I\u2019m often asked by authors who are keenly aware of their audience and how to reach them, \u201cWhat more I can do to promote to this audience?\u201d The author might list the activities they\u2019ve engaged in and even admit that they were mildly successful. \u201cWhen I do this, I sell books. But I want to sell more books, what do you suggest?\u201d<\/p>\n
What do I suggest? Do more of what you\u2019re doing. Solicit more reviews, be guest blogger at more sites that are relevant, go out and speak more often to your readers, ramp up your use of social media\u2014including your blog\u2026 If sales increase after you\u2019ve done a promotion, do more promotions. If books fly off the shelves at the local museum gift shop when you offer a discount or book sales increase when you appear at a school, for example, definitely do more of this.<\/p>\n
But add to your repertoire, as well. Seek out new potential audiences. Try getting your book in a appropriate catalogs or featured at new sites. Create other items related to the theme of your book and use them to generate sales\u2014an adult color book, note cards, tee-shirts, calendars, etc. Entice people to your website for puzzle challenges, freebies, a hint or quote of the day, etc. in order to attract more potential readers.<\/p>\n
When I published my first book, back in 1978, just half of this effort would result in an abundance of sales, however we didn\u2019t have the Internet in those days, so promotion was all done in person or via snail mail\u2014remember press releases and promotional mailings? For authors today, the competition is fierce. You probably didn\u2019t realize this when you decided to enter into the world of publishing. You saw other people producing books in your genre or on your topic and thought it seemed like a good idea. If you\u2019d taken the time to study the industry before getting involved (which virtually no one does, yet definitely should!!!), you\u2019d realize how much time, effort, creativity, and work it takes in order to garner a piece of the pie\u2014sell an abundance of your book.<\/p>\n
If your sales have dwindled or they never came about in the first place, it\u2019s probably because you haven\u2019t been asking for sales, pushing for them, striving to get them. You\u2019ve done nothing or just the minimum to get your book noticed.<\/p>\n
Tomorrow, I\u2019ll offer additional ideas for promoting your book. In the meantime, be sure to check out my books for authors. Allworth Press has produced four of them\u2014Publish Your Book, Promote Your Book, Talk Up Your Book<\/em>, and the latest, Propose Your Book<\/em>. These books are in print, e-book, and audio form at http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/s\/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=patricia+l+fry+allworth<\/a> I\u2019ve also created a series of \u201c50-Ways\u201d e-booklets for $1.99 each. They include, \u201c50 Ways to Promote your Novel,\u201d \u201c50 Reasons Why You Should Write That Book,\u201d \u201c50 Ways to Promote Your Ebook\u201d and so forth. http:\/\/www.matilijapress.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I\u2019m often asked by authors who are keenly aware of their audience and how to reach them, \u201cWhat more I can do to promote to this audience?\u201d The author might list the activities they\u2019ve engaged in and even admit that they were mildly successful. \u201cWhen I do this, I sell books. But I want to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t