Thursday, July 18, 2019

Know Your Book Competition



  
You need to know that consumers have options. You help your cause by knowing what the competition is. People looking for specific information may buy a book – or they may hire a consultant, or access a video or join a group that helps them. They may not buy anything and instead, rely on whatever they can get for free, online or though non-profit groups. If they agree to buy a book, what will make them buy yours? Aside from the perceived benefits that you seek to sell to them, you must also know of the competing titles that the consumer may be aware of.

You should get to know of the competition. Determine what makes you better – is it the price , writing style, book length, credentials of the author, or age of the book? Be prepared to lay claim as to why your book is the better buy. You don’t need to name a competing title, but by knowing it exists, you can indirectly reference it while hyping the reasons one should buy your book.

So how do you know of your competition? Every published book requires an ISBN. The database that lists all books that are available in the marketplace, as well as identifying  books that will soon be published, is called www.booksinprint.com You can look up books on the topics and genres your write on. See what has been the big seller, which titles are established, and if any “own” the market.

Consult best-seller lists to see which titles are doing well in your genre. Also, see what has been reviewed by industry-leading publications, such as Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews,The Foreword, or major newspapers, such as The New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, or Wall Street Journal. Go into a bookstore or browse Amazon to see what other books are available on your subject matter.

What Is Available Elsewhere?
How do you think the person who would like your book is looking for information, free or otherwise? Are they Googling the topic, reading certain blogs, contacting government agencies, going on You Tube for instructional guidance, or doing something else?  Even if they are doing any and all these things, they still might buy your book. You just need to know why they would buy your book as a complement to other options or instead of them.  Once you know what makes you special or unique, in the eyes of others, you must highlight it as a selling point to potential consumers.


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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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