Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 30, 2018

You've heard, "Ask and you shall receive." But you have to ask the right question to receive what you want. Google founders Page and Brin didn't ask, "How can we create a search engine?" They asked, "How do we organize the entire world's information and make it accessible and useful?" Don't ask, "How can I write a great book?" Ask, "How can I deliver a message that will help my readers transform their lives?"

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 29, 2018

News you can use: Bookworms are actually beetles. They proliferate in libraries where dust, dirt, heat, darkness and poor ventilation are prevalent. The mature female lays her eggs on the edges of books or in the crevices of bookshelves, and when hatched the larvae burrow into the books (from the book, "That's A Fact Jack!" by Harry Bright).

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 28, 2018

You don't control your sales and revenue. Sales and revenue targets are influenced by manipulating the marketing tools over which you have complete control. These are generally referred to as the Four Ps of marketing: the Product and its Price, Place (distribution) and Promotion.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 27, 2018

"Writers can be more successful if they frame original ideas as a fresh combination of two familiar successes using a high-concept pitch – like 'It's Romeo and Juliet on a sinking ship (Titanic)." Derek Thompson

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 26, 2018

Turn up the temperature when negotiating -- literally. "Research participants in a warm room (versus a cool but not uncomfortable one) were more likely to say they would buy the TV remote preferred by most of the other participants." (Harvard Business Review)

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 26, 2018

"When they invented papyrus, someone probably said, 'Storytelling was so good. Why did we have to go and put it on papyrus?' But one thing doesn't change: it's the story that counts. The medium doesn't matter."  Eric Cable 

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 25, 2018

Your books will have unique and different value for each segment in which you participate. Retail stores are interested in building store traffic, inventory turns or increasing profitability. These matters have no impact on librarians who want to help their patrons. Corporate buyers want to increase their sales or train employees. Associations want non-dues revenue. Show your prospective buyers how they can reach their objectives with your book.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 24, 2018

What do you need to succeed in book publishing? Your first thought may be money, particularly OPM -- Other People's Money. However, that is not as critical as you may think. Money will come when you do everything else right. The most important attributes that lead to success cannot be purchased. Here are the Top 10 "Must Haves" for success in book publishing: 1) information, 2) skills, 3) contacts, 4) plans, 5) ideas, 6) accountability, 7) feedback, 8) camaraderie, 9) persistence, and 10) resources. The Association of Publishers for Special Sales (APSS) can help you have a meeting of the minds. Learn more at  www.bookapss.org/APSSMastermindGroups.docv

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 22, 2018

Guess the real title: A Readers Digest example of a new headline for a classic book: Romanian man discovers shocking new fact about garlic. You will never go on a raw-food diet again! (Dracula)

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 21, 2018

A tip for picking a name for your company (or book title) is to test it in a Google Adwords or Facebook campaign before you take it live. (Fortune)

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 20, 2018

A mini case history on special sales: I (Brian Jud) wrote a job-search book and tried to sell it to college students. It was too much for them to read, and $14.95 was too much to spend. I converted each chapter (prospecting, resumes, cover letters, interviewing, etc) into a 32-page booklet and sold them to colleges. They paid me $.50 each if they bought 10,000 or more, and then gave them to the students. My unit cost was about $.10 when printing 100,000 at a time. I only made $ .40 on each booklet, but a sale to one college was worth about $4000 to me. Many colleges bought them.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 19, 2018

"The only writer to whom you should compare yourself is the writer you were yesterday."  David Schlosser

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 16, 2018

Spend 30 minutes per day on self-improvement. How much better off would you be now with 182.5 more hours of self-improvement in 2017?

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 15, 2018

"Most people tune in to a broadcast to hear more of something they already know. Radio audiences can't anticipate what the next song will be. But people mostly just want to hear songs they recognize. DJs consider unfamiliar songs (or singers) to be tune-outs because audiences tend to spurn new music. They listeners want to be surprised -- that's why they listen to the radio rather than a CD or playlist—but they want to be surprised by the feeling of familiarity." Derek Thompson, Hit Makers

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 14, 2018

A trip to a bookstore (bricks or clicks) offers buyers a choice among many similar products of the same size and shape. Your carefully crafted communication may become indistinguishable, and consumers may base their decision solely on price. Use your promotional tools to differentiate your content and brand -- be unique and valuable. Or, call on non-retail buyers (in corporations, associations) where yours may the only book under consideration.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 13, 2018

How can you hook people to learn more about your book? An example is what TV people say: "How many feet of snow will we have tomorrow? Find out after this break." People stick around because it's important to them to know.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 11, 2018

What does your book do? Say it in one sentence: (Title) helps (your target readers) who want (problem they want to solve) get (the reward they seek). Example: "How to Make Real Money Selling Books" helps authors and publishers who want to make more money get greater profits with non-returnable sales to non-retail buyers.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 11, 2018

Learn to speed read and increase your EyeQ advantage. Almost one million titles were published last year. If you are in the top 1% of adult readers, you are reading a book a week - and you are still getting way behind. Become an avid – but selective -- reader. One of the many benefits of being a voracious reader is that when you meet people you may be conversant about things in which they are interested. This could increase your chance of making a positive connection when meeting with a prospective buyer.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 10, 2018

Do you hit the bull's-eye every time you shoot? If so you are probably standing too close to the target. As comedian Woody Allen puts it, "If you're not failing every now and then it's a sign you're not doing anything innovative." Everyone has a risk muscle. You keep it in shape by trying new things. If you don't, it atrophies and may no longer be able to take chances. How can you exercise your risk muscle? One way is to sell your books to non-bookstore buyers.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 9, 2018

You may get rejected a lot in special sales. "The Wall Street Journal" quoted Laura Landro with five recommendations to Build Up Your Resilience: 1) Break the negative self-talk habit, 2) Find a sanctuary, 3) Smile, listen, ask questions, 4) Take a walk with co-workers, 5) Write down three things you are grateful for every day.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 8, 2018

Do you play not to lose or play to win? Those who play not to lose (vs. play to win) in the book-marketing game sell books where everyone else does (only in bookstores). They are more risk averse and like to maintain the status quo. A bad review may evoke a rebuke of the reviewer, which is like blaming the scale if it reports a weight gain. They are prevention-focused, promoting through more conventional means such as book-signing events. Press-release headlines are written to "not rock the boat" and thereby lose their attention-getting qualities. These "play-not-to-losers" are more likely to publish through print-on-demand. While not wrong, its high unit cost and lack of return-ability reduce or eliminate the potential for sales, revenue and profits through retailers.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 7, 2018

News you can use: Bookworms are actually beetles. They proliferate in libraries where dust, dirt, heat, darkness and poor ventilation are prevalent. The mature female lays her eggs on the edges of books or in the crevices of bookshelves, and when hatched the larvae burrow into the books (from the book,"That's A Fact Jack!" by Harry Bright).

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 6, 2018

Malcolm Gladwell said, "Goliath lost because it never occurred to him that the battle could be fought on anything other than his own terms. The lesson is that victory is yours when you surprise your opponent." The lesson for us when selling books is to be creative when making our proposals to corporate buyers. Do the unexpected. For example, corporate buyers may ask you to pay a penalty if the book shipment is late. You will catch them off guard if you immediately agree, but ask for a bonus if delivered on time.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 5, 2018

Negotiating a large book sale with a corporate buyer requires some of the same skills as playing poker. You need a little chutzpah, the creativity to recognize alternatives, the ability to assess odds, the willingness to take calculated risks and bluffing when necessary. But unlike poker, selling is not a winner-take-all game. Manage the emotional tenor of a negotiating session to bring it to a win-win conclusion.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 4, 2018

 What did Renaissance kings do to break out of the groupthink environment their "yes-men" advisors created? They asked a "fool." It was the fool's job to reframe any proposal under discussion to make it appear in a fresh light and reverse the common perception of a situation. Example: "If a man is sitting backwards on a horse, why do we assume that it's the man who is backwards and not the horse?" Result: he dislodged people's assumptions and allowed them to see things from a different perspective. What would the fool say about your idea?

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 3, 2018

Some people don't like April because it contains April Fool's Day, Friday the 13th and five Mondays 😊

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 2, 2018

Three strategies for hitting short-term sales targets in non-traditional markets. 1) Targeted marketing. Communicate directly with buyers to remind or inform them of how well the information in your book can benefit them in some way. 2) Product redesign. You may need to change the delivery of your information to an ebook, booklet or a seminar. 3) New product development. If sales of your current product line languish, replace exiting titles or extend your product line. Line extensions can be made into one category (Chicken Soup for the Soul books), or into several categories such as Weight-Watchers services, books, magazines and foods.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 1, 2018

What is the origin of April Fool's Day? Up until 1564, the French celebrated New Year's between March 25 and April 1, but with the introduction of the new Gregorian calendar the festival was moved to January1. Those who resisted became the victims of pranks including invitations to nonexistent New Year's parties on April 1. Soon the April 1 celebration of a non-occasion became an annual festival of hoaxes. (The Little Book of Answers, Doug Lennox)