15 Sales Secrets For Authors

 

 

When you are marketing your book, you seek to impact and influence many different people. You want readers to recommend your book to others. You want people to buy your book. You want bookstores to agree to sell your book. You hope libraries have you come to speak. You want the news media to agree to interview you. You want people following you on social media. The wish list goes on and on. So, how do you get people to say yes?  

I thought of some ideas after reading The Catalyst: How To Change Anyone’s Mind, by Jonah Berger. Here are some of those ideas: 

Most believe in the notion of presenting facts and evidence with passion and reasoning. Coax, convince, encourage. Push, manipulate, and persist. Make some dramatic noise.  

But it doesn’t always work. So, what next?  

1.      Getting others to overcome inertia, change their minds, or take a leap of faith is not always easy. Removing excuses and barriers to change would be a good bet. If we can figure out what blocks another from taking a new action, we can get them to do what we want, even say yes to you and your book. So, identify potential objections – whether based on perceptions or realities, and formulate a good response to each one.  

2.      Don’t come at someone too hard. People naturally push back harder. It is best for them to end up persuading themselves.  

3.      Some are entrenched in status-quo thinking. They think inaction is painless or without cost, but often that is not true. Show them why your book is needed and not to be ignored. Put a price on rejection or inactivity.  

4.      Look for agreement on other things, from the weather to last night’s game results. People will say yes to those they already feel they agree with.  

5.      Never make them feel like their freedom is threatened or that they will feel pain. People want to be happy, free, and playful.  

6.      Really listen to what seems important to them. Find a way to befriend them, based on their stated beliefs, interests, desires, or past.  

7.      Look to reduce risk. Lower your book’s price. Show the risk of doing nothing or buying other books that could fail them. Explain what the book will do for them. Justify or validate yourself as being the right/best author to pen such a book.  

8.      Find a way to identify with them. Bond over race, sex, gender, religion, hobbies, regionalism, sports, or some other tribal connection.  

9.      Incentivize people. Offer extras, like a free add-on or upgrade. Or, buy this book and get free access to something.  

10.  Let them test drive or sample your book. Even better, give them a money-back guarantee. Or offer free shipping.  

11.  Find third-party validators to offer corroborating evidence, as in get book reviews or testimonials from established authorities.  

12.  The more you can learn about what is delaying or preventing someone firm saying yes to you, the easier it will be to find a way to sway them to your side.  

13.  Know that most people seek to live by a standard or code, one that includes attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs, that match with their construct of how the world is or should be. Try to position your book in a light that their pre-disposed ways make them vulnerable to.  

14.  Let others feel you care about them, understand their needs, and appreciate their circumstances. Once you understand their situation, feelings, motives, experiences, and opinions, you can speak to them and their level.  

15.  Ask many questions. You show them you have an interest in their world. Encourage them to speak freely. Shape your pitch or presentation to appeal to their mindset.  

Just remember that there are many different methods to convince others to say yes to. Keep experimenting until you find what works on each individual. You won’t eliminate rejection, but you will improve your odds of success and increase your “yes” totals for sure. 

 

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com He is available to help authors promote their story, sell their book, and grow their brand. He has 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres.

 

Please Contact Me For Help

 

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About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on Twitter @theprexpert. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2022. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This blog, with over 4,000 posts over the past decade, was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and two jobs at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Susan RoAne, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America, and has spoken at ASJA, IBPA, Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. He has been featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald. For more information, please consult: linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum.