One is a box enrobed in beautifully embossed gold acim audios with a big bright red bow perched perfectly on top.
The other?
A crudely wrapped object in a brown paper sack.
Which gift would you be more excited about if you had no idea what was inside?
I think the choice is obvious, and it’s no different when it comes to the way that you present your book to your readers.
You can offer your audience a crumpled brown paper sack, so to speak, or you can leave them yearning to tear into your book with a beautifully presented front cover image and compelling description of what your book has to offer on the back.
Covers sell books, so a great design is essential to your marketing strategy.
- Don’t market your book to just anyone.
It doesn’t really matter how many people you can get to see your book offer if the ones you present with it aren’t interested in what you have to say.
That’s like trying to sell your prize winning hamburgers at a vegetarian convention. It’s a total waste of time, energy and resources. Not to mention, very upsetting for you and those poor vegetarians!
Instead of wasting your time (and your erroneous prospect’s too), take careful steps to plan out the details of your marketing strategy.
Create a persona of the customer most likely to buy your book.
- What would compel them to buy it?
- Where do they spend most of their time on and offline?
- What about your book would resonate with them on such a deep level that they have to have it, and would likely buy future releases as well?
If you can answer similar questions and narrow your focus down to create a marketing plan, you’ll connect with the kind of people who actually want what you have to offer and the selling process becomes much easier.
- Don’t avoid outsourcing for help.
When authors decide to publish a book, most of the time they do the actual writing themselves. However, many self-publishers don’t stop there.
They try to design the cover, start a guest blogging tour and promote their book via social media, all while networking offline for more publicity.
It’s no wonder many would-be publishers end up overwhelmed and never actually gain traction for their books.
Instead of trying to take on the world singlehandedly, investigate using one or more of the book marketing services available to self-published authors.
These types of services help get books in front of your target audience quickly and with as much exposure as possible, minus all of the stress and stumbling blocks typically associated with trying to go through the entire process alone.
- Don’t ignore building a brand.
When you have a brand that connects with your audience, marketing becomes relatively effortless and you build on the success of every new book you publish.
When you’re clear on what you stand for and what readers can expect from your books, you can create a consistent stream of marketing messages that resonate with your target audience. Combine that with regular contact with that same audience and you build strong relationships, which is the key to effective long-term marketing.
Always remember that you’re never just selling “a book”. You’re selling yourself and what you have to offer that’s special and different from every other writer out there.
Yes, building a strong brand takes a lot of time and effort. But having one ultimately gives you a significant amount of leverage when marketing your books.
