Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – August 31, 2018

Did you notice that the word playwright is not spelled w-r-i-t-e, but w-r-i-g-h-t? A playwright is a maker, like a wheelwright who crafts wheels. A playwright crafts plays.  

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

What is the origin of the phrase, "tabloid journalism"? On March 4, 1884, A British drug company registered the word tabloid for a very small tablet it was marketing. About the same time, large broadsheet newspapers were challenged by small-format journals, and because tabloid had come to mean anything small, that's what the new papers were called. These tabloids often resorted to gossip instead of hard news, which gave sloppy reporting the name "tabloid journalism."

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

3 ways to build your business: 1) marketing & sales, 2) hiring the right people, and 3) mergers & acquisitions. APSS (www.bookapss.org) can help with #1

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

"Italic typeface conveys a perception of quality," reports the BBC. Their study found that a wine labeled with a difficult-to-read script was liked more by drinkers than the same wine carrying a label using a simpler typeface.

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

The most desired piece of real estate on your sales literature is at the upper right because that is where eyes tend to be drawn first. If you place your most expensive product or service there (your workshop at $295), everything else looks like a relative bargain (your book at $29.95).

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

A Cornell study found that people notice bold listings 42% more than plain type when they read, and that the artful use of adjectives increased sales by up to 27%. Use that information when describing your novel as a thrilling, compelling odyssey.

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

Prices ending with a 9, such as 9.99, "tend to signify value, but not quality," says the New York Times. When pricing your book, go with .95  

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

Planning is important as a first step, but shouldn't consume an inordinate amount of time, especially for a start-up. Focus on your customers, then start on your path in a considered direction. Then experiment, evaluate and iterate.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – August 23, 2018

Richard Branson on failure: "My mother always taught me never to look back in regret, but to move on to the next thing. The amount of time people waste dwelling on failures rather than putting that energy into another project always amazes me." Try selling to non-bookstore buyers, and your sales may take flight.

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

Beginning today, the New York Public Library is posting classic novels and short stories to its account on Instagram.  The new service is dubbed Insta Novels and will be available to all Instagram users. The NYPL wants to encourage reading and demonstrate that "libraries are changing with the times." (Wall Street Journal, August 22, p A10A)

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

Special-sales marketing simplified: Your buyers seek solutions to problems; your content helps them solve their problems. Show them how. And it makes no difference to them if the solution comes in a printed book, an ebook, a booklet or a seminar.

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

Sometimes we get so caught up with "hardware" and "software" that we forget "peopleware." The right human expertise (combined with your content) can make a business or process run more smoothly and successfully.

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

Laura Linney on failure: "As the late great Jack Lemmon once said, 'Failure seldom stops you. What stops you is the fear of failure.' You will never achieve a deeper understanding of your work, or learn the tough lessons, if you are liked or comfortable all the time." Try selling your books to non-bookstore buyers and you could turn your lemons into lemonade.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – August 18, 2018

Work eight hours a day for survival. Everything over that is for success. 

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

Nancy Erickson's simple formula for telling a story: What it used to be like. What happened. What it's like now.

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

There are only four words in the English language which end in "dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous 

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

If you want to sell 10,000 books through bookstores, you must find 13,000 different people to each buy one – assuming a 30% return rate. Also consider additional costs for shipping, damaged books and restocking. Why not sell 10,000 non-returnable books to one corporate buyer, and have them pay for shipping? You can do that, and APSS (bookapss.org) can show you how.

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

Michael Jordan on failure: "I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I've been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed." Give selling to non-bookstore buyers a shot. You might even score a few points in the process.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – August 12, 2018

Book Selling University has courses to help you produce better books and sell more of them. Today's featured course is BSU 122: Marketing and Leveraging Your Audiobook, by Becky Parker Geist   See it and more at https://bit.ly/2IAQn55 View it up to 5 times

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

J.K. Rowling on failure: "It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default. Now, I am not going to tell you that failure is fun, but the knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means that you are, ever after, secure in your ability to survive." Try selling to non-bookstore buyers, and you may become a whiz at it.

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

People won't purchase your book the first time they hear about it. It takes time and multiple hits on prospects to get them to buy. Here are the thoughts that might go through a consumer's mind after hearing your message ten times over a period of months (with consistent promotion):

 

Exposure: Reaction

First: "So what!"

Second: "What's in it for me?"

Third: "That's interesting."

Fourth: "What was that title again?"

Fifth: "I think I've heard of that book before."

Sixth: "I think I've heard of that author before."

Seventh: "My friend mentioned that book yesterday."

Eighth: "My friend read it and thought it was good."

Ninth: "I'll look for it when I'm at the store (or online)."

Tenth: "I'll go and buy it now."

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

J.K. Rowling on failure: "It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default. Now, I am not going to tell you that failure is fun, but the knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means that you are, ever after, secure in your ability to survive."

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

"Short sentences convey pace, and are the rails of action writing; longer sentences feel more formal and deliberate, and are typically better suited for exposition." John Long

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

If you do what you always did, you'll get what you always got. If you are satisfied with what you have, do more of what you have been doing. If not, try something else, like selling to non-bookstore buyers.

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

Writing your book does not get your message to people. Writing creates the message. You still have to make it known to prospective readers who are interested in it.

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

"Pay attention to fear, but stay focused on the goal. Fear motivates you to protect yourself, but be ready to act when something bad happens. If an engine quits in a plane, you have to be able to take the heat and not lose your cool." Rod Lewis, pilot and Founder of Lewis Energy.  Similarly, a little tension can actually help you perform better on TV or radio. I call that "stress for success."

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

Buyers don't know your content as well as you. Help them understand by using the power of suggestion: "This information is perfect for helping your (customers, employees, members) get (results they want)."

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

"The secret to good writing is to strip every sentence to its cleanest components. Every word that serves no function, every long word that could be a short word, every adverb that carries the same meaning that's already in the verb, every passive construction that leaves the reader unsure who is doing what – these are the thousand and one adulterants that weaken the strength of a sentence." Excerpted from "On Writing Well" by William Zinsser 

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

Market with MBS (Mind, Body, Spirit): Focus your mind, summon all your bodily energy and do it with a spirit of integrity, professionalism and fun