Marketing

Surprisingly, some of the best book marketing done today is done by introverts. It’s not how loud you shout your message but how well you spread it. Here are nine tips to get the word out about your book without appearing before a camera, holding a microphone, or standing on a stage.

1. Create a book marketing strategy that you will enjoy the most. If it’s interesting and fun, you’ll do it.

2. Pick a marketing project that is within your comfort zone. I know there’s a lot of self-help advice that says if you don’t get out of your comfort zone you won’t get ahead. Well, that’s one bit of advice. Here’s another just as powerful: Better to do something than nothing.

3. Create a blog. Most introverts have no problem writing and sharing in print. If this is you, then blogging is the perfect medium to get the word out. […]

Christmas is a wonderful time to gift someone with a book. It’s also a wonderful time to encourage others to give books to their friends and family. Below are 15 ideas for how to sell more books during the holiday season.

1. Mention that your book will make a great holiday gift idea on your blog, twitter, or ezine.

2. Offer to autograph books for Christmas giving.

3. Have a Christmas contest and give away a free book for Christmas.

4. Offer free Christmas gift-wrapping for your books that you sell from your website.

5. Sell your books at Christmas bazaars and events. Give a share of the proceeds to the cause.

6. Partner with two or more authors to promote each other’s books at Christmas with a special e-message. Each author sends the book promotion to his or her list for added exposure.

7. Offer special Christmas bonus with your book: free report, audio, a special […]

Getting media coverage is all about developing relationships. This is why when sending out press releases or news releases it is usually best to start with your local media. You will have a much better chance of making a connection. To get started, make a list of all the top TV stations, news radio stations and newspapers in your city. You can use newslink.org to find a state and national listing of US newspapers, radio and TV.

Once you have targeted a media website to send a release, look for a link such as “Contact us,” “News tips,” or “Submit press release.” If you can’t find a link or an email, call the news department and ask who you can email or fax a press release to directly. Many news sites have forms that you can paste your press release into and and submit it. Once you have […]

Question: What’s the one thing book publishers and authors have in common? Answer: A desire to sell more books.

The only way to sell books is to tell people about them. The more people you tell and the better you tell them the more books you will sell. If you’re already an established author with a large following, your job will be pretty easy. If you’re a well-known celebrity, making it in the news with a book won’t be hard either.

But if you’re a new author the road is a bit steeper. If you’re a new author with a low budget, it’s time to shift into a lower gear and get climbing the book-selling mountain. Yes, the climb may take a bit of work but once you see the view from the top as a best-selling author you’ll be glad of the effort!

I’d like to share with you a great […]

Marketing your book can seem like an overwhelming process. So many different things to do, so many decisions to make about what to do.

One way to tackle the overwhelm is to pick a simple and easy task and do that first. Once you begin you’ll have more confidence to continue.

I suggest you start by creating a simple email signature, one you can easily do in less than ten or fifteen minutes. Don’t worry at this point about making it fancy; you can add a picture of your book or some other feature later. Your goal is to keep the project doable and to get it done.

Once you’ve created one email signature, you can create others that include an image of your book or something more visual. Having just a basic message or offer that promotes your book may be all you’ll ever need. The main thing now is to get […]

Close your eyes and visualize your book as a keychain. Can you do it?

In a previous post I discussed the best way to market your book online: by slicing up the content of your book into smaller pieces and republishing them on your blog and other sites accepting similar content.

However, your book can be turned into other media as well—not just online and not just written. Here’s a list of ideas, both offline and online, just to get your imagination going:

Paper book: The foundation of your “content empire,” from which all other media originate. You can also start with just an ebook, but that doesn’t nearly provide the authority a real book does.

Ebook: Tap into a growing market of ebook readers by releasing yours.

Blog posts: Copy and paste information (chapters) from your book and periodically post them on your blog.

CD: Put your ebook or book preview on a CD […]