Book-Marketing Tip of the Week – July 28, 2014

Focus on getting people to buy rather than selling to them. This may seem like a minor difference, and it may just be a matter of degree. But today's business buyers are more astute than those of the past. They are not simply looking for ways to reduce costs, but how to create value for their organizations.

 

Discover what the customer needs -- which will probably be some combination of products and services -- then describe how you can help improve revenues, margins or brand image. Add value to their way of doing business. For example, you may be trying to sell a barbeque cookbook to buyers at Lowe's or Home Depot. They do not want to sell cookbooks as much as they want to sell high-priced, more profitable barbeque grills. So you could sell your cookbook by demonstrating to them how it could be used as en enticement to get people to buy the grills. They could use your book – rather than sell it – by giving one away with each grill purchased. This is the concept of cross merchandising.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Week – July 21, 2014

It is not necessary to choose between marketing to traditional-bookstore or to special-sales markets. It makes good sense to do both. If you already have distribution to bookstores and your books are listed on Amazon.com, do not abandon those outlets in search of non-bookstore markets. All How To Make Real Money Selling Books suggests is that you keep an open mind and look for new places in which to sell your books.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Week – July 14, 2014

Create a feeling of trust in you and your books so people can buy from you with confidence that you will solve their problem through your content and post-sale service.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Week – July 7, 2014

 When you perform on the air, you may tell people to go to the bookstore to buy your book. But when the buyers get there, they see your title among all your competitors' titles. On the other hand, when you make a sales call on corporations, government agencies or association directors you have the buyers' undivided attention. Most likely, no other author or publisher has tried to contact them.