There is an enormous opportunity to sell your books to people in local businesses and large corporations. Your prospect may be the owner of the business or a corporate marketing, sales or Human Resources manager. Regardless of your prospective buyer’s title, you must get an appointment with him or her in order to make your pitch.
There are a several ways to make initial contact, but one of the best is to call first. By so doing you can confirm that the person you are trying to contact is still in that position. Do not assume you will get through to people quickly. Most people use voice-mail messages to filter out those with whom they do not want to speak.
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Although this is the time to plan your marketing activities for the second half of 2019, some authors and publishers avoid planning in general because they do not know how to do it. Those who do know typically use a conventional, platform-based marketing plan that builds upon previous experience, with goals described as an increase over last year’s achievements. Planners know what did and did not work in the past, so their lists of strategies and actions are based on that familiarity.
First-time authors have no history of marketing their books, and there is a high ratio of assumption to knowledge. In their haste to do something, they often “wing it.” Their actions typically turn out to be wrong because the neophyte author does not sufficiently understand the publishing business.
It is difficult to make a living as an independent publisher if you view yourself as a purveyor of books through bookstores. When asked, “What do you do for a living?” you may respond, “I’m an author.” This is usually followed with, “But what do you do to earn money?” However, if you reply, “I’m a publishing professional,” you are usually received with nodding understanding. The difference is as enormous as it is subtle. A publishing professional runs a business, relying on multiple streams of revenue for maximum income.
Relying exclusively on book sales can limit your income. This wall could be reached because of seasonal demand for your content, or your reliance on sales only through bookstores – bricks and clicks. You may have a small target market, inadequate planning or insufficient funds for promotion. The list goes on, but the fact remains that a variety of circumstances can conspire to limit the sale of your books, and subsequently your income.
Personal recommendations account for 95% of all book sales. That’s a powerful statement, and it really speaks to the fact that people like what other people like. So, when authors ask me if book reviews are still a great way to sell a book, I always say 'yes' because great book reviews really tap into the power of the personal recommendation. Which brings us to the inevitable — how to get book reviews?
The challenge that authors seeking to get book reviews face is two-fold. First, with more than 4,500 books published on a daily basis, getting those reviews is increasingly competitive. And second, pursuing book reviews can be time-consuming. With this in mind, I'm going to break down the strategy behind choosing the kinds of reviews you should go after, and those you should maybe not put much effort into.
Should Authors Pay to Get Book Reviews?
by
Ulatus Bowker | Tue May 28, 2019
As a publisher or an author looking to build an international audience for your books, metadata plays an incredibly important role in making your publications discoverable. Imagine you have a book catering to a fairly niche genre – say non-fiction space colonization. When entered as metadata, you expect it to help your book rank uniformly, internationally. But sales refuse to pick up. As it turns out, your book is not easily discoverable by key search engines in that market – say Baidu in China – because it promotes Chinese language metadata over English metadata. Potential readers may well have an appetite for this subject and are even selecting other titles similar to yours. Your book’s missed out because they just can’t find it.
Many poets believe selling their poetry is as hard as, well, selling poetry. But if you look beyond the bookstore you can find many sales opportunities. The information below provides ideas and examples of potential segments that could be lucrative for you. This information is meant to get you started, to give poets some hope that their craft can be profitable.
Target Readers
When authors are told they must actively market their books, many say, “I don’t like to promote. I only want to write.” However, when a book is published the author becomes a salesperson running a business. It is an abrupt, and in many cases unwanted transition that is usually not handled well. But it doesn’t have to be that way. I created a formula to help people make the transition from author to marketer. It is not a scientific, qualitative equation, but a quantitative method that is adaptable to any author’s personality and genre.
