In the first article of this series, we made the case for possibly writing a book, discussing the boost it can give your credibility, which is especially important if you're a consultant or speaker.
It's "better than a business card," is how new author and eBay expert John Lawson put it. Here, we'll discuss how to market and promote that book once you've written it.
Yes, you'll help promote
Marketing and promoting used to be the publisher's job. Brad wrote a book in the early 1990s and, along with one submittal, made some marketing suggestions to his editor. He was told, "You handle the writing and leave the marketing to us."
Publishers not only want their authors to help promote their own books, they expect it
It's difficult to fathom a publisher saying that today. Publishers not only want their authors to help promote their own books, they expect it.
If you can't make the case to a publisher that you have the ability to do so, you may very well not get a contract, (assuming your last name isn't Clinton or Obama, or your first name isn't Beyoncé).
Helping to market your book applies whether you publish your book yourself, or work with a publisher. It's even more important that you have a marketing plan if you've published it yourself. The potential rewards (e.g., royalties) are greater (as are the risks).
If an established publisher publishes your book, and sells only 2,500 of 5,000 copies, in the end that's the publisher's problem. You won't have to pay the publisher back for those 2,500 unsold books. The publisher will eventually remainder them, selling them for pennies on the dollar, and that's that.
But if you've paid to have 2,000 copies of your book self-published and are stuck with 1,500 copies in your garage, that cost is on you. Publishing on demand and e-publishing lessens this risk, but no matter what route you take, you better be ready to trade your writer's hat for a marketer's.
How's your 'platform'?
These days editors are obsessed with what sort of "platform" a prospective author brings to the table. By that they mean the number of people you can reach through social media and even old-school media such as TV, radio, and newspapers. If you don't have a robust platform, you'll need to develop one.
That means cultivating followers on Twitter, using Pinterest and Instagram, writing a compelling blog, skillfully using LinkedIn, and putting Facebook's marketing might to work.
These days editors are obsessed with what sort of 'platform' a prospective author brings to the table. By that they mean the number of people you can reach
Sound like a lot of work? It is. And if you're not up for it, perhaps you shouldn't consider writing a book. What's the point if you don't get the finished product in the hands of readers?
Building a strong social media platform is beyond the scope of this article, but there are plenty of other articles (and, yes, books) on the topic. We're going to concentrate on other things you should (and perhaps shouldn't do) to help market and promote your book.
Skip the book signings
These can be great for your ego, but frankly unless you're well known, it's likely few people will show up.
We don't recommend putting much effort into these.
The payback is rarely there. We've had only a handful of people show up at some of our book signings (even those arranged for by bookstores), and sometimes we sold only one or two books.
Make the most of speaking engagements
As mentioned, having a book published will help you get more engagements if you're already a speaker, and if you're not doing much speaking yet, your book will help open that door for you.
Now here's the best way to make money as an author doing speaking engagements: Don't simply refer your audience to your website or Amazon to buy copies of your book. Sell them copies of your book yourself after the event.
This is a no brainier if you've self-published. But it's just as important if you've gone with a publisher. Almost every book contract will give the author the right to buy back copies of his own book at a significant discount.
For simplicity's sake let's say your book retails for $20. Your publisher may allow you to buy copies at a 50 percent discount. (The more copies you commit to buying, the greater the discount). So those books cost you $10 each. You can sell them for $17 or so at your events (still offering a discount because after all everyone has heard of Amazon). You pocket $7 on every sale.
That compares to the more typical royalty of 15 percent on net after discounts, which for a $20 book leaves an author with a paltry $1.50 per book. And that's only if the book has "earned out," meaning any money advanced to the author by the publisher has been completely repaid through sales.
Don't simply refer your audience to your website or Amazon to buy copies of your book. Sell them copies of your book yourself after the event
Encourage people to buy your book
Another thing to keep in mind when you're selling your own book is that authors are normally entitled to a number of free copies of their book. This will not be a large number. For the average author, say 10 to 25 copies at best.
Once you've sent copies to Mom, Dad, your siblings, etc., you'll still be left with copies you can sell (but don't intrude on the publisher's normal sales channels like Amazon, and try to sell them as a third-party seller. Some contracts now preclude you from doing that).
Oh, and except for those very few relatives, politely encourage people to actually buy your book. It's surprising how many people think authors have stacks of their books to give away!
Write articles
When we wrote our first eBay PowerSellers' book, we were fortunate enough to work with a savvy editor at McGraw-Hill. One of the things she insisted we do was to write articles for publications aimed at our likely readers. We did.
We wrote a series of articles for what was then AuctionBytes and they definitely helped sales of our book.
These days there are more opportunities than ever to write articles, blogs entries, etc., on the topic of your book. Your publisher's publicist may route some of these opportunities to you, and you can find some on your own, too. Few editors will turn away content. Just make sure the payback is there. It's one thing to write a piece for PARADE Magazine (circulation 20 million) whether you're paid for it or not. It's quite another to write one for a blog with a circulation in the hundreds.
Join the conversation
This gets into social media territory, which is beyond this article's scope, but it's worth touching on just one important point. As an author, you're now viewed as an expert.
These days there are more opportunities than ever to write articles, blogs entries, etc., on the topic of your book
You did follow our advice in Part 1 and wrote a book that actually brings something new to the world, right?
So, as you're reading blogs pertaining to your book's subject, comment and include a hyperlink to your book. But make sure you actually add something important to the conversation and don't simply plug your book. That can backfire.
Ask for reviews
Another thing that smart editor told us was that Amazon reviews are important, very important.
You'll notice that most Amazon best-sellers have a lot of reviews. Avoid the temptation to solicit reviews from friends and family members who haven't even read your book. Potential buyers can see through these planted commentaries.
However, if someone writes you and says he or she found your book useful, there's nothing wrong with asking that person to share his or her thoughts on Amazon. If you send the link that takes the person right to the review page for your book, you have made his or her job that much easier.
We've only touched on the ways you can promote your book. Other opportunities include webinars, and collating a list of key media contacts for your publisher. The point is that few authors can afford to just be authors these days. They have to be marketers, too. Marketing and promoting isn't easy, either, but like writing, the more you do it the better you become at it.