What is the best way to market a book that is not selling as expected?
I wish to market a book that is not selling as expected in the market upon all the promises by the publishers. The book is one that should be okay for most business readers who wish to avoid scams .I am also about publishing my second book which is a novel and do not wish to make mistakes
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May 23, 2014
Depends on what your hook is. How is your book different from other books that help businesses avoid scams. There's a lot on the subject out there. You may want to start booking yourself on smaller radio shows and business blogs....to start out and gain momentum. For additional ideas. Pls message me. Publishers can promise the world, but you have to work them as well.
May 23, 2014
You must try to e-market your book through e-books, Amazon; publicize it through the internet with the help of twitter, facebook and linkedin.
You may also do personal marketing techniques through the management of the database that has your target consumers on it.
You may also track your usual customers and publicize it through them.
However I think the first suggestion is more global and is able to reach more consumers.
May 23, 2014
Kelechi - offer to write short articles for business pubs that has a readership that may match likely buyers of the book. Don't directly promote the book that way, but write things such as "10 Tips to..."
Seek out bloggers who cover issues related to small businesses. Maybe they can right a review for your book.
I'll try to think of other ideas.
May 23, 2014
I would suggest to use social media , where information would be published on forums, and in groups on Linked In. Write some bloggs, as well as take it to the business events and exhibitions.
May 22, 2014
Have a look at ClickBank as a tool for creating a business around selling books and other information. I am planning on doing the same for my upcoming book about preparing a privately-owned business for sale or succession.
May 22, 2014
Hello Kelechi - I don't have an answer for you, but do have a similar situation with a children's book I invested in to get self-published.
I would appreciate your keeping me in the loop if you get any answers here or elsewhere.
Thanks,
Anita
May 22, 2014
The idea is to strike while the iron's hot--when you already have people looking at your book for a free promotion, you might be able to turn those into paid sales when the book's price goes up.
May 22, 2014
Kelechi; As George Maabadi, says, public speaking is a great way to sell your book. Speak on the topic of the book. Some organizations will allow back of the room sales. Some will even pay you to speak. The audience will love the idea of having the author right there to sign his/her book. In addition, organization your own promotional book tours. You might check out the National Speakers Association and Georgia has a great chapter.
May 22, 2014
I work with authors whose publishers don't give them the time of day. We package press kits and drive reviewers and consumers to read your books. We also set up book tours, speaking engagements and any other marketing tools that help boost sales.
May 22, 2014
Many people go the self-publishing route. Part of that is because the books become available without time limits, as they are in any or all of the various e-book/e-reader formats and can be downloaded, plus the publishing fees are a lot less. And one of the biggest benefits to self-publishing is that the publisher will never change any parts of your book and possibly change the message that you are writing in them, because YOU are the publisher.
But beware; you must be sure that the book is formatted with the correct format and fonts to pass through the vetting process in order to convert to all of the various e-reader types out there. There are a few self-publishing sites out there and a quick google search will find them for you.
May 21, 2014
First, seek out Evo Terra, listen to everything he says and do 98% of it as if it were the word of the Lord given to you on a mountain top.
After that, be creative and be cheap, and I offer this info I posted where someone was asking how to sell 500,000 copies of his app (just switch 'app' for 'book')…
"3 step process:
1) Make an app that doesn't suck
2) Celebrity endorsement, the bigger the better
3) Do all the normal marketing
Seriously, there is no magic bullet beyond getting the biggest name you can to love you and include your name in every conversation (s)he has.
Beyond that, get on your hustle. Press releases: everywhere. Request interviews on every blog, eZine, podcast, message board, radio show, television show, newspaper, magazine, super market bulletin board and coffee shop poetry reading your target audience gives their time to. Nudge your way into a presentation at every trade show or conference you can find. Streak a soccer match.
If you're eating three meals a day, ever using an app to do something other than schedule an interview, or sitting for more than a minute without making a phone call: stop that crap. Now.
If you care, if you really want to make this work, and you're not backed by millions in ad revenue, you've got a lot of work to do. Where and how you do it depends on what you're selling.
I'm assuming 500k is a target you promised to investors without considering at all how many downloads the average app in your market does. Great job. I'm sure you're a VP somewhere with that kind of blind ego. But now if you're going to save face you need to hit the ground running every day and if you ever find your pace to the next promo idea slowing, hit me @mat_weller and I'll give you the next big idea to save your bacon."
May 21, 2014
Lot's of good comments. In addition...
Use PR. Write releases using the accepted industry template. Post online, on your site and circulate to appropriate industry channels. Posit yourself as an expert in your field. Write releases on every activity that supports your efforts to market yourself and the book. PR is FREE!
Geoff Ficke
May 21, 2014
Never expect the publisher to be in marketing industry. As a bestselling author what I have done is written press releases (10 a month); asked people to review my book; written 10 articles a month; blogged daily with tips from my book; and done google hangouts about my book; as well as uploaded a ton of google videos and youtube videos about my book all with valuable tips leading to my book.
May 21, 2014
As a self-published author that has sold more than 220,000 personal finance books, I can say media exposure is the way to go! Contact me for more. DebtSmart.com
May 22, 2014
Scott, as others have noted they have or will be having books out..... any tips you can provide here would be great!
May 22, 2014
Thanks. I will really appreciate your assistance on moving forward
http://bookstore.authorhouse.com/Products/SKU-000666344/UNKNOWN-TRANSACTIONS.aspx
http://www.amazon.com/Unknown-Transactions-Avoiding-through-Understanding/dp/1481767712/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376080502&sr=8-1&keywords=unknown+transactions+avoiding+scams
May 21, 2014
Pat yourself on the back for your accomplishment. Create a facebook page. Get business cards for each book with motivational notes so people can find it easy on amazon. Great job!
May 21, 2014
No book is "selling as expected" Selling books is incredibly difficult
It’s easier than ever to publish a book, and more difficult than ever to grab attention. Attention is very scarce. What competes for attention? News articles, new books with film deals and with bigger budgets, a variety of other readings on the go, YouTube videos, video streaming of all kinds, online articles and summaries, some of them now suggested directly by Facebook, and LinkedIn, the new publishing platforms with large audiences.
The first thing to remember is that you are a CONTENT producer. This book is only one form in which your content was produced and delivered. There are other ways to deliver your content for money, and if you want to reach audiences, and want to be paid for your effort, you should consider these other ways to use and repackage your content.
I have worked with clients who have published their book and then learned how to sell their content, not only their book, successfully. If your book is self-published (as an e-book, Kindle, or hard copy on Amazon) I can quickly suggest a few things you can do to sell your content.
Since you do not have a publisher behind you, since you don’t have a marketing machine, you have to make the effort to create these opportunities to build your own tribe and to engage your audience so that you sell.
The ideas I offer below fall into two categories:
A) Market the Book--- These are means to engage and drive customers to your book. For instance, using social media you build buzz and create interest, so that you can sell at your site or the publisher’s site. Don’t expect to use social media to sell, and don’t ask people to buy your book. Persuade them to do so. Organizing in-person and online events to promote and sell your book may result in immediate sales
.
B) Monetize Your Content-- These are ways to make money by repackaging content that you already have, and which you now call a “book.” Once you have created these extra forms of revenue, they can work for you while you sleep. For instance, you can re-package content in the form of a video, or an online course, and in the form of online video events streamed directly from your desktop. Sometimes, these means to derive extra revenue from your book will also drive book sales up.
Good luck with your second book!.
May 21, 2014
One of the most effective methods of promoting a product is by producing media buzz around the product. One place to start is to make a video promoting the product, in this case a book. The video would need to entice someone to buy it by providing some insight into the logic of the book or by showing a business scenario in which a scam is perpetrated and how to possibly avoid it. Next, post that video to a Facebook Product Page as well as create a small website central to that book. Both sites need to encourage people to purchase the book outright. The website requires a storefront from which the book can be purchased in hard or e-book form. If the book and its concepts are truly revolutionary, the next step is to write PR around the book and get yourself onto the talk-radio/ mid-day news circuit. A little self-generated gossip about the book can go a long way.
May 19, 2014
Self-publishing platforms like AuthorHouse essentially don't offer marketing or sales support after publication, so it's a shame if they didn't manage those expectations up front.
Even when you get published by an established publishing house with distribution access to all market channels (retail and online), the promotion, marketing and publicizing of the book always remains a collaborative enterprise. If you are comfortable doing so, you should tirelessly and shamelessly self-promote and actively sell your book(s) as an author in every waking moment by all means available to you, especially through online channels and social media. If you are not comfortable doing this, get comfortable or pretend you're are, lest you consign yourself to obscurity through misplaced modesty.
In the case of a book on scams you could purchase ad words that would link to a buy button on Amazon, so that people will see your book when they search about scams - and I would imagine there are a lot of searches about that! Online forums for business leaders, CFOs, financial advisors, Information Technology advisors would also be good areas to target. Offer to run free seminars and speak at conferences and panel discussions.
Make sure that all editions are available through all channels, especially the eBook edition (i.e. not just the Kindle edition on Amazon, even though they have the biggest market share of the eBook market). Consider doing a price promotion with Amazon where your book is available for free worldwide for a limited timeframe (24-48 hours). Although it is counter-intuitive, this won't harm your sales. Every free copy `given away' will generate sales of another 5+ copies. If you are in possession of printed stock, give that away as well, especially if you've paid for the printing yourself. Books, unlike wine and wisdom, do not age well and it's probably already out of date. Put bookmarks in them with the URL of your website (or, if you don't have one, get one fast) with a voucher code for a free eBook.
And don't discount good old-fashioned media as well, like radio and television (and their new incarnations like YouTube). Radio interviews remain one of the most effective ways to spread word-of-mouth and raise consumer awareness, and I can see lots of producers wanting to get you on air as scams are a hot-button issue. If you have a good sense of humour, you can play up the irony of a Nigerian author writing a book about how to avoid being scammed, unless the book itself is a scam. Just kidding.
The important thing, however, with any publicity, is that it must be easy for consumers to find and buy the book if they've been touched by any marketing. Amazon has made this easier in terms of discoverability but don't forget about local booksellers who need to have the stock in stores before the coverage in order to exploit it properly.
Congratulations on having the discipline to start and finish this book (and the next) and best of luck.
May 22, 2014
The real thing is that I am slightly confused on what authorhouse have done so far. Maybe you can give me a better direction of where to start.. - You should know better - Advise please;
http://bookstore.authorhouse.com/Products/SKU-000666344/UNKNOWN-TRANSACTIONS.aspx
http://www.amazon.com/Unknown-Transactions-Avoiding-through-Understanding/dp/1481767712/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376080502&sr=8-1&keywords=unknown+transactions+avoiding+scams
May 19, 2014
In this internet era i suggest you to publish it online and make it available for free to read it online. Do a little bit of promotion and you could easily get thousands of visitors visiting your website to read the content and then make money from advertisers who will pay you to place advertisements
May 21, 2014
I'm sure your publisher won't let you release the book for free, but if you have audio rights, you could release an episodic audiobook for free, using each episode as a commercial for the book. Or you could make a podcast to discuss the topics covered in the book and use every episode to promote the book itself. Or you could give away a couple chapters and sell the rest.
Don't give away the meat. If it's worth serving, it's worth selling. But there's a lot you can give away at little cost to yourself that will sell the meat. ;)
I _am_ the lord on the mountain top.
(Thanks for the kind words, Mat!)