Authors usually believe their writing is really good and their books are worth buying. But consumers do not know that nor do they know anything about you. So, what will move them to buy your book?
All authors must answer this question. The truth is 99% of the country won’t buy your book. It’s the law of the land. Look at almost any book, including the year’s successful best-sellers.
Did they sell over 3.37 million copies (1% of America’s population)? Of course not. I don’t believe any book sold that many copies in 2022 in the United States, save for the Bible. And yet, books that sold one-tenth of that amount - 337,000 copies - are in an exclusive club and are considered insanely successful.
Okay, so back to the question at hand: What will make anyone buy your book?
First, you must identify who is really your targeted buyer. What is their demographic profile, their habits, their identity? Once you know who may most likely be a potential customer, find them and sell to them.
Second, know your competition. Who else might your targeted reader consider reading or buying? How do you compare to them? What will you be able to say to persuade the customers of other writers to be yours as well – or instead of?
Third, delve deeper. What does your customer/ reader want or need? What do they desire and how can your book fill in the gap for them? Position your book as the solution to their problem, the answer to their prayers, or the things they didn’t know they needed or wanted but now, once read, could not imagine having gone without.
Fourth, think about the touch points that you might have with an author. A touch point is any moment or place that you get to talk to the reader and have a chance to persuade them to buy your book. You can create your touch points.
For instance, an ad can be a touch point. A book review. A video. A blog post. A tweet. A book signing event. Your cover and tittle. Your back cover copy. Your website. At a book fair. Really, any place can offer a touch point. Think of how to maximize them.
Fifth, your network can help you find and convince others to buy your book. Get your friend to buy it. Then have her friends buy it. And then their friends. Who you know sells books. Know more people. Know the right people.
Sixth, your book will only sell if it fulfills a need or desire or because a connection feels obligated. However, to further incentivize this pool of potential people, offer discounts and deals.
Seventh, remove any risk from the equation. Tell them it’s a money-back-guarantee.
Eighth, seduce them with candy. Bundle your book with other books, products, or services that will, together, be an undeniably good package deal.
Ninth, give a freebie incentive. If they buy the book, give them something for free that you can afford to provide.
Tenth, present a narrative. Tell a story. Put your book into a perspective or context that the customer can relate to. Make them feel that a book purchase will make a difference. Maybe even link up with a charity so that a percentage of your net proceeds help a cause that people love to embrace.
To sell a book, you can’t focus on how great you think you are or how wonderful the book is. That’s too author-centric. Focus on the customer and his or her life. Think like them and serve their needs and desires. They might come to realize the value that you offer in order for them to invest their time and money on your book.
Add value to the life of another.
Solve a problem or create a prize.
Overcome objections, fears, and indifference.
You can sell a book not to anyone, but to
someone. Find your reader and offer all that you can to win them over.
“One writes out of one thing only - one’s own
experience. Everything depends on how relentlessly one forces from this
experience, the last drop, sweet or bitter, it can possibly give.”
-James Baldwin
“The first thing a writer has to do is find
another source of income.”
-Ellen Gilchrist
“All writers feel struck by the limitations of
language.”
-Margaret Atwood
“The great power of literature…is that if 1,000
people read the same book, the book reads each of them differently.”
-David Grossman
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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https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/03/how-to-get-others-to-sell-your-book.html
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https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/03/the-messages-that-sell-books.html
An Author’s Attitude Is Their Biggest Asset
https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/03/authors-attitude-is-biggest-asset.html
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.
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