Everyone says, ‘Some day I’m going to write a book,’ but few actually do. So congratulations on a noteworthy achievement! Now that you’re holding your book in your hands, after years of research, writing, editing and rewriting, the last words you’ll want to hear are, ‘That was the easy part.’
Well, unfortunately, that was the easy part. Unless you don’t mind your only fans being family and close friends, or unless you’re already a celebrity with a big publishing house behind you, your new challenge will be letting the world know about your book so someone will actually read (a.k.a. buy) what you’ve so laboriously created.
And the hard reality is that, in the madness of today’s publishing environment, the onus for successful book promotion lies almost exclusively with the author.
Whether you fought your way through to a mainstream channel or decided to self-publish, whether you’ve written a self-help tool or a novel, odds are good that a publicist won’t be calling you tomorrow morning with a jam-packed itinerary of book signings and television interviews. Some of you may have a little help if you’re mainstream, but all of you will carry the lion’s share. So, where do you begin?
First of all, your book is no longer ‘your baby,’ but a business’ and as with any business, you must have a Marketing Plan. Number One in your plan should be creating a website that will help facilitate everything else we’ll cover in this article. If you already have a website (business or otherwise), add a banner headline announcing publication on your Home page.
If you don’t have a website and/or don’t know how to create one, Google how to create a website, and plenty of user-friendly links will come up. The point is that your website should showcase your book as the feature, and you should offer the book for sale right there. Sign up for a Pay Pal account, if you don’t already have one. This is an easy, affordable way for you to offer buyers a means to pay with a credit card, and that feature alone will help drive more books out the door.
Next you’ll need to develop a Sell Sheet consisting of: a) a summary of your book in 50 words or less; b) an author biography in one paragraph; and c) your field of expertise and how that relates to your book (not always relevant with fiction). Then identify your Target Audience, the ‘who’ you had in mind while you were writing.
If you’ve written a novel, will interested readers be male or female, young, middle-aged or seniors, action or romance devotees? If your book is non-fiction, are you targeting a certain business or profession? Do you already have a client or seminar base that will be a built-in market?
If you don’t have a built-in base, what media outlets (radio, television, print) will help you build one, and which will be relevant and feasible? How do you get to Book Reviewers? (Reviews are golden, even if they’re not glowing, and reviews are mandatory for success. Without them, you don’t get interviews, and the good ones become marketing tools.)
Each category and media market, by the way, can be easily researched via the Internet, and each will have to receive a Review Copy of your book. Once your target audience is clear, identify your book’s Position with a single sentence that explains why someone would want to buy your book over others in the same category. This is an extremely important element because, with every Review Copy you send out, you’ll have between 5 and 15 seconds to catch someone’s attention.
Finally (and you’ve probably figured this out already), you need to decide how much money you’re able and willing to spend on your book promotion. Guess who buys all those Review Copies, for example? You’ll also need business cards (focused solely on your book), bookmarks, ‘Just Published’ posters, announcement post cards, travel expenses and so forth.
But before you send out for oxygen, this new challenge isn’t as daunting as you may think, because the majority of Best-Sellers begin their successes locally. Your first contact won’t be to the New York Times, but rather your local newspaper. Send a copy of your Press Release (similar to your Sell Sheet but a more familiar format to the media). If you Google how to write a press release, you’ll find a wealth of tutorials.
Then use a ‘local author’ angle to approach the Manager or Event Coordinator in nearby book stores (small independent book sellers and big chains like Barnes
About the author of this article:
there are many strategies to making money on the internet, but nothing makes sense unless you have a big list. email marketing is the most profitable way to make money on the internet. discover how to use the internet and turn your computer into a cash gushing machine. sign-up right now for matt bacak’s free online newsletter to find out how to do exactly that, go here: www.promotingtips.com
