by Amy Collins
One of the best ways for an author to get their message out to their community and region is to do author signings. Booking a signing does take a bit of finesse. To start, know that bookstores need 90 days advance notice to properly book and promote a signing. Do yourself a favor and do not call your local bookstore asking to do a signing in three weeks. They have calendars and newsletters printed each month, and you need to respect their deadlines.
Next, most bookstores will not be able to book you for an event unless your books are available to order unless you have a distributor that provides a bookstore return policy, which Infinity Publishing does. The book must show up in the bookstore’s computer as available for order and returnable or you will have trouble getting a booking. So, don’t call to ask to do an event until you know that your books are available to order from a wholesaler or you are prepared to bring the books yourself and sell on consignment.
Finally, to better increase your chance of selling books, don’t just do a signing; plan an event. Sitting at a table for two hours can be a tad disheartening. Draw a crowd by reading, speaking, or giving a workshop. Invite everyone you know. Get listed in all your local community calendars. Reach out and advertise your event.
You might also want to plan a launch party on the publication month at a local store. Most bookstores would be thrilled to host an event for a local author because they often invite a large group of friends and family to attend. For a launch party to be successful, you need to send out invitations three weeks in advance, plan the evening around a reading or talk, and make sure you have someone there to take pictures!
Good pictures of happy people milling around a signing are an invaluable tool for your next event booking. Store managers want to know that you can draw an audience, work a room and, in general, make your event “worth their time.” Make sure you have a few pictures as proof that your events are fun, crowded, and profitable.
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Amy Collins MacGregor started her career in the book industry as the book buyer for Village Green Books in Upstate, New York. In 1996, she “hopped the desk” and thoroughly enjoyed working as a National Account Rep for Prima Publishing. In 2001, Amy was named Director of Sales at Adams Media in Boston and quickly rose to the Special Sales Director for parent company, F+W Media. Over the years, Amy has sold to Borders, Barnes and Noble, Target, Costco, Wal-mart, and all the major chains as well as help launch several private label publishing programs for chains such as PetSmart and CVS. In February 2006, Amy started The Cadence Group and now runs the fastest-growing book distribution company in North America, New Shelves Distribution, where she offers her sales experience to small publishers and self-published authors.
by Nicole Riley
Once you have a completed book in your hands, it’s time to get out there and show it to your hometown.
The first step is to be vigilant. The key to direct selling is to look for opportunities everywhere. Very few places will be as excited about your book than the area where you live.
Remember, people in your hometown will be more receptive to hearing about your book than those that have no connection to you. Sell your book to friends from church, work, local bookstores, local places you shop, the local gym. If your town holds any festivals or fairs, rent a booth there to promote your book as a local author. If people from your area like your book, they’ll tell their friends and a ripple effect will form. You might want to volunteer with organizations with whom you identify. Get involved and your customer base will grow. Civic Organizations are often looking for speakers in various topics.
Try not to be scared of giving copies of your book away.
Donating is a great way to build a name in the literary community. If appropriate, give copies of your book to local schools or reading organizations. Those who get a copy of a book for free may enjoy it and recommend that their friends buy it. Some customers may be reluctant to buy a book they don’t know. Word of mouth is a valuable effect of direct sales.
Now that you have the basics to selling to your hometown, please do not be discouraged if you are not receiving desired feedback.
Some helpful sites for donating and working with organizations:
www.readingtree.org
www.give2thetroops.com
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Nicole Riley has been selling books to Barnes and Noble as well as the national and specialty book buyers since 2009. Riley uses her remarkable attention to detail and focus to keep NSD books moving briskly through retail and wholesale channels. An experienced and highly-respected sales rep, Riley has an over 82% success rate at getting books placed in the bookstore and library market.
Image courtesy of Kenn Kiser.
A group of Infinity authors will be meeting for a book signing event at the King of Prussia Mall on Saturday, December 17th.
"The Art of the Written Word" event will be hosted at "Nestology", located in The Court of King of Prussia Mall. The store is owned by new Infinity author Caroline Ludovici, whose book "The Obsidian Mask" is due for release the week of the event.
Many of our local authors will also be in attendance to sign and present their books. They include:
Zeni Earnest, a resident of Phialdelphia, PA, will present her book The Clear Secret and A Cup of Coffee & A Blueberry Muffin .
Jane Hamilton, The Caregiver's Guide to Self Care: Help For Your Caregiving Journey .
Timothy Hedrick will present both his books: A Fulfilled Life and A Collection of Thoughts .
Jennifer Monahan, whose travels have taken her to forty-four of the fifty United States, will be signing her book An American in Oz: Discovering the Island Continent of Australia.
Kevin Rebbe, Mr. Stinkas and the Little Cheese Shop.
Laura Rudacille, of York, PA, will be signing her 3 books: Here's The Thing... , Saltwater Cowboy , and Invisible Woman .
James Strait, Déjà vu All Over Again .
S.A. Williams, who was named to Who’s Who in the World, 2001 and 2003, will sign and present her book Anna's Secret Legacy.
The event will be held from 1pm to 6pm. Wine and cheese will also be offered and the event is open to the public.
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By: Penny C. Sansevieri
Most of us meander into a bookstore, maybe grabbing a latte from the nearby coffee vendor and saunter up and down the aisles looking for our desired title. Bookstores are great and I’ve always said if I were ever to get locked in a store overnight, let it be a bookstore (preferably one with a handy Starbucks inside). But bookstores are so much more than that.
For the savvy author, a bookstore is a great way to not only get to know your market, but to research your competition and get a better understanding of the sales space. This is one of the best and least expensive ways to do your market research. Making your bookstore your research laboratory is a fantastic way to position yourself for success, regardless of how you are published.
Know Your Market
First off, if you’ve written a book for which there is no market (read: there are no books that cater to this audience), you may have a problem. Unless you are already a brand, meaning that you’re a published author with a significant following, it’s unlikely that you will be able to create such momentum for a yet unserved market that a publisher will consider you. If it hasn’t been written there is likely a reason why. Now there are always exceptions of course, my other book: Red Hot Internet Publicity is not a title that I would have published in 1976, mostly because there was no Internet back then. So yes, new markets are developing all the time but it’s key to wait till those markets emerge, otherwise you’re selling to an audience that doesn’t exist. This also goes to creating a new genre for your book. You should fit into an existing genre and find the best one for your market. This is also key since sometimes books can straddle different markets. A change in title can take your book for women wanting to succeed in business and move it from the business category into self-help and/or spirituality. Be clear on where your book belongs. Remember a confused mind won’t make a choice, so if you confuse your reader, you’re likely to lose a sale.
Who Else is Sharing Your Shelf Space?
Understanding what your market is and who else is sharing your shelf space is key. What are their books like and have you read them? This is all part of your market research: know your competition and know who shares your space. It is not just important to know other competing titles; this is key for marketing and media positioning. Also, you should take note of all other recent titles in your category and go visit their websites. If you’re really eager to watch your competition you could also get Google Alerts on their name or book title to see how much traction they are getting. I will usually do this for any major author in my market as well as all of their book titles. Not only can you keep an eye on their hit rate, but these sites and media targets could be good for you as well.
Every Book Tells a Story
Each book in your genre will tell you a little something about the author and publisher. Now I’m not talking about the contents of the book itself, I’m talking about things like the cover, book jacket, book size (both dimensions and page count), as well as endorsements, back cover copy, etc. Getting bookstore shelf space isn’t easy. Generally bookstores won’t keep books on their shelves that aren’t selling, so getting to know books that are doing well in stores can really benefit your title as well. Learning from books that are out there is a great way to position yourself for success.
Books that make it into and onto a shelf in a bookstore need to “look” the part. Yes, your book may be the best out there but if it doesn’t meet the needs of the genre, it simply won’t get put on a shelf. In order to play in the publishing sandbox you must play by the rules. While it’s nice to be a maverick and to hear stories about authors who “bent the rules” and claimed success, if you read the backstory to any success, you’ll find that following the rules and playing to the market is key to success. There are 1,500 books published each day. Yes, you want to stand out but you also want to look the part.
Bookstore checklist
Here’s a checklist to get you started in your bookstore research. You’ll want to expand on this as you find more titles or more ideas to research. I suggest for example adding in URL’s from the book jacket so you can research the author’s website, etc.
- What genre does your book fall into?
- Is there a sub-genre and if so, what is it? (for example, my books fall into reference/writing, writing being the sub-genre)
- List the top five titles and authors in that market:
- Key points each book has in common? (for example, all cookbooks you noted had nutritional analysis on each page)
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Penny C. Sansevieri, CEO and founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc., is a best-selling author and internationally recognized book marketing and media relations expert and an Adjunct Instructor with NYU. Her company is one of the leaders in the publishing industry and has developed some of the most cutting-edge book marketing campaigns. She is the author of five books, including Book to Bestseller which has been called the “road map to publishing success.” AME is the first marketing and publicity firm to use Internet promotion to its full impact through The Virtual Author Tour, which strategically works with social networking sites, blogs, micro-blogs, ezines, video sites, and relevant sites to push an author’s message into the virtual community and connect with sites related to the book’s topic, positioning the author in his or her market. To learn more about Penny’s books or her promotional services, you can visit her website athttp://www.amarketingexpert.com. To subscribe to her free ezine, send a blank email to: subscribe@amarketingexpert.com Copyright © 2010 Penny C. Sansevieri
by Penny C. Sansevieri
Let's face it, regardless of the odds we authors still want to get into bookstores. But if you've been having a hard time with this, take heart. It's getting harder and harder to get into stores, but not impossible. We're going to look at some of the possibilities here.
First, it's important to understand the pressure stores are under right now. With the increased focus on publishers to get their authors out there, bookstores are being given most of their marching orders by their corporate office. Bookstore shelf space is bought and paid for by theNew Yorkpublishers, making getting on the shelves or display racks a bit tricky - if not impossible. So here's a game plan for those of you trying to survive outside of the traditional market.
1. Get to know your local store: I know this might sound obvious, but you’d be surprised how many authors don’t really know the people in their local store. The thing is, if you know them, they know you. Then, when you’re ready to promote your book they might be more open to having you in their store if you have taken the time to get to know them.
2. Events: One way to get into a bookstore is by doing an event. Sometimes when you do an event the store may stock the book before and after you've done your program. Start to follow the types of events they do at the store. Get an events calendar or get on their email list. You’ll start to see trends emerge. For example, they might have an independent author night you could participate in. Also be cautious for big releases, like the recent Stephenie Meyer events many stores had planned. If you are trying to capture the attention of a store when they’re in the middle of a major book launch, you’re likely to be ignored.
a) Book signings are boring, offer to do an event instead. Events are a draw, book signings aren’t unless you’re a celebrity. Plan to do a talk, educate, entertain, or enlighten. This will be a more attractive pitch to the bookstore and will draw more people to your talk.
b) Get to know the local authors in your area and then offer to plan events for them. Here’s how this works: Bookstores are inundated with local authors asking for a time slot, but what if you went to the bookstore manager and said that you’d be willing to coordinate a once a month event featuring all the local authors? The bookstore could just refer all local independently published authors to you, you could coordinate this - and guess what? Not only are you helping the store, but guess who’s getting a monthly showcase in their store? You. You can do this with more than one store if you have the time, but keep in mind that with cutbacks often one store manager will oversee a few locations so you might only have to go through one person.
c) If they won’t let you coordinate a monthly event, suggest that they have an Independent author night if they haven’t already started this. If they have an Independent author night you should definitely participate, it’s a great way to gain exposure, not to mention network with some local people.
3. Distribution: Making sure that the bookstore can actually acquire the book is often the first step in getting stocked. Bookstores generally tap into two databases for stocking: Baker & Taylor and Ingram. If you're listed there, bookstores can order the book, though a listing in those databases doesn't usually prompt stocking because these are not distributors, they are wholesalers. There's a big difference. Distributors such as IPG, Perseus, and Midpoint actively push the book into the bookstores, or try to sell copies into the stores during their sales push. Wholesalers don't do this, so if you can get a distributor for your book, great! This could really help your in-store success.
4. Local marketing: don't forget any marketing you do locally, whether it's speaking in venues outside of the bookstores, television, radio, or print. All of this can drive traffic into the bookstores. Market locally and when you do, let the stores know you're going to have a feature or appearance so they can stock the book, if they want to. It's always a great idea to get to know the managers or buyers for your local stores so you can alert them to media or an event you're doing. This not only keeps you and your book on their radar screen, but it's a nice courtesy to offer them. Most managers are stretched pretty thin and appreciate the buying tip, whenever they can get it. Even if they choose not to stock your book the first or second time, keep alerting them to your promotion. Eventually they just might.
5. Know your Geography: Let’s say you live inNew York, but your book is more suited to theMidwest market... Why keep pushing in an area that's already inundated with authors and books and events? Why not push it to a market that’s more appropriate for your topic? By doing this you will not only open up channels you might not have considered, but you'll likely do better in sales. When you do this, you should plan to coordinate some marketing around it so folks in that local area are aware that your book is there.
6. Buy a book: Don’t just wander the store trying to make friends: shop there. Support your local stores regardless of whether they are a chain or independent. You’d be surprised what a difference this makes when you’re trying to get to know the folks who could book you for an event or stock the book on their shelves.
7. Funnel your buyers: Try as best you can to funnel everyone to one store to purchase your book. If you’re having a tough time getting shelf space (and aren’t we all?), funneling folks to one store might prompt that store to keep a few copies of your book on hand. Whenever you do local speaking or media, let them know by name and address where they can get your book. Stores have been known to take in books that they’re getting lots of requests for, regardless of how they are published. If you’re sending people to one store - instead of fragmenting them to a bunch of different ones - you could start building an ongoing interest in reorders, and sometimes all it takes is one store to stock it before the neighboring stores will follow suit.
Getting into bookstores isn’t impossible, but it does require a dash of creativity. Keep in mind that if bookstores still aren’t receptive after you’ve tried the tips in this article then maybe you’re sitting in a tight market. Areas likeLos Angeles,New YorkandChicagomight be tough areas to get noticed, because these are often the first stops traditional publishers seek when planning author tours and getting stocked on the shelves. If you’re near those areas, try looking outside of the city for alternatives that are often overlooked byNew York. If that doesn’t work for you, then consider non-bookstore shelf space and events. If you're not sure how to do this, check out my other article on events outside of the normal bookstore market, http://huff.to/cx05E2.
Over the years we’ve planned events for our authors in all sorts of non-bookstore venues such as: video stores, electronics stores, gyms and even grocery stores. If events are your focus, keep an open mind and remember: often the biggest piece of getting your book into a bookstore is the relationship you build with them.
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Penny C. Sansevieri, CEO and founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc., is a best-selling author and internationally recognized book marketing and media relations expert and an Adjunct Instructor with NYU. Her company is one of the leaders in the publishing industry and has developed some of the most cutting-edge book marketing campaigns. She is the author of five books, including Book to Bestseller which has been called the "road map to publishing success." AME is the first marketing and publicity firm to use Internet promotion to its full impact through The Virtual Author Tour™, which strategically works with social networking sites, blogs, micro-blogs, ezines, video sites, and relevant sites to push an authors message into the virtual community and connect with sites related to the book's topic, positioning the author in his or her market. To learn more about Penny’s books or her promotional services, you can visit her web site at http://www.amarketingexpert.com. To subscribe to her free ezine, send a blank email to: mailto:subscribe@amarketingexpert.com Copyright ã 2010 Penny C. Sansevieri
The internet has created a virtual reality where things are not always as they appear to be. Infinity author Gordon DePottie oncedid an internet search by his pseudonym, Gordon Barr, to see what would pop up on the googled-web. Much to his surprise, he found his Infinity published novels, The Ghost Platoon and Death Lost Death Found, listed on several website virtual book-stores, such as: alibris.com, BUY.com, and TEXTBOOKX.com. What was most disturbing was that the virtual bookstores showed several copies of his books, both new and used, available for sale on the internet at deeply discounted prices. This was especially alarming to Gordon since his monthly royalty statements from Infinity Publishing didn’t reflect these wholesale orders for his books.
The reason for this accounting difference is because many online bookstore sites never actually purchase any of the books they show in their virtual inventory which shows how many copies of a book are available for their customers to purchase. What happens is when they receive an order for a book they have listed on their site, they place an order for a single copy of the book from Ingram, and then Lightning Source prints the book. It’s then shipped to the online bookstore, and they, in turn, send it to the customer. The customer pays the online bookstore, the bookstore pays Ingram, Ingram pays Lightning Source, Lightning Source pays Infinity Publishing for the right to produce the book, and then we pay the royalty on the selling price of the book to the author.
Many of the online bookstores only have a virtual inventory of books which greatly reduces their overhead. Their lack of a significant capital investment in an on-shelf inventory allows them to offer titles at dis-counted prices. The bulk of their listed inventory is virtually available from Ingram and produced by Lightning Source when a customer orders the book.
The used books they offer for sale aren’t really used; in fact, they’re often new books that have been discounted a dollar or so as another inducement to entice the customer to order – like free shipping on all orders over a certain dollar amount. This is a variation of what is known in retail marketing as a “loss-leader.”
These virtual inventories differ greatly from Infinity’s on-shelf inventory that we maintain for all of our titles using our unique Just-in-Time book publishing system to replenish the stock as needed. We literally have printed books on the shelves at our West Conshohocken facility ready to ship out within 24 to 48 hours from when an order is received. We regularly ship to the major online bookstores such as Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble’s bn.com.
We have no way of controlling when or if an author’s book is added to any of these online bookstores. Infinity authors are encouraged to direct customers to our official online bookstore at www.buybooksontheweb.com. Most orders are shipped directly to customers the same business day the order is received and authors earn the greatest percentage of royalties on these direct retail sales placed through our online bookstore.
by Denise Thomas
I decided to pre-sell enough books to pay my expenses, so I could start making a profit sooner. I needed to sell 100 books to cover the set up fee, cost of books, giveaway books, envelopes, and postage.
I began with my Christmas list. I knew that my friends and family were eagerly anticipating my first book, but the truth was that with so many in other states, I wasn’t in regular communication with many of them. They wouldn’t know when the book was ready for sale.
I started with a Valentine’s Day special. I wrote a letter and offered to pay the postage on any book ordered before February 14th. (This saved each mailed order the $3.50 I charge for postage and handling and encouraged them to buy immediately.) Naturally, I offered to autograph the books, too.
I couldn’t believe the response!
I confess, I felt awkward trying to sell to my friends and family. What I discovered, however, is that they really wanted to be part of my success and were glad to buy one or more copies and encourage their friends to buy, too. They also thought it was cool to know a published author personally.
Yes, I easily made my goal, but the best part was receiving so many notes of encouragement with the checks. I felt humbled, loved, and energized to sell even more books.
By the time the book was ready, some were ready to buy more. I published my first book without debt, and I had a head start getting the word out.
I’d like to thank my family and friends for making my dreams come true!
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Denis’ Thomas is the author of Newly Wed and Newly Cooking (published by Infinity), a guidance counselor, a local DJ and a freelance writer, visit her website at: www.denisthomas.com.
Do you want to sell more books??? Brian Jud’s title, Beyond the Bookstore, is a Publishers Weekly book that shows authors how to sell their books to the vast non-bookstore markets. These markets are more profitable for the author because these specialized booksellers order books directly from Infinity and not from Ingram. Mr. Jud’s book describes hundreds of ways to find and contact prospective buyers for fiction and non-fiction titles who will order from Infinity.
Beyond the Bookstore will help you discover the names of buyers who could be looking for books just like yours—and they’ll order directly from Infinity. You will learn simple hints for successfully contacting prospects, and how to save hours and hours of doing endless research looking for them.
Beyond the Bookstore can help you increase sales and profits. Also included in this special deal is The Marketing Planning CD-ROMTM. This has a customizable marketing timeline to help you get all your projects done on time and in the right sequence. It also provides you with templates of easy-to-use formulas for controlling your expenses. This simple tool will help you to measure the cost-effectiveness of your marketing efforts and make your investment of time more fruitful.
According to Dan Poynter, author of The Self-Publishing Manual, Beyond the Bookstore is “outstanding and very insightful.” John Kremer, author, 1001 Ways to Market Your Books says, “If you want to sell outside the bookstore market, read this book now.” And as John F. Harnish, Infinity’s Special Project Director, says, it “effectively describes new ways to successfully sell Infinity titles to blossoming non-bookstore markets."
John F. Harnish, Vice President Author Services
Some folks might think this is a trick question, sort of like which came first: the chicken or the egg. No writer wants to publish a book that goes splat like a broken egg as it hits the floor-never going anywhere except into the trash. Indeed there are a few writers who have invested many long months and even years in toiling to complete their manuscripts, only to chicken out and never submit their first effort at writing a book for publication. Such a waste it is to have invested so much time and effort in creating a relatively polished draft of a book that lingers incomplete in an endless state of unpublished limbo.
Dan Poynter, author of more than 125 books, is quick to explain to aspiring authors that all published books are always only 95% complete-there's always an elusive 5% of undoneness that haunts all authors. Even established authors with a long list of publishing credits have that nagging feeling to do a wee bit more tweaking of their written words or perhaps do yet another rewrite of the opening of chapter three. However, keep in mind the chaos factor: your changes to chapter three will flutter throughout the rest of the book and the ensuing storm is likely to plunge you into another complete rewrite of the entire manuscript. Yes, it's another dratful delay that will keep your book from being published and release for public consumption.
Late in the 1960s, I discovered freelancing magazine articles and stringing for newspaper wire-services could produce a rather lucrative revenue flow. For sure checks would be forthcoming when the assignment was completed prior to the deadline, within the required word count, and right on target with the assigned topic. Of course my always hungry agent would call to see how I was progressing. I didn't need her gentle nudging me along because I knew a check would soon be on the way because most of the terms of payment were upon acceptance of the piece and not the delaying terms of upon publication. I dare say there was only one time when my agent called to inform me that I had to do a rewrite. Ugh, I was less than thrilled being told I had to do a rewrite, but I was totally elated learning the rewrite was because the editor liked my article so much that they wanted me to expand the assigned piece to become a lead feature. Naturally for more money!!!
Now that's a rewrite with a purpose and a cash reward waiting at the completion of my efforts is an excellent incentive. My agent referred to me as her perfect word-smith because if the price was right I'd write on almost any topic. Indeed I shamelessly confess I wrote for the folding green, thusly, my agent would pass on assignments offering only a publishing credit-bylines don't put immediate cash in the bank account. However, with time permitting I'd write freely for the American Cancer Society, the Heart Association, Planned Parenthood, and various community betterment groups as my way of creating good karma by providing purposeful help from the donation of my talents.
Too many writers embark on doing a rewrite without a defined purpose in mind-except with the intent to polish their manuscript one more time, or maybe a friend read it and made the suggestion that you need to include more of this or perhaps less of that. Opinions are so subjective-another friend might remark you need less of this and more of that. Stop trying to write for the masses and focus on first reaching one reader with your wordsmithing skills. When your words resonate well with one unknown person, you're on your way to reaching a whole lot more folks with your creative efforts.
It would be easy for writers to avoid falling into the bottomless pit of overwriting and rewriting if manuscripts were like a Butterball turkey with one of those little thingies that pops out when the turkey is cooked just right. Sadly that's not the case. Thusly the writer needs to make the fateful determination that their book is as done as it can be and submit the book for publication. Serve up that turkey and feast on the juicy joys of your completed efforts as you banish once and for all any thoughts of doing another delaying rewrite.
After submitting your book for publication, I would strongly recommend paying a mere .019 cents per word for Infinity's copyediting service to provide the peace of mind that typos and grammar goofs have been professionally purged from your book. If you want more individualized help creating or completing your book, you might consider getting feedback from an experienced developmental editor offered in one of our advanced Book Genesis programs.
The proof books are specifically for you to read over to make certain the book is essentially just how you submitted it to Infinity Publishing a few weeks ago for publication. This is not the time to go changing this and that all around, such undertakings will only delay the publication and distribution of your book and you could incur additional expenses to facilitate making more needless changes. The odds are those changes aren't going to make a bit of a difference in the quality of the overall good read you are providing for your readers.
Give yourself the gift of closure with your book, pronounce it finished, you're at the end of the writing process, now get it published and out there so folks can buy your book and read your telling words.
Focus on the Benefits of the Reader
If you’re writing copy for a non-fiction book, you have to focus on the benefits of how your baby will solve your readers’ problems. You can do that my presenting bulleted lists of your benefits. Then you strategically place the FREE bonuses the reader is going to receive within the body of the copy. You’re taking the reader on a journey of what they’re going to receive when they order by a certain date. For best results, you should have a 48 hour deadline. You want the most books bought it the least amount of time to increase the book’s ranking.
You’re going to have to invest sweat equity. Give yourself 6 weeks before you’re ready to launch your campaign. Go to chat rooms, forums, do a Google search of popular websites that are in your particular self-help genre to locate marketers who might team up with you. To reach bestselling status, you need ezine list owners that are a compliment to your book. Be prepared for some list owners to not respond. Be persistent.
Make no mistake: If you wrote a self-help book for women, an Internet marketer with mostly male biz-opp names is NOT going to want to get involved with you!
Don’t Let List Owners Take Advantage
When they give you the freebie without mailing to their own list, they’re being selfish and piggy-backing off your hard work. This is a joint venture where everyone that’s helping you will also benefit when buyers of your book become subscribers of their ezine. It’s a win-win for everyone. Also, instead of using text copy in an e-mail, get a web designer to create an inviting, pleasing landing page so everyone could get the offer.
Outsource Tasks For Better Results
To become a bestselling author yourself, to get people to open their wallets, you need:
- Strong, compelling copy, along with a short deadline for the reader to take action by.
- An inviting and pleasing website page, NOT long, wordy copy in an e-mail.
- Present your offer to the properly targeted list and you’ll sell LOTS of books.
When you make it all happen according to your plan, then you can brag to family members, friends, and foes that you’re a best selling author!!! Won’t that be fun?