15 Beliefs Authors Should Adopt When Marketing Books

 

Which mindset should an author have to succeed? I would suggest he or she should embrace the following concepts: 

1.    Think Big, Dream Often

Most of the time, you need to tend to what is needed and reachable, but that should not preclude you from also thinking beyond your means, and stretching your arms a little further.  

2.    Experiment And Take Risks

Again, most of the time you take what you can get and not look to gamble, but you can still afford to take a risk here and there, try something new, and to diversify your book marketing portfolio.  

3.    Offer A Unique Book

This goes without saying. Ordinary, mediocre, as-good-as-another books will not get you far. You want to present something new, different, and better. Anything less just isn’t worth anyone’s time. 

4.    Price Your Book Right

You don’t publish in a bubble. You are competing with every book and other forms of information sources and entertainment providers. Charge as much as you can get, but to lure people in, charge below what the marketplace demands. But, if you believe people have to have your book, charge a premium. Those who feel dedicated to buying your book will pay a little extra.  

5.    Identify Benefits Gained By Reading Your Book

Clearly show and tell people why they should read your book. What will they get from it? How will they feel after reading it?  

6.    Form Strategic Partnerships

Get others to help you sell and promote your book. Start with friends and family — and their friends and family. Identify your target reader and contact the organizations that they would be part of.  

7.    Go Free-To-Fee

Give content away in order to get sales. On your site, make some kind of download available for free — get their email in exchange for it. Then solicit them for your book. Find places to give books away to, with the hope they will spread word of mouth via social media, online book reviews, and in talking to people.  

8.    Take A Pay-To-Say Route

Be willing to pay others to get positive exposure. Pay an influencer. Pay for book reviews in some cases. Donate to a cause or group that, in turn, may feature your book in their newsletter.  

9.    Act On 10 % Of Your Ideas

Always take action over analysis but don’t spread yourself to thin or overcommit to too many ideas. Pick the best ones and get out there to prove them worthy — and the rest, no matter how tempting, must be aborted.  

10. Spinoffs On Etsy, Bundle On Ebay

Think beyond one book. Can you do a series? Can you sell related things, like mugs and T-shirts or framed passages or book-inspired artwork? Might you bundle your book with another book, product, event, or service?  

11. Know Your Limits

No one dictates your limits, but you must be in touch with yourself and recognize what you are good at doing, and how much time you can dedicate to marketing your book. Be realistic about what you can do, what needs to be outsourced, and what simply will get ignored.  

12. Don’t Overthink Things

Avoid paralysis by analysis. Get out and take action. Yes, there is time for planning and strategizing, but not to the point you become crippled by it. Just go out there and do the things that get your message out, build your brand, and grow your sales.  

13. Focus On The Wins

Book marketing is a numbers game. If you try for something all the time, you succeed only on occasion. But those few wins can more than make up for all of the losses and failures. Just look at dating as an analogy. You can go on dates with 39 different people. It doesn’t matter if 38 were duds. The one that works out long-term makes for a huge win. Well, book marketing is similar.  

14. Scripted Connectivity

Network — often and always. Have a few scripted sentences that help you meet people — whether in person or online.   

15. Don’t Let Unwritten Rules Hold You Back

There is the law — what you must abide by or risk consequences. Is breaking the law sometimes going to give you a greater gain than a punishment? Yes. There is morality, but the question is to what standard do you hold yourself to that is one-sided and unnecessary, even to your detriment?

 

 

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 3.3 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.