by Brian Jud
Bowker | Tue Jan 19, 2016
One of the basic axioms of book marketing is that it takes multiple impressions on target buyers to induce them to make a purchase. The more varied these touchpoints the greater the impression and motivation to favorable action.
Successful book publishers market their books using an assorted mix of promotional media. The four parts to an assorted communication mix are publicity, advertising, sales promotion and personal selling. The weight of any one element depends upon the content, nature of your product lines, the author’s involvement in marketing, and the target buyers. As a general statement, publishers focus on publicity and avoid advertising -- print advertising in particular. They feel that if they do any advertising it will be in digital format thinking print communication “is a thing of the past.”
by Penny C. Sansevieri
Bowker | Tue Jan 12, 2016
I know that giving something away for free may not seem like a smart business move, but let me explain. Free giveaways can be a very effective business tool when you think of those freebies as a marketing expense (the cost of exposure) rather than lost sales. Free promotions are a great way to get you exposure in front of your target audience, expand your following, and drive sales in the long run. The key is to know how to take advantage of free.
by Brian Jud
Bowker | Tue Jan 5, 2016
Negotiating a large-quantity book sale is a little like playing poker, requiring both hard and soft skills. To be good at it you need practice and experience. You also need a little chutzpah, the creativity to recognize alternatives, the ability to assess odds, the willingness to take calculated risks and the confidence to bluff when necessary.
But unlike poker, selling to a corporate buyer is not a winner-take-all game. It is not zero sum activity where one’s slice of the pie is increased at the expense of the other. Negotiating is a give-and-take exchange seeking a larger pie to split.
Pursuing that end can cause consternation among the participants, particularly if they have not dealt with each other before. Both sides enter the negotiation with various degrees of tension or anxiety. If you manage the emotional tenor of a negotiating session you can be more successful bargaining and bring it to a win-win conclusion.
by Brian Jud
Bowker | Tue Dec 29, 2015
The circumstances surrounding every selling situation are different, but there are two parts essential to them all: substance and process. Substance is made up of objective elements such as price, terms and shipping costs. Process is the path you take from your initial meeting to the close.
One of the costliest mistakes in negotiating a large book sale is focusing primarily on the substance of the deal and not enough on the process and the players. You can be more successful if you understand each distinct process since it is more likely to differ than the substance of any selling event.
by Penny C. Sansevieri
Bowker | Tue Dec 15, 2015
In the first part of this series, I outlined simple ways to establish a presence online to promote yourself. Below, I offer tips to build upon the presence you’ve established online to begin networking with your followers and thought leaders in your industry.
Join the conversation
One of the most important things you can do online is to remain visible; you’ve put a lot of time and effort into establishing your presence online, so make sure to remain actively engaged with your followers and other members in your industry. There are several different ways you can stay active online – I’ve listed a few below:
by Penny C. Sansevieri
Bowker | Tue Dec 8, 2015
For most authors, the idea of having to promote yourself online can seem overwhelming at first. You know that marketing online is crucial for the success of your book, if you don’t know where to start, not to fear! I’ve created a two-part guide to make marketing online manageable.
Blogging
First and foremost, regular blogging is a great way to showcase your expertise, promote yourself, and help you rank higher in Google searches. Plan to blog at least once or twice per week at minimum.
I know that sounds like a lot of time and effort, but the following suggestions will help you be efficient with your blogging and overcome writer’s block (it happens to everyone!):
by Brian Jud
Bowker | Tue Dec 1, 2015
Entrepreneurial book publishers are continually faced with a dilemma. They recognize the need to focus on long-term growth and they create five-year plans to achieve it. On the other hand, they understand they must generate short-term revenue to stay in business long enough to reach their ultimate goals. The dilemma? How to survive during the short term to achieve long-term success?
The answer is not to find better books to sell, but to find better ways to sell books. Create and implement an array of marketing tools that allows each to fulfill its designated function over a specific time period.
by Penny C. Sansevieri
Bowker | Tue Nov 10, 2015
As an author, you work hard to create a book that is flawless – you write a first manuscript, make revisions, make some more revisions, and toil for a long time to finally get your book “just right” and ready for sale. Now you have your book up on Amazon, but it’s not selling the way you want it to. When that happens, it’s discouraging after all that time and effort you put into creating the best book you could. So why the low sales? And what can you do about it?
To answer these questions, let’s take a moment for a quick marketing lesson. When building a marketing plan, it’s important to keep in mind the 4 P’s of marketing: product, place, promotion, and price. Briefly, I’ve defined them below:
by Penny C. Sansevieri
Bowker | Tue Oct 27, 2015
People like what people like. I say this a lot to the authors I work with to emphasize the importance of having reader reviews. But what about the authors that already have great reviews, or even awards? Authors often tell me their books get great reviews (on Amazon, Goodreads, blogs, etc.), receive literary awards, and still, the book sales just don’t happen. Having great reviews is just one component of having a great marketing plan; the next step is maximizing those great reviews and converting them into sales. Below are six ways to leverage your reviews to drive more sales:
1. Leverage: How are you leveraging your book’s positive publicity? Are you leveraging it at all? If not, you should be. Your first step should be to promote any awards, and there are several free ways you can do that:
by Penny C. Sansevieri
Bowker | Tue Oct 13, 2015
Newsletters seem very 1990’s don’t they? They don’t have the flash of “new media” or the shimmer of a shiny new social media site just waiting to be discovered. What they do have, however, is visibility. In some cases, more visibility than you’re getting on all of your social media sites combined.
I speak at a lot of writer events and in the last year, the buzz has really increased around the need for a newsletter. Why? Well, Facebook has declined in reach; in some cases only 1% of your posts reach your fans. If you’re not paying for placement on Facebook, it’s very likely your stuff isn’t being seen. With everyone on sites like Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Twitter (which also will start monetizing posts) it’s really hard to get your audiences’ attention.
