On a hot sunny day, people will sell cold soda on the sandy
beach. At concerts, people will hawk T-shirts. Outside a political rally,
people will sell pins. It seems many opportunities to sell pop up everywhere,
often based on timing and circumstance. How can an author capitalize on similar opportunities?
What should you do to sell your book beyond the bookstore?
Give it some thought. Identify who your reader/buyer is and
then determine where they will be – not just where they normally hang. Will
they be at an upcoming event or occasion, and if so, can you maneuver to sell
your book there? Of course, many places are inappropriate for selling books,
including:
- Any place where you need
to get a license or buy a booth (don’t try to crash the party).
- Funerals, angry
demonstrations, or any situation where there could be violence or people
are less in the mood to buy a book and more in the mood for something
else.
- Places where you will get
lost – such as where there are too many other vendors or peddlers next to
you.
- Any place so loud that you
can’t be heard if you need to speak to the customer.
You have to be creative when it comes to pursuing sales. If
you want to find out about local events, consult various newspapers, community
web sites, and local listings posted at public places like a library. Seek to
understand how many people would attend
and if their demographic matches somewhat , or a lot with your book’s targeted
reader. Think about what type of message they would need to hear from you. Find
out what your competition might be at the event. Determine if you want to hand
out fliers or sell your book – or do both. Maybe you want to network at the
event or inquire on speaking opportunities. Perhaps you can strike a deal with
existing vendors and see if they will carry your book for a decent commission.
You must always figure out what you can buy, barter, or
profit-share with someone so you can make a buck. Plenty of people are just like you and
welcome an opportunity that you could be presenting to them. No need to be shy
or make wrongful assumptions -- reach out, experiment, take a chance, and
analyze how to improve the situation after it takes place. Then repeat these
steps, and do so on a larger, more frequent scale.
“To imagine is everything,
to know is nothing at all.”
--Anatole
France
“The propagandist’s
purpose is to make one set of people forget that certain other sets of people
are human.”
--Aldous
Huxley
“You cannot avoid a
decision, because even the avoidance is a concealed decision.”
--Karol
Irzykowski
“Don’t just count
your years, make your years count.”
--George
Meredith
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The Book Marketing Strategies Of Best-Sellers
How authors can sell more books
No. 1 Book Publicity Resource: 2019 Toolkit For Authors -- FREE
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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