Self Published Author | Category | Marketing & Publicity

Is What You Have to Say What People Want to Hear?

by Brian Jud
Bowker | Tue May 4, 2021

When authors complete their manuscripts, they are proud of their work, thinking it will be a blockbuster. That is certainly understandable. However, in the final analysis it is the reader — not the author — who defines the value of the content. It is valuable only if the readers believe they are better off after reading it than before.

Creating reader value is less likely to happen if the content is written from the author’s perspective — what he or she believes the readers need to know. Invariably, that is based upon the author’s personal experience, not upon the perspective of those in the target market and even more rarely on analysis of competitive sources of information. A typical comment (one that generally leads to failure) is, “There is no other book like mine out there.”

If authors will ask themselves and answer these five questions, their chances of creating valuable content — valuable to the reader — is greatly enhanced.

Writing

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5 Inspirational Blog Post Ideas for Savvy Authors

by Penny C. Sansevieri
Bowker | Wed Apr 28, 2021

In a recent post here on Self Published Author, I talked about five features of a terrific and effective author website, and today I’m going to go deeper into one of those features: author blogs. Websites with blogs get 55% more traffic than websites without. And you can’t sell more books without more traffic. It’s hard to argue with that number and the logic that follows it, but while that statistic might convince your brain it’s time to start blogging, it’s also important that you also believe with your heart that the connection you can make to your readers is worthwhile.

Reading is very personal. Genre preferences and the types of books we seek out to fulfill needs or answer questions in our lives say a lot about us as individuals. The days of the elusive, mysterious author are over. When 4,500 books are being published every day, personalization becomes a cornerstone of your author marketing if your goal is to sell more books. But I realize it’s easier said than done!

Inside Publishing

Marketing & Publicity

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Strategy Before Action

by Brian Jud
Bowker | Tue Apr 20, 2021

Your 2021 business plan outlines the ways in which your marketing activities should be implemented to reach your goals this year. According to traditional practice, after you establish your objectives your plan is divided into two sections. The first is the Strategic Plan that outlines your general marketing strategies, and the second part is the Tactical Plan listing specific actions. Most people cannot wait to start selling their books, so they typically skip the first section.

However, the battle for increased sales, revenue and profits in non-bookstore markets are more likely to succeed by implementing the actions that match your skills, goals and budget. That, in a nutshell, is effective planning — and it starts with strategy. Here are seven principles that will convince you to plan your strategy before you begin your journey to success.

Inside Publishing

Marketing & Publicity

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5 Easy as Pie Ways to Sell More Books

by Penny C. Sansevieri
Bowker | Tue Apr 13, 2021

I get it. You first put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) because you wanted to tell a fantastic story or solve a societal need. And once you finished your book, you realized that the journey from writer to author had only just begun. How were you going to get that manuscript into the hands of readers in search of a great historical romance novel or a how-to book on estate planning?

And now that you’ve published the book, the question still remains about how to get it into the hands of readers through book sales. If you’re feeling a little peckish, I don’t blame you. Feel free to throw a little snit fit. Once you’ve got it out of your system, we can start looking at a handful of truly easy ways to accomplish your bookselling goals.

Each of the following strategies is apple pie easy and effective!

Inside Publishing

Marketing & Publicity

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How to Maintain Your Book-Selling Passion

by Brian Jud
Bowker | Tue Mar 30, 2021

Every year over 1,000,000 ISBNs are assigned to books, but a year later, how many of those authors are still actively marketing them? I would venture to say very few. When initial high expectations and valiant effort result in few sales, most authors quit to pursue other ventures. Their attitudes become exhausted, like a ball dropped on a basketball court. If left unattended, it will bounce lower and lower each time until it finally rolls to a stop.

Authors’ attitudes fade similarly. Those who do not reinflate their mindsets allow their actions to roll to a stop. Their books are still on Amazon, but the passion behind them is not. If you are in that position, here are three things you can do to reignite the fire you once had.

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5 Features of Effective and Engaging Author Websites

by Penny C. Sansevieri
Bowker | Tue Mar 23, 2021

Congratulations! You’re a published author and that makes you a public persona. Even if you spent hours in your youth imagining yourself as a famous author walking and talking with Barbara Walters as a camera trailed behind you, capturing your infinity pool and the sun setting over your horse barn, you may still be adjusting to what exactly that means.

In a digital world, your author website is your calling card and your platform. Spending some time evaluating your current website — or planning for the one you’ll set up after you finish this post — is time well spent.

Look at it from a reader’s perspective. Because, to them, author websites show them who’s serious and who’s not, they establish which authors seem to be in it for the long haul as well as which authors they should feel comfortable investing their time and money in.

So let’s talk about 5 important features that separate successful author websites from unsuccessful ones.

Inside Publishing

Marketing & Publicity

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Four Tips for Negotiating Large Book Orders

by Brian Jud
Bowker | Tue Mar 16, 2021

Have you ever bargained with a potential employer for a job offer? If so, you already know the basics of negotiating a large, non-returnable book order since there are many parallels in the two situations.

For example, when discussing employment compensation, you probably did not focus on a specific salary, but on a total package that included salary, benefits, vacation time, annual reviews, etc. After summarizing your unique skills, knowledge and positive attitude, you asked for the job. Similarly, when discussing compensation for the sale of your books, you do not focus on the price, but on the total package consisting of variables such as cost, returns, payment terms, shipping dates, customization, possible referrals and the likelihood of recurring orders. Here are four tips to help you prepare to ask for — and get — an order for your books.

Inside Publishing

Marketing & Publicity

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Mindset Adjustments for Indie Author Success

by Penny C. Sansevieri
Bowker | Tue Mar 2, 2021

It’s hard to get your book out there — I know this firsthand! — and you get desperate to come up with book promotion ideas to solve all your problems. When my first book published 18 years ago, I was terrified. One night I had a dream that my book had so much global hate that readers were chasing me down the street throwing my own book at me. It was bad. But fast forward, and go figure, I’m now able to design book promotion services that really blow past these typical author insecurities to put the focus back where it belongs — on pinpointing and executing book promotion ideas that get books in hands.

Inside Publishing

Marketing & Publicity

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Seven Secrets for Successfully Selling Books

by Brian Jud
Bowker | Tue Feb 23, 2021

My recent article (Why It Can Take Months To Sell Books To Non-Retail Buyers) described how the trek to special-sales success can be long, arduous and frustrating – but profitable. Through it all, a strong and determined attitude can serve as your GPS on your path to success. There are several basic axioms in book marketing in general — and special sales in particular — that may have a negative impact on your attitude. If you can know in advance that these are going to occur, the negative impact on your attitude may be reduced.

Rejection is a way of life. Be forewarned that you will be rejected far more times than you will be accepted, and this may wear away at your attitude. But do not take rejection personally. That is easy to say, but it can be done if you accept rejection as a challenge to learn, improve your strategy and tactics and thereby increase the likelihood that you will close the sale next time.

Inside Publishing

Marketing & Publicity

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Why It Can Take Months To Sell Books To Non-Retail Buyers (But it is worth the wait)

by Brian Jud
Bowker | Wed Feb 17, 2021

Many independent publishers try to sell their books only to bookstores and other retailers. Their efforts consist primarily of securing distribution partners to funnel books to retailers who put them on their store shelves. There the books remain, nestled among their competitors for a quick comparison of benefits and prices. The point-of-purchase sales process may take 10 minutes, since the risk of making a wrong decision is low. If the book does not meet expectations it is returned, and eventually makes its way back to the publisher.

Inside Publishing

Marketing & Publicity

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