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When new publishers think of selling their books, they often think of book stores, and so they should. Book stores are still an important part of our society. They are a place to search out best sellers, to browse for interesting titles, to find gifts that have great meaning to the recipient, and just to relax. Book stores are quiet, calming places that have something of interest for everyone.
However, for publishers, there are numerous other places to sell books - usually in much greater quantities than book stores buy.
The trick to selling to non-traditional book buyers is in knowing your target market. You have to know to whom your book is appealing, and then in knowing which segments of that target market will most likely actually spend the money to buy your title. There is no point in pursuing a group of buyers that will not benefit from the contents of your book.
Having a clear idea of who will actually buy your book now narrows your search for buyers. One place that publishers often overlook is catalogs - a potentially huge market. There is a catalog for almost anything you can think of. To make your search for an appropriate catalog a bit easier, there are catalogs of catalogs such as www.catalogs.com and www.catalogofcatalogs.com. It is a bit of a chore initially sifting through the variety of options, but you will eventually find those that match your genre.
The real work begins, then, in searching each website for submission guidelines. Expect to give discounts of 50% to 80%, depending on the quanitity of books purchased. Remember to sell only on a non-returnable basis. You don't want to take back damaged goods.
Catalogs should be part of your marketing plan. Cash in on this lucrative source of buyers.
Denise
www.inktreemarketing.com
www.publishacookbook.com
We are asked this question over and over: How do I sell my book?
The answer is very complicated yet very simple. The core issues are:
- why did you write the book?
- who is your target market?
Until you have a very clear understanding of those two issues, you will just spin your wheels. You won't have a clear goal for your publishing business nor will you have any idea who will actually buy your book.
You probably think that "everyone" will buy the book, everyone is a large target. It's like using a bow and arrow to shoot somewhere near the target but not even close to the bull's eye. You will never win using that approach. You need to aim directly at the center if you want any hope of hitting the winning spot.
So before you go any further with your marketing plans, analyse the core issues, write down your responses and then focus on where and how to hit the target.
Denise
www.inktreemarketing.com
www.publishacookbook.com
Writing a good news release is one of the trickiest aspects of marketing a book. If the news release isn't amazing, literally meaning that it must amaze the recipient, it is worthless. Media persons receive countless news releases every day. If yours doesn't "grab" the reader instantly, the news release will make a quick trip to the recycle bin.
You must ensure that your news release is a keeper. How not to make it a keeper? - write a headline that states that you have written a new book. Who cares? You and thousands of others have written new books. So what?
You have to sell the media on your book. You need to ensure that your news release headline is news - real news.
We can help you. Check the newsletter archives on our website. For actual help, we offer FREE online coaching to our clients and we will help you.
If you think that education is expensive (and we are ridiculously cheap), think of the cost of ignorance.
Denise
www.inktreemarketing.com
www.publishacookbook.com
So, another vacation has come and gone - oh, too soon. It was glorious. Hot, hot and hotter weather every day (who says it doesn't get hot in Canada?). How did we cope? Pool, pool, pool and more pool time (and a few frosty adult beverages). The time flew by and now we are happily back at home and at work. Vacations would be boring if we had them every day, although it would be interesting to try....
Anyway, reading is an essential part of vacations - at least it is a necessity on my vacations. I always take a bigger stack of books and magazines than I can finish but it's fun and a challenge to get through as many as possible.
There is an essential criteria, though. If I read part of a book but find that it really is not "grabbing" my interest, I have decided, without guilt, to move on to something else. My time is too valuable to force myself to read a book just because I started it.
On my vacation there were a couple of books that just did not work for me. In the past I might have persevered but fortunately,with age, comes some wisdom. Some books just went to the recycle bin while others were wonderfully entertaining companions.
Reading is so important that most of us even include it in our precious leisure time, so what we read had better be good.
I guess that it's time to start planning the next holiday....
Denise
www.inktreemarketing.com
www.publishacookbook.com
