3 Ways to Sell Limitless Amounts of Books

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It’s easy to write a book, it is hard to sell it. But hard does not mean that it cannot be done. It just means you have to find creative ways to do it. I love what Beethoven once said, “The boundaries are not yet fixed which shall call out to talent and industry, thus far and no further.” My spin on that quote, you are limited only by your imagination, nothing else can set a boundary on your accomplishments. With that in mind I would like to present 3 tips that will make your ability to market your book limitless.

ONE

Work from the standpoint that if you were inspired to write the book, then there is someone in the world waiting to read the book. Do you realize that we are truly in a global community? Do you realize that there are commonalities between all ethnicities no matter where they are in the world?

People want to be entertained, informed, helped, developed, educated and inspired. If you are gifted enough to write in those areas the globe is your marketplace. Find your niche. I will never forget the day I got my first international letter from Japan. I was elated and remember thinking, “How did my book get that far?” But it did. My next global encounter was from Dubai, then Scotland, then Africa, then Switzerland and the Virgin Islands. This will continue to grow. Don’t limit yourself to the country of your origin.

You might ask how did those people find you? I made it my business to share consistently in any means possible. I used television, radio, social media, blogging, seminars, teaching classes within the community, guest speaking requests and people referred me because they knew my workmanship. Find what works for you. Those ways work well for me because I multitask well. You might just enjoy public speaking or blogging. Whatever it is dedicate yourself to it and your book business will grow.

TWO

Don’t wait for things to happen. Make them happen. Most new authors have the wrong idea when it comes to book marketing. They are waiting to be discovered. They think that if their book gets set up for distribution, a large audience of buyers will find their book. Not typically so. You make things happened so that you can be discovered. You are discovered through action, not inaction. Here are some things you can do to get discovered:

  • List your book on Goodreads and enter a give away
  • Get involved with the Book Buzzer program
  • Have a Twitter party
  • Get active in podcast interviews
  • Create a podcast
  • Become known as a book reviewer and tag all reviews with information about your book
  • Create a video that becomes viral
  • Speak publically
  • Have a buy button on page one of your website
  • Put widgets everywhere that is appropriate
  • When you do things like this, you are literally driving people to your book.

THREE

Make it your business to build relationships. I had the opportunity to interview Mike Muhney. He created the industry for content management through developing ACT! Symantec later bought out that industry tool. He is currently about to start another revolution through VIPorbit. I mention his credentials because if anyone knows how to reach the global market, it would be him and Bill Gates, and former Steve Jobs.

He spoke of how our society has become voyeuristic when it comes to meeting people. That social media is often all about me and people fail to see the importance of getting to know people in a way that matters. Authors are so busy tweeting and using Face Book and constantly growing likes and numbers that they forget why they are doing these efforts. The focus shifts, and it becomes a numbers game instead of reaching out to people and developing a quality relationship. The end goal needs to be more than about selling your book. It needs to be about the journey of your life and how you can impact those around you. As you become more concerned with the needs of people, the book will find a path for it self. Mike said that our goal should be to develop priceless relationships.

I also read a book and interviewed Linda Ballesteros, who has the same sentiments in her book, Your Pot of Gold is A Handshake Away. She stressed how important it is to get involved with people and leave your ulterior motives behind. According to Ballesteros, this is the ultimate form of networking. She said you must connect with people that resonate with you. Those will be the ones that will support your work, and you must target those people. In her estimation, networking (social or traditional) is so much more than “cashing in”. What is critical is developing relationships so that people want to engage with you in a personal way. Obtaining their business or book purchase will be a natural result of the quality relationship that you have developed with them. They will engage with you, when you develop that priceless relationship.

I would encourage you again, think global, make things happen, and develop long term, quality relationships. Have a purpose for your social media that goes beyond likes and numbers. Get involved with people’s journey in life where they can see that what you have to offer benefits them. This will help you to sell books beyond measure.

Linda Leon is the owner of www.bookmarketingprofessionals.com. She is also the author of the upcoming books Rock Star Marketing and Publishing and Publicity for Smart People. She also hosts Book That Author on blogtalkradio.com. Feel free to join Linda @lindaleontweets.

photo credit: EJP Photo via photopin cc

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