5 STEPS TO INCREASE A BOOK SALE
With over 792 books published daily on Amazon.com, and even more on Kindle, I am often asked how to increase sales. I suffice to say, this is not every writer’s opinion. You will find guides on tactics, mostly those of a guerilla matrix, but I warn you: these are not surefire ways to land massive sales, but they do work.
#1: Find A Sales Team
Find a sales team and give them a percentage! Everyone’s doing it. Well, not really, but you should. We offer a promotional service to anyone who wishes to allow us to do this for you, so feel free to send us a message and we will get back to you. So, what can a sales team do for you? They may be able to offer what is called “deferred payment,” i.e. the good ol’ “when I get paid, you get paid” way. Offer 15 to 20 percent of each sale they make, find a practical way for them to keep track of sales, and boom! You’ve got free workers who are responsible for every client. Seriously, get deep into it…and I mean really, really deep!
#2: Use Sales Navigator
Utilize the $79/month option of unlimited connections! Sales Navigator allows you to target leads directly based on everything from age, occupation, gender, income level, and demographic. You can even go as far as targeting specific personality types if you did it right. Use it to add 20 new connections each day. Send them this: “Hello, I am connecting to say I was interested in [name an article they’ve written or a company they work for]. I have a new book out called [title of book] and it may apply to you. Send a link to your book. Boom, done.
#3: Use Facebook Groups
Facebook Groups is a wonderful place to market! Just do not do it in an obvious manner. Instead, focus on engagement. By engaging, you are commenting on appropriate Group topics and possibly throwing in a link to your book if it helps them. Never post “Hey, buy my book!” Rather, comment and say: “I loved this post! You might benefit from a book I wrote a while back…message me!” Add a smiley face, too.
#4: Send A Press Release
And send one out before you publish!
We offer a press release writing service so if in need of one, contact us. Press releases are cheap to write but expensive to distribute. Your best bet is to test the three best sources using the same press release and doing it at the same time and on the same day. PR.com is one; PRWeb.com is another; Newswire.com is another. Press releases are sent to multiple journalists, media outlets, and some bigger names such as Google News. However, the manner in which the press release is sent out (i.e. before or after a release), the content you are getting the “word” out on is about (can you pitch the book via this method or is it best to save your money?), and the price you pay to distribute it. Try for release on a Tuesday or Wednesday. Best days to send.
#5: Network With Authors
If you can, start to partner with other marketing professionals. This can best be done on LinkedIn using Sales Navigator. Type in the search bar: “Author” and you will have thousands of options to connect with. These may require a better script: “Hello, I see you are also an author of a similar type of book as mine. Would I mind setting up a chat with you to see how we can benefit each other?” Your goal here is to find a way to make them a strategic partner. They promote your book, and you promote theirs. This can be done with promotional branding, a mutual 5-star review, or a credit somewhere in the book. I used this method once. Hear more!
WHAT MAKES A GREAT PRESS KIT?
A press kit is crucial for any business seeking media exposure!
But how do you go from “writing a press kit” to “making it work out?” Often we see and counsel authors and other multimedia specialists on the attractiveness of a press kit, but they always seem to forget the main bulk of the idea. The first step to writing a great press kit is to realize it does not often come in the form of a presentation or a written document. A press kit should always be hosted online. It should be on your website, and available for all to see and view. There are many steps, but we want to avoid the bulk of the conversation and instead focus on what you really, really need to know. You can find tons of articles online about what is needed in a press kit, i.e. at the end of this page we have a list that includes the basic tips you need to get started. For now, let us focus on the more advanced facets you really, really need.
Why Online?
Let us start at the beginning. In the early 1980s, musicians realized they needed to do more than simply send in a CD with their music on it. Radio stations were crucial for a musician to get the word out, so after a surge of CDs and unlistened music, managers began to develop press kits that came in the form of a sporty presentation, written in print. It always included a biography of the band, a press release, a tour schedule, and any/all media they could possibly incorporate. Next thing you know, 2014 hits (and ReverbNation opens, as well as BandCamp in 2017) are born, where a musician can literally write their bio, include free music downloads, and just about everything the “older press kit” featured was not online. This was a major step and it transferred over to business. Online press kits are sequentially easier to host, easier to develop, easier to understand, and much more is capable with one (think about this: if you had sent in to a media source a paper copy press kit and found out you had a typo, how would you change it? Would you have to resend it? What if the tour schedule changes?
Think about that one for a moment. Then, continue to read.
So Where Do You Host It?
Go to our “Releases” page. We avoid linking directly in our blogs because the text color is blah, but when you really need to see a true press kit, check out our FlickBack press kit, developed on Wix.com. We will include a link at the bottom of the page. That, my friends and dear readers, is the best possible example of what you need to be doing. Next, did you know you could upload both a page on your website (or a completely separate website) as well as distribute in a more presentable format? We will include links at the bottom of the page that allows you to host all of your necessary files (Bios, logos, videos, photos, media, the actual press release itself, and contact info) on a small USB drive, which features a logo on it. Check the links below!
Don’t Be Afraid To Go Nuts
Develop a press kit online the same manner as you would if you were summarizing your company to someone else. Realize that though organization may count, it is not the epicenter of your creation. Rather, it is a matter of dazzling (hence the reason why we decided to use really, really ostentatious graphics for this post) and to be chaotic, causing entropy, raising awareness, and not representing your brand. Disrupt your thoughts on how it should look, and then check the links below.