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Is the title of your book
creative, different, unusual, interesting? Or is it boring,
unoriginal, something people will forget two seconds after
they read it? An easy strategy is copying the words from
other popular books (which are already outrageously
successful) and adapting it to your book. My book was
adapted from titles such as, "How to Win Friends and
Influence People," "21 Ways to Be a Sales Superstar," among
others.
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Is your book more simple, more
reader-friendly, bigger, more colorful, thinner, smaller,
cheaper, more expensive, more accessible, rarer, or more
something than the other books on the same topic or in the
same genre? How can you change it so it is?
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Who writes the types of book
you are selling? Why not write to them and tell them how
much their books have helped you. Don't ask for anything,
just develop a relationship. What could that do for you?
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What organizations, charities,
or groups of people might benefit from your book? Why not
contact them to see if you can form an alliance.
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Written a pet book? Why not
hold a "Bring Your Pet to the Library Day." Or, if you're
really crazy, a "Bring Your Pet to Church Day." The local
media won't pass up on a story like that.
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If you could afford it, why not
send FREE copies of your book to influential people in the
media, politicians, movie stars, or presidents of
organizations that have something to do with the topic of
your book. (Example: Prayer book to heads of prayer
organizations; Health book to health experts).
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Create controversy around your
book. Worked for Da Vinci Code, Harry Potter
and the Bible. How about your book?
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Print the name of your book on
the side of your car, in big, colorful letters. (Check with
a tax expert, but you might even get to take part of your
car's expenses off on your taxes.)
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Give a portion of your book
proceeds to charity. This helps people and helps your book
sales.
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Change your title to something
in the news. Right now, with Hurricane Katrina, natural
disasters are big news. So is the Red Cross, survivor
stories, etc. Be careful, however; this could backfire.
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Use your book to get speaking
engagements at local groups and organizations. Get feedback
and testimonials, then branch out to other states and bigger
venues.
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Write a bunch of FREE books and
give them away with your book, so that the cost of the book
seems puny against all the great gifts.
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Add a "How You Can Help"
section to the back of your book. List ways the readers can
help others enjoy the benefits of your book, namely, by
telling others to go out and get a copy of their own.
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Create a workbook, or study
guide to go along with your book. Build discussions about
your book right into the content! Then, people will
naturally talk about your book. If the information is good,
then the news will spread!
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Carry your book everywhere you
go.
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Raffle off your book or give a
copy to the local Salvation Army store. Exposure is good.
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Try to get in Guinness World
Records for something related to your book. Exposure is
good.
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Give 10 people you know the
book and ask them how they would sell more copies. Gather
the feedback, ignore more of it and put the good information
to good use.
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Hold a writing/reading class at
the local library or at local schools. Yes, this does
involve actually speaking in front of people who might make
fun of you afterward. But exposure is good.
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Did I mention exposure is good?
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Create a benefit statement for
your book. (Example: Shows you 50 Easy Ways to Create Cheap
Meals in Under 10 Minutes)
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Repeat the benefit statement,
slogan, phrase as often as possible. (Think of the "Can you
hear me now? Good" commercials.)
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Create business card-size
promotional pieces that provide good information (Top 10
Ways to Get Promoted) and slip it into books on bookstore or
library shelves. Make sure your website is on the card.
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Live what your book promotes.
If it is about weight loss, lose weight, or get 10 friends
to lose weight using the strategies in your book. In my
case, have people try the prayer tips and journal their
experiences.
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Get people involved.
Communicate with your readers as often as possible. Set up
an email account just for this purpose. Respond in a timely
fashion to questions, and create a FAQ file for common
questions.
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Create a Press Kit. You can
find out how for free at any number of websites by simply
searching for the subject using your favorite search engine.
Why wait until you are famous to get one? Do it now.
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Did I mention exposure is good?
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Create a series of books on the
same topic. Worked for lots of authors, and it can work for
you, too.
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Get
a copy of the book,
Purple Cow, by Seth Godin and use it to come up with
even more creative, remarkable ideas to promote your book.
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Target a niche. Is your book
for ALL pet owners, or just for pet owners of pit bulls? Go
small and specific. That's where the big money is these
days.
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Tell great stories. Even
informative books should include a story or two, even if
it's only in your BIO section. Great stories involve
interesting people doing interesting things in interesting
places. Conflict is often involved and there is a beginning,
middle and a satisfying end.
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Join clubs, especially book
clubs and organizations.
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Give a bunch of your books away
at a charity event, or give them away to a nursing home,
homeless shelter, or children's hospital. You'll be doing
people a great favor while helping yourself, too.
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Create a holiday around your
book. If it's on "33 Ways to Get Fired On Your First Day,"
then create a "Get Fired" Day, or "Fired Day," a day to
celebrate all the people who have been fired.
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Get an AD in a newspaper or
magazine where the people most likely to buy your books will
see it. If your book is on how to break into government
buildings, then get an ad in Break In magazine
(hopefully, this magazine doesn't actually exist!).
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Give away something worth
talking about at your talks, on your website, or anywhere
you sell your books. (Example: If your book is on cars, give
away an old car, even toy cars.)
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Provide free samples or
previews of your book(s). Be generous with where you offer
them.
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Offer a 100%, lifetime, feed
your book to sharks unconditional guarantee.
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Take money, checks, credit
cards, and any other forms of payment in existence. Make it
easy to buy.
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Did I mention exposure is good?
