Have You Thought of Selling Your Book to Non-Traditional Buyers?

Here's How to Do it.

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The book industry is changing, perhaps subtly and slowly now, but it may do a flip in the not too distant future. Publishers need to be prepared to change their marketing strategies. Reliance on book stores must be replaced by target marketing – selling to non-traditional avenues where companies buy books to use in their own marketing programs. Book stores continue to close as people find other sources for their books.


You may not be aware that Ink Tree has an Affiliate who searches out non-traditional buyers for books. There are many, many places to sell books other than to retail buyers, whether bricks-and-mortar book stores or internet locations.


Ink Tree has aligned with an Affiliate who works with a team of over 5000 commissioned sales representatives who search out special, large volume buyers. The price of the program is so incredibly cheap that it’s almost embarrassing, and for Ink Tree clients there is a $25.00 discount!!


The special-sales program has been in effect for just over a year now. Together, we entered an established industry where commissioned sales people have been selling promotional products to buyers in corporations, associations, schools and government agencies and other non-retail buyers for many years.


There is one competitor in this field, so our Affiliate had to spend time initially establishing his name and differentiating himself from them, and he has been working on doing that. As a "newbie," he had to convince the buyers that he is the best source of books and he is now well on the way to accomplishing this.

If you have already signed up for his program, you should take pride in the fact that you were a pioneer by doing that - you registered for a listing in a catalog that went to 5,000 sales people, and a listing on the website. You also entered it knowing that your set-up fee was an annual charge. Well, things have changed - for the better - and since you joined, these programs are now at no additional cost to you:



· The annual charge is now a one-time fee. You will have no more charges for as long as your title is in print, unless you choose to enter some of the other programs available through this program.


· Our Affiliate has joined ASI, giving access to their 65,000 sales people through the ESP custom search engine. This system is similar to Google®, except that it is available only to ASI members and every listing is a product that could be used as a corporate premium. Our Affiliate is now the largest provider of books to the promotional products industry.


· The Showcase schedule has been expanded to include exhibiting at the ASI regional shows that attract about 15,000 sales people to each one. In addition, if you choose to have your book displayed there you are also welcome to attend and conduct a book signing. The next ASI event is in May in New York City.


· Now added are programs for selling fiction, children's books and remainders as well as the corporate library program.


· A section for speakers has been added, and the Affiliate acts as a speaker’s bureau without taking a percentage of your speaking fee if there are books sales in conjunction with the presentation.


· More plans are in the works to provide you with even more value. And all this for only $200.



How do the reps use the catalog?

The catalog is only one part of the program and it is sent to about 5000 sales reps, not to potential buyers. The reps are promotional-products salespeople who are experienced in personal selling, and they already have relationships with their customers. The reps go through the catalog, choose the titles they believe are appropriate for their customers, prepare a proposal with recommendations on how the books could be used, make the presentation and negotiate the sale.



What feedback do I get?

That is probably the most frequent question we get, and the answer is "none unless and until the reps get a bite." The reps are independent sales people and do not respond to the Affiliate’s calls for feedback unless they need information. But no news is not necessarily bad news. It is simply no news. The sales people are out there every day calling on their buyers, selling the products that they have in their bag - including your book.



Why haven't you sold any of my books?

While we have sold books so far, the answer to that question is, "It is too soon for most sales to occur." It takes months - if not years - to close large-quantity sales because the selling process is more involved in special markets than in the trade. It can take significant time for the sales people to go through the catalog, work their territories, prepare proposals for their customers, make presentations, do follow up, negotiate the sale and close the order. In addition, they have to work within the prospects' budgets and marketing plans. There are times when a sale seems imminent and then the decision-maker is promoted or leaves the company. The rep has to start all over again with his or her replacement. You have heard us say before, this is a marathon, not a sprint.



Commissioned sales people build their businesses by creating and nurturing relationships with product suppliers and their existing and potential buyers. That is why we spend (and continue to spend) considerable time and money creating awareness of, and confidence in, the special sales program. If you also factor in that the 2009 promotional products industry was 40% below 2008's sales, you can get a better idea of the business environment in which we compete.



All we at Ink Tree have to say is, where was this service years ago? Just kidding. We are absolutely thrilled that we can now offer this service to you at the amazingly cheap price of $200.00 less your discount - but only if you are an Ink Tree client, i.e., you have already purchased our Ultimate Book Marketing Kit or you are a member of our Foreign Rights Program. We want to offer this special opportunity only to people who understand the publishing industry and the efforts required to find markets for books. Please do not ask us for further details or about the contract. Those issues will be between you and the Affiliate, whom you can find on our home page at www.inktreemarketing.com. Just check the top right hand corner under "news" when you go to our website.



We wish you great success in your publishing efforts.


© Copyright 2004 Ink Tree Ltd.

Ink Tree Ltd. helps authors publish, market and sell books. We have all the tools you need to succeed in book publishing. Let us help you make your book a success. http://www.inktreemarketing.com

**See our Book Marketing Tips and Secrets page for more information on non-traditional book sales. Click Here**