Booksellers are a dying breed and Amazon lists over 100,000 new titles every month – so how do authors sell books these days?
It’s not easy.
How Do You Sell Books Today?
Fiction authors who learn how to use social media to connect directly to their audience – and market like crazy – gain fans and readers. And authors with more than one book can leverage their fan base with each succeeding book. So if you’re writing a novel, be sure to have more books in you, and learn everything you can about self-publishing and self-marketing, especially using social media. It’s free (except for your time).
Non-fiction authors have other challenges and opportunities. Sometimes readers want to connect with the author, and sometimes the information in the book is all that matters to the reader. For many authors, a book is one element in an overall business plan that might include speaking or consulting. A book might serve more as a marketing tool or business card, or maybe it’s an item for negotiation in a broader delivery of service.
It’s wise to know your book sales strategy before you get too far down the road of publishing. That way, you’re more likely to write the right book for your intended audience, making sales somewhat easier.
For fiction and non-fiction authors, book marketing basics today include:
- clarity about the target audience and where to find them
- key search terms and categories for your title
- a well-designed, properly optimized author or business website
- efficient linkages to social media
- regular blogging – also properly optimized
- great graphics and video
- consistent and on-going publicity, properly targeted
- strategic cross marketing with other authors
- obtaining book reviews to boost the search algorithms in your favor
Most authors I talk to groan when they hear this list – but it’s just the beginning. To successfully sell books today, an author needs to be as much a marketer as a writer.
If you’re overwhelmed, get in touch with us.
We’re developing a streamline approach to book marketing using the best of today’s technologies. Maybe we can make your life easier so you can write that next book.
Find out more here.