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Where are your Book Buyers?
Let’s just say you’ve applied your pre-marketing skills to your book early on and have done some of your book promotion platform, so your book will sell well. One of those skills sets is to know your preferred audience and where they hang out on the internet.
STATS: Amazon sells 44% of all books in North America. eBook sales at Amazon are almost 30% of all sales there. And 3.5 billion eBooks will be sold in 2010. Many other stats abound and you can just know that books are still the #1 product that’s sold on the net.
CLUE: Your challenge is to find out where your book audience goes for information about your book’s topic or genre. You must know they, like you, Google key word phrases such as “ebook writing,” “ebook sales” or “how to do xxx.” So it follows, that you should have as big of a web presence as you can to attract more book buyers to where you sell your books. That may be Amazon or it may be at many wonderful other internet channels.
Remember, to compete in a world of increasing books published in eBook format, POD or traditional, you really need to do more than just sell at Amazon.
Sell your Books at Your Business or Book Website
Some authors sell a book that doesn’t relate to your business Website. That means it needs its own site with a sales letter on it and ordering link through PayPal or the like.
Build your Web site Data Base List
One advantage of having your own Web site–and I think a huge advantage–is that you collect your target visitors’ emails when they come to get something free from you. Maybe a free report or now that blogs build traffic so readily and fast, a blog post comment for you. You start a community of like-minded people. These emails are the gold–a list you can continuously promote to and send more free tips to. This is how you stay in touch and make bigger book sales. Most sales are made after a while, when your data base likes and trusts you.
Replace an Ezine with a Blog that Posts Weekly
When I did this, and became really active in my target audiences groups at Linkedin, my unique visitors went up 57% in the last few months, and they were quality visitors because they stayed a long while on my site to create a desirable low bounce rate.
Fresh weekly posts get more action that monthly ezines. They are interactive too, so you build relationships.
A big advantage is that the search engines love blogs. Each post is a new page they use to rank your site. The more pages with fresh content, the more likely you are listed on the first page.
Create a Sales Landing Page for Each Book
In order to sell books, you must spend some time learning and getting feedback on what will convince your visitor to buy from you. Yes, include benefits and testimonials, but also learn the nuances of establishing rapport with your visitor. You must engage him or her, not tell them. Don’t put up your first effort. Sales letters need many edits and feedback from a coach who knows these skills sets.
If you want to sell services or other products such as teleseminars or webinars, write a sales piece for them in a similar way.
Ask For Those Testimonials
Testimonials and reviews sell books. It’s great to get one from a celebrity interested in your book’s topic. But it’s even better to get some from your happy readers. Those are the practical, specific ones that your audience will appreciate.
At Amazon, many will do this for your book freely because they can name their book at the end of the review.
For your Web site’s testimonials, ask people you interact with on social media to give you a testimonial. Give them the link to Amazon where your book is, so it’s easy to do for them.
Just ask a group of associates to do this for you. Make it easy though. Give them some benefit phrases and sample testimonials. Email your requests and reward them with a copy of the book!
Ask a blogger who has a similar audience as you to give you a testimonial in her/his blog.
Just ask any one you feel is influential on the internet. When I asked for testimonials for my Linkedin Marketing book I was surprised at the more well known people’s generosity.
Ask a popular speaker to host a teleseminar–interview with your about how the different chapters in your book can help them to a better life or business. Have your sound bites ready! And make this a free program. Just recently we did one on early strategies for ebooks. Over 200 registered! We have their emails to further stay in touch with them, and even promote to them other great books and services. We will also repurpose the MP3 audio and sell it, and much more.
Remember to make the promoting of books part of your passion. It can be fun, if you know what to do and have a mentor helping too.
Since marketing books in the 1980′s, we’ve come a long way baby. Those traditional ways were a lot of work with not so big results. Now, we can reach many audiences in many places over the internet. So, if need be, get some coaching from books or professionals who know the short cuts to flourishing book sales.
What questions do you have on your book marketing? Leave a comment and we’ll all learn more.
Published on August 31, 2010 at 9:09 AM by Judy Cullins
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6 Responses to “Where are your Book Buyers?”
Hello Judy, I'm always delighted reading your articles! tthanks so much. I'll let you know when I publish, in the meantiem you can have a look at my e-mag http://www.yudu.com/library/77145.
I learn everytime I red your posts. Go ahead.
Can't wait to attend your tele-seminar on Mar 30, 2011, "Social Media for Terrified Authors with Shel and Judy." My fun book, "Photo Adventures in Cuba ~ Unlock Your Power of Positivity" is just about ready to be breaking news! How timely.
Judy, I have self published my book and have been going to libraries, book stores and networking. I am doing pretty well but I want to get more books into the hands of readers. My book is poetry and photographs that focus on an inner journey to find the true self. I would like more information on where to find a guide in how to set up a blog and ezine. I have been reading many of your articles and I am still not clear on the How-Too for marketing a poetry and photograph book. I am looking into ebook and found someone who will put it out.Not sure if that is the best way to go. What I need is perhaps one of your ebook's as a guide. Which one would be helpful to me? Thank you for all your information and sharing of your knowledge for sorting it out.
Mariie, I just found your post. Thanks for thee comments. Yes, put "humble" aside when you market or promote. Maybe I can help you with your website==I'm the master of book or service sales letters!
Patricia, I"d say you are doing old, slow,and not so successful promotions. If you want, I can coach you on what to put into your blog that relates to your books, and that gives useful information to your targeted audience.
Q 1. Who is your audience?
Q2. Why should they read your book?
I don't know your title so it's difficulgt to coach you here.
To read? YOu need my Linkedin marrkeing book at http://bookcoaching.com/linkedin-marketing.php plus the extra updates in reports. ( This book has a blog chapter that will get you going!
To get blog coaching that will do a hands on writing of a blog of your choice with my expertise on teh hook, the how to, and the motivating ending that gets you comments. It's only $55 at http://bookcoaching.com/social-media.php
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Excellent post and now I'm going to review all your posts to see how they will help me promote my novels. I've been reluctant to "advertise" too much on group sites, etc. Don't want to be black-balled for spamming. I have a website and get lots of "hits" but less than satisfactory resulting sales. I sense I need to be less "humble". Thanks.
Comment by Marie Pinschmidt on September 7, 2010 at 9:00 am