Being an author, and having done well enough to make at least a semi-decent living at it, I am always interested in how other people go about getting their books an edge over the others on the vast Amazon shelves.
Ms. Sansevieri has done an excellent job of compiling some tips and hints (I won't call them tricks) to get your books in the hands of more readers. While I have tried and use many of these things mentioned, there were some new angles I had not thought of. The under use of keywords is a real eye opener and worth the book all by itself.
While she made a few points I did not see as being accurate (free books are a crapshoot at best in the over-glutted market, in my opinion) there was still a lot here to digest. Very worth the read.
9 Secrets to Selling More Books at Events
So you got a book event, great! Now you want to maximize it,
right? You've heard your writing buddies (or perhaps read online) about the
lack of attendance at signings so figuring out how to maximize the event, regardless
of the numbers might be tricky.
- Marketing: First and foremost is the marketing of your event. But
I'm not talking about the marketing you do the media (though that is great
too) I'm speaking of in-store marketing, this is what most folks seem to overlook.
This is where you supply things to the store to help them market your
event. Because the first phase of a successful event is driving people to
it. Here are a few thoughts.
- Do bag stuffers. You can
easily do this in your favorite computer program, do two up on a page,
meaning that you use one 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper to do two fliers.
You'll want to ask the store first if they mind that you provide this,
most stores or event venues don't.
- Bookmarks: while most in
the industry see these as passé, people still love them. You can do
bookmarks and bag stuffers (or staple them to the flier) or you can do
custom bookmarks with the date and time of your event. Nowadays it's
pretty easy to get these done cheaply. Keep in mind that if you are
having the event in a mall or other type shopping area, you might be able
to drop the bookmarks (or bag stuffers) off at the nearby stores to see
if they'll help promote the event.
- Book signings are boring: Regardless of where you do the
event, plan to do a talk instead of a signing. People are drawn into a
discussion and are often turned off by an author just sitting at a table.
Marketing is about message and movement so stand up and speak. If speaking
in public is intimidating to you, go to Toastmasters or some other local
networking/speaking group and see what you can learn.
- Unique places: if you want to get more attention for your
event, consider doing events in unique places. We've done them in video
stores, electronics stores, gyms, even restaurants (on slow nights), doing
outside-the-bookstore events is a great way to gain more interest for your
talk. Why? Because you aren't competing with everyone else at the
bookstore for your crowd. When you do an event at a local that doesn't
normally do events, you'll gather more people just because it's considered
"unique."
- Show up early and talk it up: OK so let's say you're in the
store and there are a ton of people in there shopping (a book event dream,
yes?) I suggest that you take your extra bag stuffers or custom bookmarks
and just hand them to the people in the store. Let me know you are doing
an event at such and such time and you'd love it if they can sit in.
You'll be surprised how many new people you might pull in this way.
- Customize: Regardless of what your talk is about, poll the
audience first to see a) what brought them there, or b) what they hope to
learn if your talk is educational. I suggest this because the more you can
customize your discussion, the more likely you are to sell a book. If you
can solve problems (and this is often done during the Q&A) all the
better. You'll look like the answer machine you are and readers love that.
If you have the answers they'll want to buy from you. I promise.
- Make friends: get to know the bookstore people, but not just
on the day of the event. Go in prior and make friends, tell them who you
are and maybe even hand them your flier or bookmark (or a stack if you
can). Often stores have Information Centers, see if you can leave some
fliers there instead of just at the register. Getting to know the people
who are selling the book is a great way to help gather more people into
your event. If your event isn't in a bookstore but attached to a shopping
area or mall, go around to the stores (and perhaps you did this when you passed
out the fliers) and let them know you have an event and what can you do to
help them promote it. If you can rally the troops to help you market your
talk, you could triple the numbers of people at your event. No kidding.
- Take names: I always, always recommend that you get names and
(email) addresses from the folks who attended. Sign them up for your
mailing list is a great way to stay in touch with them and stay on your
reader's radar screen. If you have a giveaway or drawing, great! This will
help you to collect names. If you don't, offer them a freebie or ebook
after the event. Often if I'm doing a PowerPoint presentation I will put
together a set of them (delivered in PDF) after the event. Attendees need
to sign up to get them and then once they do, I include them in our
newsletter list which helps me to stay on their radar screen.
Penny C.
Sansevieri, CEO and founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc., is a
best-selling author and internationally recognized book marketing and media
relations expert and an Adjunct Professor with NYU. Her company is one of the
leaders in the publishing industry and has developed some of the most
cutting-edge book marketing campaigns. She is the author of fourteen books,
including How to Sell Books by the Truckload. AME is the first marketing
and publicity firm to use Internet promotion to its full impact through online
promotion and their signature program called: The Virtual Author Tour™ To learn more about Penny’s books or her
promotional services, you can visit her web site at http://www.amarketingexpert.com. To subscribe to her
free newsletter, send a blank email to: mailto:subscribe@amarketingexpert.com
Copyright ã 2015 Penny C. Sansevieri
Amazon wants you to sell a lot of books. And How to Sell Your Books by the Truckload teaches you exactly how to do it. Internationally renowned Amazon book marketing expert, Penny Sansevieri, has created the ultimate guide for mastering the Amazon marketing system.
And in moments it can be right at your fingertips! The savings in time you’ll gain is enormous—when compared to painstakingly researching this information yourself.
When you follow Penny’s time-tested proven formulas you’ll instantly skyrocket the exposure you receive and kick your book promotion campaign into overdrive!
Plus, you can bypass all of the misinformation out there about how Amazon works. That’s because every secret you need to know to understand the Amazon marketing system inside and out is right here. Penny Sanseveri takes you step-by-step through simple and dynamic processes that show you how to:
Penny C. Sansevieri, Founder and CEO Author Marketing Experts, Inc., is a best-selling author and internationally recognized book marketing and media relations expert. She is an Adjunct Professor teaching Self-Publishing for NYU.
Her company is one of the leaders in the publishing industry and has developed some of the most innovative Social Media/Internet book marketing campaigns. She is the author of fourteen books, including How to Sell Your Books by the Truckload on Amazon and Red Hot Internet Publicity, which has been called the "leading guide to everything Internet."
AME was the first book marketing and publicity firm to use Internet promotion to its full impact through The Virtual Author Tour™, which strategically harnesses social networking sites, Twitter, blogs, book videos, and relevant sites in order to push an author’s message into the online community. AME has had over eleven books top bestseller lists, including those of the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal.
To learn more about Penny’s books or her promotional services, you can visit her web site at www.amarketingexpert.com.
Book Description:
And in moments it can be right at your fingertips! The savings in time you’ll gain is enormous—when compared to painstakingly researching this information yourself.
When you follow Penny’s time-tested proven formulas you’ll instantly skyrocket the exposure you receive and kick your book promotion campaign into overdrive!
Plus, you can bypass all of the misinformation out there about how Amazon works. That’s because every secret you need to know to understand the Amazon marketing system inside and out is right here. Penny Sanseveri takes you step-by-step through simple and dynamic processes that show you how to:
- Get top visibility for your book on Amazon
- Increase sales through perfectly-timed pre-order campaigns
- Leverage a secret tool to get hundreds of reader reviews
- Use Kindle Unlimited to your greatest advantage
- Boost sales by knowing when to give away your e-book – it really works!
- Use keywords and book descriptions that puts your book in front of tons of buyers
- Identify and locate secret categories that drive bigger sales
Author's Bio:
Her company is one of the leaders in the publishing industry and has developed some of the most innovative Social Media/Internet book marketing campaigns. She is the author of fourteen books, including How to Sell Your Books by the Truckload on Amazon and Red Hot Internet Publicity, which has been called the "leading guide to everything Internet."
AME was the first book marketing and publicity firm to use Internet promotion to its full impact through The Virtual Author Tour™, which strategically harnesses social networking sites, Twitter, blogs, book videos, and relevant sites in order to push an author’s message into the online community. AME has had over eleven books top bestseller lists, including those of the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal.
To learn more about Penny’s books or her promotional services, you can visit her web site at www.amarketingexpert.com.
Thank you for sharing this! I really appreciate it!
ReplyDelete