Some authors might think that all they have to do is write a good book and once it is published, it will only take a matter of time before it becomes a runaway success. But the reality is that of the over 170,000 a course in miracles books published annually, less than 10% of them make up 90% of all book sales. So what is the difference that will make you a part of that small percentage making it big in the print industry? The answer is marketing.
Marketing books can be done in a variety of ways, but not all authors exploit the strategies available to harness their book’s fullest potentials. You, however, can make the difference when it comes to marketing your book. In the next couple of sentences, find out which book-selling strategies work and which actions truly matter, for you have the power in your hands to earn massive sales for your book.
An important marketing strategy is to create a press kit, a collection of promotional materials ready to be distributed to the media to publicize your book. One of the standard components of a press kit is a press release that will announce your book, provide the key features of its content, as well as give facts about you as an author. You can also include a press release featuring your book in a variety of interesting angles to attract the media more in writing stories about you.
Aside from building a press kit, you can also schedule book signing activities in your local bookshops, libraries, or book fairs. Remember to bring reserve copies of your books to make sure you have enough signed copies for your would-be readers. Moreover, you can arrange for speaking engagements in local events or in affairs tied up with charitable institutions so you can personally talk about your book and promote it to a target audience. Not only will these strategies give you more publicity, it will also allow you to connect with your readers more and gain valuable feedback.
Another significant strategy would be to harness the power of technology. Along with the advent of computers and the World Wide Web, people have turned more and more to the internet as a source of information and a way to get what they want and need. So make sure you make your book visible online by creating a website devoted to it, or by posting articles about your book online. You can load as much information about your book as you want, and you can be sure that information is directly accessible to who might be interested in it.
There are a number of other strategies you can use in marketing your book, but another important thing to note is to have a written weekly plan of activities to organize all these strategies in a single comprehensive action plan. Having this written plan will not only systematize your book-selling design, it will also motivate you to be proactive in marketing your book.