Calling All Authors …
It’s Seasonal Book Selling Planning Time NOW!
I love Costco … as first a member of the Price Club in 1984, it’s been quite a ride to see its evolution from any warehouse almost 30 years ago that was packed with amazing deals to the slick operation Costco has become—nothing fascinates me more than the heralding of the next “season” many months before most of us even have the time to noodle the current one we are in. It’s amazing, you are sweating and it’s “ho-ho-ho” time inside.
We are in the heart of summer …and that means, it’s kick-start time for book promotions. Seasons occur all year—Fall-Winter brings a boatload of opportunities. Embrace, Halloween ( HUGE book buying month), Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, the New Year, Valentine’s Day 2014, President’s Day/Week, Etc., Etc.
Fall is heavy book media promotion time—on the air, on the TV and certainly in the bookstores. Keep media lead times in mind when planning for book publicity. Some you only need a short time (radio, TV, print); others you need lots (magazines, some TV and print). You need to be planning right now, what you will do … not on September 1st.
Virtual book tours for new and old books can be started at any time. If you are using Amazon’s KDP Select, remember that Thursdays is the best FREE day.
This is the time that a visual calendar—as in seeing several months at a time works well—get it out, create some timelines and set some goals. Book promoting is YOU!
Game plan your “kick-start” now by:
1 Creating an email offer for your “special” with a direct link to where you want them to purchase your book—include title, describe, and cover should all be included. Give them a heads-up with an estimate of how many days for arrival. If you are the sender, make sure you offer to personalize each book.
2 Contact all on your email lists— your Twitter followers; your Facebook friends; LinkedIn connections and groups; Google+ Circles and Huddles; and Pinterest. Remind them who the ideal recipient is and that your book is a wonderful last-minute gift.
3 Don’t be shy—ask your friends and “followers” of the above to contact their local libraries and request your book Ask your friends and family to recommend your book as a gift item to others or buy your book to give to others.
4 Without being a pest—promote via your social media contacts with “hook” lines to entice the reader.
5 Ask your friends and social media contacts to re-tweet from Twitter—ask them to recommend your book to their personal networks. And spell out the words “please retweet”.
6 Remind them that most households have some type of “e” reader: a Kindle, Nooks, iPads or tablet—your book would be idea to give as a “gift”—Amazon.com, Apple.com/iPad, BN.com—all have ways to buy books for gifts via their sites. (Yes—make sure that you have them available on all these platforms—if you are using SmashWords only, make sure that you include the link to SmashWords—otherwise, the average person won’t know to go there to purchase an eBook and Amazon doesn’t let people know that a Kindle version is available through SmashWords.
7 Think about creating a “deal”—a buy one, get one free … or if you have additional titles—create a “bundle”—any three for: … Use your imagination.
8 Offer a coupon for “something” if they email a confirmation number that they bought your book or fax it to you—it could be a credit of money toward another purchase if they buy from your site. Or think about sending them a “bonus” gift. Maybe a special report you’ve created that ties into your book’s topic or expertise. Or possibly do a cross promote—offer a “gift” from someone else … and they in turn can do the same with your info.
9 Create a Gift Basket of Books—gather up a few other authors (books that are in a different genre than yours)—include covers, brief descriptions, links to buy—and everyone cross promotes to their lists. These can be morphed with different events—Mother’s Day; Thanksgiving; New Year Beginnings; Birthdays, etc., etc. Have fun—be creative.
10 Always be on the alert with media events—if something is popping locally or nationally in the news—and it ties to your books title, theme or expertise—parlay it to your advantage.
Ten tips to move your book. None of this is difficult—just a little organization; getting your info and contacts together; and start your promo engines.
PS—my book, Author YOU: Creating and Building Your Author and Book Platform is perfect for anyone who is interested in publishing. Available pBook via Amazon and eBook for tablets and iPad formats on all platforms. http://amzn.to/13OdAJi
Judith Briles is known as The Book Shepherd, the Author and Publishing expert and the Founder and Chief Visionary Officer of Author U, a membership organization created for the author who wants to be seriously successful. She’s been writing about and conducting workshops on publishing since the 80s. She’s the author of 30 books including Author YOU: Creating Your Book and Author Platform that has won multiple “best” in the writing/publishing categories in book award competitions. Her next book is Snappy, Sassy, Salty … Wise Words for Authors and Publishers. Join Judith live on Thursdays at 6 p.m. EST for Your Guide to Book Publishing on the www.RockStarRadioNetwork.com.
Follow @AuthorU and @MyBookShepherd on Twitter and do a “Like” at AuthorU and TheBookShepherd on Facebook. Join the Author U LinkedIn Group and the Author U Google+ community. If you want to create a book that has no regrets, contact her at Judith@Briles.com.