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How You Can Use Infrastructure & Strategies to Increase Your Book Sales

Penny C. Sansevieri's picture
by Penny C. Sansevieri
Bowker | Tue Nov 8, 2016

A successful book is what every author wants. However, choosing what steps you take to build upon your success is what will set your book apart from the 4,500 other books published each day. Authors that take the time to establish a rock-solid foundation first, will see this time and effort pay off, because from there you can employ a variety of strategies to boost book sales.  Although a strategy may sound boring, putting the right infrastructure into place early on can make all of the difference.  

Building up your infrastructure is the most important thing you can do as an author. Over the years, I’ve met a lot of authors who believe (mistakenly) that once they list their book on Amazon, sales will roll in without additional effort. But, in reality, there’s so much more that must be done. Take a look at the checklist below to make sure you are setting your book up for success:

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14 Ways to Find Potential Buyers

by Brian Jud
Bowker | Wed Nov 2, 2016

Publishers limit their book sales when they see bookstores – bricks and/or clicks – as the only place through which to sell their books. If you want to sell 10,000 books through any retailer, you must get 10,000 people to go there and buy one. But if you want to sell 10,000 books in non-retail markets, you find one person to buy 10,000 of them – non-returnable. Which do you think is a more profitable way to sell your books?

The world of special sales (non-bookstore sales) is actually larger than the opportunity for selling through bookstores. Many publishers do not attempt to sell there because they do not know who the person is to contact. 

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Marketing From the Customer's Perspective

by Brian Jud
Bowker | Wed Oct 5, 2016

What is the process you follow when you go to a store to buy something? You probably go to the most convenient place (bricks or clicks) and peruse the assortment available. You may search for a particular brand if you are aware of it. If not, you look at the prices to compare the value of the items to your needs. Then depending on the strength of your need compared to the available choices you decide to buy or wait.  

If publishers looked at the purchasing process form their customers’ prospective, they could sell more books. Instead, they seek manuscripts based on an author’s knowledge (non-fiction) or imagination (fiction). Then they publish them, price them to cover all costs and desired profits, and sell them through bookstores. They announce the availability of their books through social media and publicity. And when the books do not sell they publish different ones. 

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A New Way to Sell More Books

by Brian Jud
Bowker | Wed Sep 7, 2016

There are hundreds of thousands of new titles published every year, and the competition for bookstore shelf space is intense. Now there is an enormous opportunity for independent publishers to increase their sales, revenue and profits by selling their books to special-sales buyers. 

The question that usually comes to mind is, “What are special sales?” This term is commonly used to describe sales opportunities outside of bookstores. Also referred to as non-bookstore (or non-traditional) marketing, it can build a profitable revenue stream. 

The best way to exploit this opportunity is to divide it into two segments and sell to buyers in each according to their traditional ways of purchasing. One is the retail segment where you reach buyers using a network of middlemen just as you do through bookstores. Included are airport stores, discount stores, supermarkets and specialty retailers. 

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How to Sell Books through Gift Shops in Parks

by Brian Jud
Bowker | Wed Aug 24, 2016

The National Park Service turns 100 on August 25, 2016. It seems appropriate to talk about how publishers can sell books through gift shops in parks and historic sites.

There are two major ways to sell to buyers at gift shops. One is to work through independent sales representatives found at http://www.greatrep.com. This site provides several entry points. Contact salespeople directly under “Lines Wanted,” or list your book in the “Reps Wanted” section. There is also a list of upcoming wholesale trade gift shows at which you can exhibit and/or network. 

Second are third-party operators that buy for gift shops in parks and historical centers. They work in partnership with the retail outlets to ensure that their guests have a meaningful experience and can extend their experience by discovering relevant products in their stores.

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Negotiating Book Sales with Deceitful Buyers

by Brian Jud
Bowker | Wed Jul 13, 2016

“Buyers are liars,” is a term some salespeople use to describe their customers. They believe prospective buyers distort the truth to put themselves in a better bargaining position. Regrettably, in some cases they are correct, so be on guard when negotiating the sale of your books to some corporate purchasers. 

According to studies among business buyers (Harvard Business Review, July-August, 2016) about half of people involved in corporate negotiations lie when they have the opportunity to improve their potential outcome. Fortunately, there are things you can do to prepare for – or even prevent – this intangible trickery.  

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When Not to Pitch Your Book

by Rochelle D. Carter
Bowker | Wed Jun 29, 2016

As authors we worry frequently about when the right time to pitch a book might be. While it's never a good idea to be brash, as an author it's very likely that your writing reflects your reality. Therefore, almost every situation you encounter will likely tie itself to you and your book. Thus, the general rule is: if the situation fits -- talk about it! Unless of course you're in one of the following circumstances:

1.    At a funeral. It is our responsibility as citizens to be there for our neighbors first and foremost. Funerals are always emotional situations that need support, kindness, and displays of love more than they need book marketing. So, be there for your loved one in person and in spirit. Chances are, if you’re at a funeral, many of the people there will know of you and your book, and they’ll likely perceive you as a more tender and relatable person if you don’t try to upsell your book at that time.

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Ten Tips for Sales Presentations

by Brian Jud
Bowker | Wed Jun 22, 2016

When making a presentation to sell a large quantity of books, many publishers create PowerPoint slides with many colorful charts and graphs. But data itself does not convince people to buy. It’s the interpretation of data and its application to the needs of each buyer that make the sale. When preparing your presentation, first think about what you are presenting – ideas or data. Then consider your purpose: Do you want to inform, persuade or explore? The answers will suggest what tools and resources you need for each presentation. Here are Ten Tips for Preparing a Visual Sales Presentation .

1.    Do not automatically convert a spreadsheet into a chart. That only visualizes data. It doesn’t communicate your idea. 

2.    During the preparation stage, design skills are less important than idea generation. Remember that form follows function.

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The Most Overlooked Step in Book Selling

by Brian Jud
Bowker | Wed Jun 8, 2016

Negotiating a large-quantity sale can be a rewarding process. If you do a good job describing how your content can help prospects solve business problems, they sign on the dotted line and become customers. However, the euphoria of knowing you will soon receive tens of thousands of dollars could blind you to the job that still needs to be done.

Your objective is not to simply get the order, but to make sure that the sale is implemented flawlessly through the timely delivery of your books. Competent post-sale service makes for a satisfying experience, leading to future orders and recurring revenue. Yet this step is often given cursory attention as the publisher moves on to the next prospect.

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Promoting Your Book with Pinterest

by Rochelle D. Carter
Bowker | Tue May 31, 2016

When someone mentions Pinterest in conversation, a common image that comes to mind is an online bulletin board, paired with the now almost iconic logo. However, since its inception in 2010, Pinterest has become so much more than a simple online application for people to browse, save, and share content. 

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