Subject: 4 Reasons Your Books Aren't Selling Enough
Some of you complain you do sooo much work and don't get the money rewards from it. You may buy into the "recession blues." Your books aren’t selling well. As a long time book coach I can tell you to keep the faith and follow a new path you may not have realized works well.
So, why aren't you selling more books? Here's 4 reasons to rethink.
#1. You're not marketing enough or not marketing to the right audience.
Just this week, I asked a new client with a lot of professional savvy but low book sales, “What marketing did he do already? And what was his cost? And what were his results?" He says he has 2 hours each day to market. And, he did send out online presses release paying $100-$300 for each. Zero results! He did put his book out on Smashwords and Kindle and Amazon - nothing yet! Sadly, he wasted a lot of time and money, because he already had a great audience of Hollywood Creatives for his coaching and therapy practice.
This book author doesn't have a sales message on his business site for his book. And he has small numbers of subscribers and doesn't know how to build his opt-in numbers much bigger, so he can have more sales. He's on LinkedIn and Facebook, but doesn't know how to optimize them for his book sales. He has some budget, but has already wasted so much of it on marketing that doesn't work. A bit discouraging, for sure.
My answers are always the same. You have to do the consistent right actions. This is where most experts and coaches don't do well. As with my client, you need to nail down specifically which audience to market to first. My client's big mistake was not to focus on one audience at a time. He shared that he had a big fantasy, a dream, that he would be another famous speaker and speak to millions on his topic. This is a common thing with new writers - they don't see the reality of the book business.
#2. You don't have a written marketing plan.
Perhaps you have a missing link or two in your marketing plan, or perhaps you don't have a plan with strategies, promotion actions and a schedule to make it real?
This same client above confessed he did not have a marketing plan. Without a plan, and specific promotion actions on a written schedule, you will lose momentum and feel discouraged at low results. While this is fairly easy to do, many business people with a book don't pay attention to it. That's why I coach and write books and blogs on this overlooked skill of writing a marketing plan for each part of your business.
#3. You don't build relationships with your potential readers.
While it takes some time, when you focus on your primary audience on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, you will be happily content your book and blogs are wanted. Some will not buy of course, but many will if you set up your social media marketing to get your audience to your business site where you can sell to them. (Remember to do a short sales letter-even a video sales piece at your site to convince visitors to buy). This is a common mistake that costs sales!
#4 You aren't repurposing your talent or book to make your marketing more efficient and effective.
To get more bang for your buck, use articles you have and renew them with a new title, new angle, and some new copy that is more personal. Turn them into a WordPress blog, and when you use LinkedIn and your blog, you will see your web visitors surge and sign up for more of you! This is how you build that database. I know my visitors were flat at 2500 a month UNTIL I used LinkedIn and my multiple blog articles that help my audience. Now, I'm seen as a go to person for book writing, self-publishing and marketing.
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http://bit.ly/ebookfastfromperry
Posted By: Pam Perry
Tuesday, September 20th 2011 at 3:02AM
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