Are you a silent author? Do you have a published book that isn’t selling very well? Maybe it’s because you aren’t talking about it. If you are timid about jumping into the limelight—you would rather not have to actively promote your book—then you really can’t expect to make many sales. It’s as simple and as complicated as that.
I’ve been involved in the publishing industry for a long time. And I’ve met many different types of authors. While some of you are amazingly creative and energetic marketers, others simply despise the idea of promotion. That’s why, when I wrote my book, “Promote Your Book, Over 250 Proven, Low-Cost Tips and Techniques for the Enterprising Author,” I included a section telling how to promote your book without changing your lifestyle too much. I’ve outlined book promotion ideas you can pursue without stepping too far outside your comfort zone.
Here are a few that might appeal to you:
• Create amazing promotional material from home and send it out via regular mail and email to everyone you know. I know one author who slips her promo material in with her bills when she pays them. She even uses those paid return envelopes to promote her books. Does it pay off? She says the definitely gets an order from time to time using this method.
• Get your book into catalogs. You can create your own catalog of books, enter your book into catalogs produced by your publisher and/or your authors’ organizations and seek out catalogs related to the theme of your book. Here are a couple of mail order catalog directory sites. http://www.catalogs.com and http://www.catalogcentral.com
• Engage in piggyback marketing. Find an author with a book that compliments yours. When you send out a book order, include their promotional material and ask them to include yours with their shipments.
• Bundle your book. Arrange with another author to purchase a carton of their books at a discounted rate to sell along with your book at a special purchase price. Advertise the “book bundle” opportunity at your website. You might offer compatible books that would normally sell at $39.95 total for $32.00, for example.
• Locate appropriate blogsites and volunteer to be a guest blogger or to participate in an online interview. Your blog or your interview would appear at the blog site along with information about your book.
While I strongly urge authors to become assertively proactive when it comes to promoting their books, I realize that there are people who just don’t have it in them to do so. To those of you who can’t mentally or physically promote your books in any sort of big way, I suggest that you lower your expectations. You probably won’t experience anything but the pleasure of authorship and only mild success. If you want more, you will have to grow enormously and expand on your skills and abilities.
If you fear the very thought of speaking in public or even talking to a coworker about your book, you really ought to take steps to overcome this obstacle. Join a Toastmasters Club near you, for example. http://www.toastmasters.org and then practice, practice, practice. You’ll achieve much more in authorship as well as in life if you are willing to step outside your comfort zone.
If you have a book in the works or you are struggling to promote one, be sure to order my latest book. It has 12 five-star reviews at Amazon.com. “Promote Your Book, Over 250 Proven, Low-Cost Tips and Techniques for the Enterprising Author.” http://amzn.to/oe56Ia
A very helpful post and you’re so generous to share your ideas. Thank you.