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10 Ways to Sell Your Book on Facebook
You already know what doesn’t work to sell books. You can’t just list your books on a website. You can’t count on book stores because your target audience is not for your title there. Even if you have a publisher, you need to market and promote yourself and your books. And where? Online of course! And Facebook is one great place to promote yourself.
Use My Experience to Get the Book Sales Results You Want
Over 12 years ago I turned to the internet to get known as the authority on book writing, independent publishing, and book marketing. I built my business on my signature book, “Write your eBook or Other Short Book–Fast!”
To speed up my learning curve and start making a great income, I got Facebook coaching. I now feature writing and marketing help at my FB business page, once called the fan page. It’s not just book sales, but the extended offerings such as online courses, services, videos, or training. Your eBooks and MP3 audios can easily be emailed to customers. Now that’s easy!
Facebook Marketing Can Help Sell Books and YOU!
Why? Word-of-mouth referrals still work well. Knowing that Facebook Marketing helps you create encouraging discussions that show you as the authority in your field or your book’s genre, it’s worth it to stay current on the skills. We all know that Facebook makes so many changes so often, it boggles the brain. So, to use it wisely, get more coaching and education on these changes.
Here are 10 ways to Use Facebook to Help Promote your Book and Yourself
1. Yes, 600 million plus are now on Facebook, but many of them are not your audience.
You can reach your target audience on Facebook interest groups that align with your writing project. These include associations, skills groups and even book clubs. If you don’t know your primary audience, your promotions will not be as effective. This is a common problem with any business person who wants to get more visibility and credibility. And, you waste your valuable time when you shoot buck shot at everyone instead of your targeted audience. Laser focus your promotion time on those who want your information, your personality, your stories, and your expertise. Build fans and then buyers.
2. The best way to reach your target audience is to create a fan page (business page).
You also need to create a welcome page that is friendly, shows your personality, offers your focus, and motivates your visitors to ‘like” or join your fan page. Visitors can decide if they want or need your content. Offer a valuable freebie here to encourage your primary audience to join your fan page. Once someone on Facebook has “liked” you or your fan pages, keep giving your useful tips and blog URLs that bring this audience to your website, where they may opt-into your subscription by email. Now you can keep communicating with your fans and showcase your authority in your business niche or genre.
3. Use your fan pages to help educate your audience on what they want or need.
It’s all about giving and communicating with possible readers or clients. Recently, Facebook added a feature called “news pages.” While I don’t pay much attention to this, I do ask and answer questions in my fan page, aiming for more communication that can lead to sales.
4. You won’t find much success in using the limited “Event Notification” although many recommend it.
It looks good, but the teleseminars, book signings, and webinars just won’t get numbers unless you feed them a link to your website sales page for them to opt-into, even if you don’t charge. The place to sell anything is your website. It needs a short sales letter or sales video on its landing page for each product or service you offer.
This advice comes from tracking my marketing actions each month. I continue with what works and drop the rest. Posting events just doesn’t work and it takes your valuable time.
5. You can show your book covers in the graphics that introduce your fan page.
Link them to your site so that when people click on them, it takes them to your landing page for specific benefits of each product or service where you find out more specifics. When I discovered that in 2010, I featured 5 graphics. One takes you to my Twitter account, another takes you to my blog site to subscribe.
People on Facebook love these visuals, so when you post a blog URL there, be sure to include its graphic illustrations. Your groups want these visuals, so be sure to provide them.
6. If you really want to get more discussions going on your fan page, ask questions.
I learned that either/or questions are good ones, because your reader doesn’t have to think. For instance, “Would you rather read a book or write one?” When your visitors get into the habit of your page, they will respond more when you pose a question such as, “What part of your book writing did you love the most?
7. Give benefit statements each time you post something.
Benefits sell. Features, such as the table of contents or a whole chapter on your sales page, describe, but to sell, you need to share the sizzle to get your visitors curious about your book.
8. Post case studies in a blog post that includes testimonials from your clients.
When your Facebook audience sees these, they will see your value.
9. Get discussions going with opinion questions.
This is a sure bet.
10. Continue your posts and interactions with your fans almost daily.
Invest yourself for 20 minutes most days and see this audience come running to your website where you sell your books and services. You can also use a VA to help you with this task.
What do you focus on in your business page at FB? What works best for you in this venue? Leave me your comment or question, and I’ll smile and then answer it!
Ready to successfully revamp your Facebook marketing strategy to boost book sales?
Check out the Facebook Guide for Authors
Published on January 11, 2012 at 5:53 PM by Judy Cullins
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11 Responses to “10 Ways to Sell Your Book on Facebook”
I agree with Laura Quigley. I have over 400 fans on my book's Facebook fan page, but I haven't sold over 400 copies yet. I want to convert the fans into book buyers…
Very informative.
I am a Facebook baby. Just joined the rest of civilization this past week because ALL I kept hearing from folks in the publishing industry was you NEED to get on Facebook. I was pretty content with LinkedIn, Twitter and my own sites, but would like to learn more about how to get the best use out of Facebook.
I created a Fan Page/Business Page and have my 2 book covers and book trailer up with links to purchase both books. Any other suggestions are great appreciated.
Thanks so much for your guidance and support.
Thanks for the kind words, Ashok. what book are you promoting?
HI ken, Thanks for your response. I wonder how long you've been at it in FB? I've been active at my busines page for 3 years, and FB is the 4th resource of visitors, then sales. What is your book topic? Have you tried LInkedin?
Hi Laura, Be sure you have the BIG 3 marketing strategy in place.
1. A great sales page for each book and service on site.
2. Consistent interactions with targeted audience.
3. A stellar book you know it benefits and share them with your readers.
If you need specific help, see my intro coaching page at http://bookcoaching.com/judy-cullins-coaching.php
Cali, Sounds like you are on the right path. If you are selling fiction, you need to develop a following for tyour genre. Non-fiction is much easier to market. Have you taken seminars in FB? Did you get some coaching? These help.
Thanks Judy. Yes, learned a bit at a conference last October but just getting around to taking the Facebook leap. Just reading your other posts…so you suggest a separate page for EACH book?? I just created the business page for ALL of my work, but have heard it is best to have a separate page for each book. Currently have my 2 photography books with inspirational phrases. Working on the third and have 2 more in this format. Also working on my memoir which is another HUGE project. Actually thinking of creating a separate website as well for just my publishing.
Hi Judy, How do you get those five pictures to sit at the top of your page?
Hi Judy, A big question I have is how to drive FB readers to my fan/business (book) page as a way to promote my children's book. Do you suggest using other social media to drive people to FB? If so, what are some tips on this? I'm in a couple of LinkedIn groups with you and always enjoy your comments!
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I use Facebook a lot – building up a fan page and through actual advertising – but I'm struggling to turn reader interest/fans into actual sales numbers. Obviously the current economic climate doesn't help, but I need some way of closing these sales and really getting word of mouth to work for me. Any ideas? (some great advice already given there by the way)
Comment by Laura Quigley on January 12, 2012 at 3:38 am