You want to write a book – a very
exciting and challenging undertaking. Good for you. You
have a great book idea – an idea that you believe needs
to be in print. You believe that other people have an
interest in what you have to say. You believe that many
people will buy your book, and if you do the job of
writing correctly, many people WILL buy your book.
It is your dream to have your book
in every bookstore in the country, perhaps even in
several countries. But wait, have you planned beyond
bookstore sales? Many authors are unaware that there are
many markets for books beyond the bookstores. The
bookstores may be your first market, but there are many
other “hidden” markets, and here are some key
book marketing tips
to help you tap into those markets.
Let’s begin with the job of writing
the book. When you put “pen to paper”, it is important
that you focus on one audience but write for many
markets. Let’s begin by identifying why you are
writing a book. Some people merely want to be a
published author, giving them claim to a copyright and
their name on a book. That is satisfaction enough. They
don’t care about the financial return or the development
of writing or publishing as a career. Other people just
want to write a family history and sell it to their
extended family. Some people are interested only in
selling to the attendees of their seminars. Many others,
however, want to sell thousands of books in as many
markets as possible. Decide at the beginning of the
writing process why you are writing so that you can
determine whether or not you are creating a business
venture.
Once you have established your reason
for writing, move on to what you are writing
about. Don’t try to be all things to all people or the
encyclopedic source of all information on a subject.
Choose an area of a subject with which you are very
familiar and develop your topic well so that you don’t
overwhelm or bore your readers. For instance, if you are
writing a cookbook, don’t try to be The Joy of
Cooking – that’s already been done. Instead, write
about a category of recipes, such as heritage recipes,
or recipes of a region or culture, or recipes from
famous restaurants, etc. Your goal is to make your book
different, and better, than other cookbooks.
Having now decided on the why and the
what, focus on the who, meaning who will buy your
book. You believe that many people will be interested in
your book, but let’s define “many”. Do you mean all of
the people in your interest group, your church or your
workplace, or do you mean everyone? A word of caution,
though - there is NO book that is for everyone. Sure,
everyone may need your book but not everyone will want
it. If your book is a healthy lifestyle cookbook,
everyone might need it, but only people who actually
want to be healthy will buy it. Do some research on who
those people are and where they are likely to actually
buy your book. Understand their demographics: age group,
income level, shopping habits, activities, etc. Now
write for them. What information are your target readers
looking for? Is their a gap in the information about a
subject that is very familiar to you or in which you
have the credentials to fill the gap? Make sure that
your book solves a problem or problems for the reader,
or make sure that your book will increase the well being
of the reader. Avoid falling into the trap of writing to
make yourself feel better – you are not the one who will
buy your book. Or if you are, you are the only buyer
that you will have!
The why, what and who now being
defined, you can turn your attention to the where
you can sell your book. Because there are many markets
for books, decide early in the writing process just what
those markets are and write to sell your book in those
markets.
It is likely that the first market
that will come to mind is traditional book stores, and
of course they can be a vital part of your sales. Do
your research in getting to know your competition on the
book store shelves, i.e., look at the other books that
have been written in your genre. What writing style is
most appealing to a wide audience? Is there a gap in the
information provided in the other books? Are there
problems that have not been addressed? Find the needs
and fill them. When you are satisfied with the
information that you are providing, think about what
will attract the book store buyers. They will want to
know about your planned publicity campaign. If you want
people to buy your book in book stores, you are
responsible for letting people know that your book is
available, thereby driving buyers to the stores.
Besides book stores, books are
purchased in the nontraditional book market by
display retailers, book clubs, catalogs, gift retailers,
volume buyers (think Costco and Price Club),
corporations, foundations and foreign markets.
These markets are considered
“hidden” because they exist outside the usual bookstore
market, yet they account for many millions of dollars
each year in book sales. In fact, we sell thousands of
books to buyers like these every year (for more about
our
Book Marketing tips and secrets
click here:
Book Marketing Tips).
These markets, however, do not buy
any and every book. They are looking for books that
appeal to their customers.
For instance, if you are writing a
book about spiritual experiences, think about which of
those markets will likely buy your book. Will you
approach
book clubs?
If yes, which book clubs – those that specialize in
spiritual books only, or those that market to the
general public? Will you approach the gift market or
catalogs? Each market evaluates its purchases for its
own clientele. Book clubs that target the religious book
reader have a greater interest in spiritual books than
do general interest book clubs. Volume buyers, catalogs
and gift buyers (unless they target a religious market),
display retailers and corporations will very seldom buy
a spiritual book. Foreign markets, however, are often
very interested.
Even if your book is written for the
general book trade, you can still think of corporations
that might be able to use your book as a promotional
item. Make a list of corporations that could be
interested in your book and make sure that your writing
supports their products or philosophy, and that what you
are writing about will solve some problems for the
corporate clients. For instance, one cookbook was
targeted at busy people who want to follow a healthy
lifestyle. It became a bestseller very quickly in the
traditional book trade, but sales exploded when it was
sold to pharmaceutical companies who used the book as
support information for clients who needed to achieve a
healthy weight. The book also sold successfully in
foreign markets, to catalogs, as fund raisers and to
shopping malls as a customer reward.
The point is: you need to know how to
slant your writing for your markets. You can sometimes
get around the road blocks by giving your book the look
and feel of a gift book rather than one that is a
“serious read”. Don’t give your book the look and feel
of a thesis. Many volume buyers are looking for broad
interest books that people buy on impulse as gifts. This
approach to writing increases your market tremendously,
so if you want to appeal to a very large audience,
approach your subject from a much “lighter” angle.
However, if you are a professional
speaker who knows that you have a very good chance of
selling your book to your seminar attendees, and perhaps
to the corporations who hire you, writing for a very
broad market is not necessary. You are not even trying
to sell to the impulse buyer. Your buyer is already
looking for a source of expertise such as yours.
If you are planning to sell your book
primarily from a website to a specific type of buyer,
someone who is searching the internet for answers to a
concern or problem, you can be as specific as you like.
The general public, again in this instance, is not your
market – you already have enough buyers to make you very
successful.
So, before you begin the writing process, make an
outline of your book. Then, look at your list of
potential buyers. Have you filled their needs? If not,
can you add information or chapters to your book that
will increase the likelihood of sales to those buyers?
If you want to sell thousands of books, think about the
end user of your book and write for them, not for
yourself. That is the ultimate
book marketing tip.
See you on the bestseller list!
