I have read hundreds of books on sales, marketing, and publicity. Wait, no, it has got to be in the thousands. I constantly go to the bookstore and look at what new books are telling people to do in order to grow sales, become famous, develop a brand, and be persuasive. I also look at books that were published 20, 30, or 50 years ago, to see what another generation or two of thinkers, leaders, and doers had done. I even promoted a number of these books by best-selling authors, including Todd Duncan, Ken Blanchard, Seth Godin, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Robert G. Allen, John C. Maxwell, and Og Mandino . Most of these books overlap in what they say should be your approach. Here’s what I see many of them saying – and what I believe is a truth you should embrace:
1.
See sales everywhere, all of the time. Opportunity doesn’t just knock on your door.
It is all over the place. You need to see it, pursue it, seize it. Have
opportunistic thinking dictate your day. You create your own opportunities – don’t
want for them to arise.
2. Dress for success. Even in, or especially because of, our era of dressing like zoom nomads, dressing up can still help you stick out in a good way.
3. Have an elevator speech at the ready. Know what your unique selling proposition is. Be ready to say who you are, why your book is interesting, and how you can help or entertain others with your book.
4. Be efficient with your time. Time is too precious to waste it. Get others to help you. Be organized. Reduce the length of -- or eliminate -- any meeting. Work hard – and smart.
5. Be persistent. You need to follow-up, take notes, and push again. Most people might initiate something. A bunch will follow-up just once. You need to differentiate from others and stay on potential opportunities like a bloodhound on a hunt.
6. Have a plan to succeed. Create a long-term, Short-term, and daily plan. Be prepared to alter it, but have a path to succeed or you’ll succeed at failing.
7. Be ready and willing to do what it takes. Stay focused, make sacrifices, and work hard. Many people won’t, can’t, or forget to do something. Not you. Do what others fail to do.
8. Build a list of potential customers/readers. Generate a list by networking, advertising, giving free content away, having a newsletter, making public appearances, and getting people that you know share these lists with you.
9. Learn daily. Your education never ends. Listen to others. Attend seminars. Read books, blogs, and articles. Grow by learning more.
10. Do what is right. Be ethical. Do what is the right thing. Don’t be a sucker or a fool – but follow a good moral compass.
11. Be positive and optimistic. Avid negative people or negative self-talk. Believe in yourself.
12. Avoid excuses. You won’t grow by blaming others when things don’t go your way. Take ownership for yourself.
13. Know your limitations. Reach far and high, but accept your barriers and limitations so that you can focus on what is realistic and within your means.
14. Take the initiative. You don’t win by reacting to others setting the agenda. you will always play catch-up. Take the initiative and launch something.
15. Smile, laugh, and be nice. Move people from pain to pleasure. Making others feel good about themselves or happy will make the process of winning them over much easier.
16. Be helpful. Be yourself as the solution. Be kind, selfless, and emotionally present for others. By doing a small favor, unasked, you could get a big pay-off.
17. Always network. People have access to what you need and want, so get yourself connected to more people – and the right ones.
“We live in a
world that doesn't just encourage over-talking but practically demands it, where
success is measured by how much attention we can attract: get a million Twitter
followers, become an Instagram in-fluencer, make a viral video, give a TED
talk. We are inundated with YouTube, social media, chat apps, streaming
services. Did you know there are more than 2 million podcasts, which have
produced 48 million episodes? Or that more than 3,000 TEDx events take place
every year, with up to 20 wannabe Malcolm Gladwells participating in each one?
Or that Americans sit through more than a billion meetings a year, but think
that half are a complete waste of time? We're tweeting for the sake of
tweeting, talking for the sake of talking.”
—TIME Magazine
January 30, 2023
Need Book Marketing Help?
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 over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in
all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!
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About Brian Feinblum
Brian Feinblum should be followed on Twitter
@theprexpert. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2023. 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
award-winning blog has generated over 3.2 million pageviews. With 4,400+ posts
over the past dozen years, it 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 www.WinningWriters.com as a "best
resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 years 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, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin,
and Henry Winkler. He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo
America, and has spoken at ASJA, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah
Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association,
Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, 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: www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum.
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