Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – January 31, 2019

If your goal is to sell 1,000,000 books this year, there are two ways to do it. One is through bookstores, where you will have to find about 80,000 new buyers per month. And your initial out-of-pocket investment to print a one-month supply could be $160,000. On the other hand, you could find 100 buyers (about 8 per month) to each buy 10,000 books, or 10 buyers to each buy 100,000 books. And you do not have to print any books until you get paid to print them.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – January 30, 2019

Gutenberg had it only half right – his press made it easier to print books more quickly.  APSS can help with the other half by making it easier to sell more books more quickly, and in large, non-returnable quantities (www.bookapss.org)

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – January 29, 2019

Have the write stuff. Don't stop writing when your book is finished. Write for blogs (yours and others), updates to your material and website, articles, essays, Top Ten Lists on your topic, sales literature, booklets and social media, as examples. Write on!

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – January 28, 2019

Listen to your gut. According to experts, our subconscious minds constantly record and store unrelated data from the outside world. Later, it combines these data into good answers – hunches – if you simply ask, trust and listen. These hunches can lead you to making a call to a corporate buyer today instead of tomorrow (when the buyer just left for vacation), or asking a well-timed question that closes the sale. On what hunches can you act to sell more of your books?

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – January 27, 2019

Three Phases of Marketing Maturity:

Phase One: "Everybody's going to buy my book."

Phase Two: "Why isn't anyone buying my book?"

Phase Three: "What can I do to get people to buy my book?"

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – January 26, 2019

When Shakespeare was born, there wasn't yet a professional theater in London. His education had prepared him for a job that didn't even exist. "Four of today's largest companies did not exist 40 years ago. One of them, Apple, was cofounded by someone who said that the most important topic he ever studied was not engineering, but calligraphy. The best way for you to prepare for the unforeseen future is to learn how to think intensively and imaginatively." (Scott Newstock in Wall Street Journal) I think this applies to special sales, too, because you must apply a little creativity to make large sales happen.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – January 25, 2019

Eliminate boomerang books. Returns don't come from consumers. They come from people in your value chain (retailers, distributors, wholesalers). Why do they return books? Because they aren't sold. Why aren't they sold? Because people are unaware that your book is available, how it will benefit them, or don't know why they should spend their money on it instead of something else. Retail sales require "pull" strategy" in which you tell people how your content will benefit them and get them to go to the stores (bricks and clicks) to buy your book.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – January 24, 2019

There is a difference between the words action and accomplishment. You can be busy doing something without accomplishing anything.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – January 23, 2019

"Tumi didn't become a successful brand because I sat in a room coming up with a game plan by myself. Our management meetings grew to 20 people over time. Decision making by consensus slows the process down, but in the end the decisions are sounder." Charlie Clifford, Founder of Tumi  Join an APSS Mastermind group for a variety of opinions www.bookapss.org/APSSMastermindGroups.doc

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – January 19, 2019

Think like a burglar and get in to see more corporate buyers. If burglars want to get into a house, there are many different ways to enter front door, rear door, side door, garage or any of many windows. They keep trying until one opens. You, too, can find a way if you want it bad enough.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – January 15, 2019

What have you done well lately? Where have you made progress? What have you accomplished? What obstacles have you overcome? Did you call that corporate buyer to sell your book? Congratulations! Give yourself a pat on the back. Now go out and earn another one.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – January 14, 2019

See the January 14 Book Marketing Matters Newsletter. Display your book at the Annual Black History Month Luncheon -- $50 with the APSS discount. Find the answer to a reader's question with a tip on selling science fiction. And in this issue you will also discover more tips from the top book-marketing experts (Brian Jud, John Kremer, Guy Achtzehn and more). Find proven ways for performing on TV and radio show, all this and more from the top people in their fields in the publishing business. See this issue of Book Marketing Matters Newsletter at http://tinyurl.com/3urj5fg

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – January 12, 2019

It takes more than passion to sustain your quest for sales in special (non-bookstore) markets. It takes persistence, too. "Enthusiasm is common. Endurance is rare." Angela Duckworth

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – January 10, 2019

Do you write children's books? For more than a decade, growth in children's books has substantially outpaced the rest of the publishing industry. Why? Because as parents, "We love the books, too. And in the best of them, find many of the same satisfactions that we find in adult literature. The stories may be simpler, but that doesn't make them simple-minded." Wall Street Journal  Learn about selling children's books to schools at www.booksellinguniversity.com

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Brian Jud is the Executive Director of APSS (www.bookapss.org) - formerly SPAN. He is also the founder of Book Selling University (www.booksellinguniversity.com) and the author of "How to Make Real Money Selling Books." Brian offers commission-based sales of books to buyers in non-bookstore markets. Contact Brian at P. O. Box 715, Avon, CT  06001-0715; (860) 675-1344; brianjud@bookmarketing.com or www.premiumbookcompany.com   twitter.com/bookmarketing

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – January 9, 2019

What are your secret weapons, the things your offer that will help your prospective buyers accomplish more than they can without you? Think of these as a supply of "benefit arrows" in a quiver, and you choose a different arrow to target each prospect

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – January 8, 2019

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 – January 7, 2019

Exercise your "risk" muscle. Practice doing something different every day. Go to a new restaurant and eat something different or weird. Take one dancing lesson and then a drawing lesson and then a kayaking lesson. Sell your books to non-bookstore buyers in corporations, associations, schools, etc. Do something different every day and make it a habit.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – January 5, 2019

Each industry and organization has its own way of looking at the world. For example, publishers think people want to buy books. What buyers really want is the information in the book. How can it help them? To paraphrase JFK, ask not what your customers can do for you, but what you can do for your customers. How can you redefine your perspective and communicate the benefits you are really selling?

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – January 4, 2019

Your content will have unique 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. The media want good information for their audiences. Show your prospective buyers how they can reach their objectives with your content.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – January 3, 2019

"Never ask for money. When you write your business plan, send it to people and ask for advice. If they don't offer to open up their checkbook, you don't have an idea that's good enough." Adam Lowry and Eric Ryan, Co-founders, Method Products

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – January 2, 2019

Five questions to ponder for 2019. According to Fortune magazine, the answers to these five questions can help your business grow this year: 1) Would you rehire your key employees? 2) Can you state your strategy simply? 3) What's your cash conversion cycle? 4) What 25 relationships do you need to nurture? 5) What could disrupt your business?