves, make the book valuable.
·
A
toy or game.
Why Your Book
Might Not Be Jumping Off The Shelves
Whether you are published by a traditional publisher or
self-publish, you expect your book to sell well. Obviously most books don’t just sell themselves. It takes
constant effort and mindfulness to move
books off the shelf. In order to determine what can be done to help sell your
book, take an inventory of what you have done and compare it to what needs to
be done. Ask yourself the following:
For each market your book can be sold to, who is selling it?
For instance, when it comes to bookstores, how are the stores being made aware
of your books? If you are self-published, but not print-on-demand or e-book
only, you will need a distributor to make your book available to stores. In order for a local Barnes &
Noble store to sell your book they must have an account with someone to order
books from. Some authors mistakenly think that if they are with Baker &
Taylor or Ingram (both wholesalers, not distributors) that they are covered.
Only half-way, actually. These wholesalers
can fill a store’s request to order a book but a distributor differs from this
in that they can be proactive and make sales calls to bookstores to encourage
them to order books. Wholesalers merely fill orders but do not proactively
advocate for you. Big difference.
Now, just because you are with a distributor does not mean
they will generate a ton of sales. Some are more proactive than others in their
ability to contact bookstores. Further, the distributor is only as effective as
the information they can offer to the stores about you and your book. So if you
are doing exciting things in your marketing and publicity efforts you need to
let your distributor know of this. Further, it helps if you have a schedule of
events, advertising buys, or public appearances that you can forward to your distributor,
in advance. Things move slowly in publishing. They need weeks to order books
and stock shelves, so always think ahead.
Sales Pitch Keys
Tell a qualified buyer what they want to hear, charge as
little as possible, and deliver it with a smile. That is your formula for
making a sale. But it may not be a profitable one.
You need to find potential book buyers who should want what
you offer at a price you want/need to charge. To do that you will have
challenges – the cost at finding and contacting this pool of people; the
time/cost to follow-up with them; and finally, the cost to deliver a sale.
Once you find people to pitch, what will you say that will
lead them to buy from you now? Make sure your sales pitch is based on solid
research and preparation. Communicate with confidence and deliver a strong
message through a means they are paying attention to. Then follow-up.
They are looking to see if they like you, if you know your
stuff, if you are reliable, if you are like them in some way. We buy from whom
we know, who offer deals, who say what we want to hear, and who entertain us.
Sometimes a sale is yours to lose, meaning don’t mess it up by saying more than
is needed. Play it cool.
DON”T MISS
THESE!!!
The Book Marketing Strategies Of Best-Sellers
How Authors Can Sell More Books
No. 1 Book Publicity Resource: 2019 Toolkit For Authors
-- FREE
How
Authors Get Bulk Sales Now
Brian Feinblum’s insightful views, provocative opinions, and
interesting ideas expressed in this terrific blog are his alone and not that of
his employer or anyone else. You can – and should -- follow him on Twitter
@theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels much more
important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by
BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2019. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in
Westchester. His writings are often featured in The Writer and
IBPA’s Independent. This was named one of the best book
marketing blogs by Book Baby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs and
recognized by Feedspot in 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. Also
named by WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” He recently hosted a
panel on book publicity for Book Expo America.
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