7 Tips For Marketing And Selling Your SelfPublished Book
Jackie Lin , business and self-publishing book marketing expert.
Self-publishing has come a long way in the past decade: Aspiring business book authors often turn to bookwriting coaches, book sales experts, and software and platform experts to learn how to make their books accessible, visible, and increase sales. However, we often fall short of understanding how to market and sell your book in the most efficient and profitable way. As a result, most self-published authors don't sell many copies. While 300 million self-published books are sold annually, the average book has a circulation of just 250 copies, according to Words Rated.
But that shouldn't be the case. It is entirely possible to sell thousands of copies of your business book if you plan to market and sell it as early in the writing and publishing process as possible. Here are the top seven steps you can take wherever you are on your desktop publishing journey.
1. Clearly define your target audience.
Most entrepreneurs decide to write a book because they want to share their knowledge and ideas. However, they don't always think about who their audience is. You can't sell to everyone, so you need to know your core audience and focus your energy on that. Determine what their problems are, where they usually need help, how they read (for example, print books, e-books, or audiobooks) and what platforms, websites, or podcasts they interact with.
2. Know the purpose, goals and objectives.
Knowing what you want to achieve with your business book and why may seem obvious, but many business writers don't think much of it.
It is important to know exactly why you are writing and what you want to achieve with your book. Want to create your profile, share your knowledge or increase your company's visibility? Maybe you want to change the world by helping people who have a serious problem. Understanding your primary objective will inform a number of other decisions you will make to focus on marketing and sales where it is important.
3. Create a content marketing plan.
You need to distribute your promotional content, such as ads, social media posts or blogs, in a way that attracts your target audience and finds them where they belong. This requires a well-thought-out marketing plan. The most successful plans are detailed, deliverable, and data-driven. What do I mean by each of these components?
• details. Your content marketing plan should cover the 18 months leading up to and during the launch of your book. Then it should be incorporated into your business marketing plan.
• The final result. For a content marketing strategy to work, you need to provide the content. If you are not ready to invest the time and effort in this business, do not start it. Keyword coding, SEO, or smart metadata don't make up for lightning-fast promotion.
• Data management. Former Postmaster General John Winemaker once said. “Half of the money spent on advertising is wasted. The problem is, I don't know which half.” Today, thanks to the analytics tools that are available on many platforms, you can avoid these problems. And with the data you provide, you can learn what works and what doesn't and make necessary adjustments.
4. Develop a media coverage plan.
Media coverage is an important part of marketing and selling business books. There are ways and means to get your book noticed by the media. Here are some basic strategies you can use: following and connecting with journalists on social media; Dedicate your press releases to each reporter or news outlet, and relate your book to recent history to highlight its importance. Of course, you'll also need to double-check any media links you want to get.
5. Developing alliances to increase sales.
Most business book authors focus on selling one book to one person at a time. This can be an expensive risk if you don't know what you're doing, and you're unlikely to recoup your advertising costs from book sales.
Instead, develop partnerships with companies and industry organizations in your field. A person can have a lot of branded pens, mouse pads, and water bottles. A book that deals with a topic related to your profession or contains valuable information on a particular topic is a more valuable gift.
Therefore, look for partners in the companies with which you have worked. You can also visit industry events, conferences and presentations to make new acquaintances. You can also check out the podcasts, live interviews on LinkedIn, and YouTube channels of influencers/leaders in your area to see if they resonate with your target audience. Once you find viable partners, ask if they would be interested.
6. Create a writers' community.
It is important to build a community around your book journey as early as possible. Explore your networks with colleagues, clients, industry peers, board members, alumni groups, community organizations, friends and family. Be active on any social networks they interact with and ask them to contact you and share your book on their networks. Be clear about what you want them to do, when and how. Give them everything they need to make it easier for them to help.
7. Be consistent and persistent.
Selling your book is a long-term endeavor. You should set aside an hour or two a week to work on your content marketing plan. If you can't commit, find someone who will. Then be sure to check back on your results, engagement, and sales regularly.
Becoming a successful business book writer takes time, effort, and focus. Understanding how to market yourself and your book is one of the most important factors in success. The more attention you and your book receive, the more it will sell and the more impact it will have.
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