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How To Sell More Books

Just a short list of ideas that might help you sell more books.

Consider giving some things away with your book. Digital content is always a good resource and adds value to the purchase of a book. Maybe you have a worksheet or some additional material that will compliment the book. This can all be included as bonus material to help increase the perceived value of the book.

Another helpful ideas is to consider partnering with other authors and content creators. You can either trade some copies of your book for copies of their material, which can then be added to your list of bonus items, or some content creators will be happy to give you content for free in exchange for exposure to their work.

Also consider giving free print material such as a “poster” of artwork from the book. Themed bookmarks as bonus items is also a good idea.

Another good idea is to offer incentives to customers who buy multiple books (3, 5, 10 or more). Either offer additional bonus material for buying multiple copies, or consider having a lunch, dinner or after launch party with customers who buy large quantities. This might seem strange, but if the book is a good resource, many people will consider buying multiple copies as gifts or giveaways.

One of the most common forms of book promotion is a book signing event at a local book retailer or library. While this is well known to most authors, it is often under promoted by the authors themselves. Don’t just leave it up to the venue to announce book signings, take the lead in your own campaign and get the word out through as many sources as possible. Press releases, blog posts, twitter and Facebook announcements are a good place to start and there are many more.

Remember to put a time limit on the promotional give aways. This adds a sense of urgency to the promotion, and also allows you to plan for post launch parties or other events that might be related to the book launch.

Yes, I’m aware that many of you have probably come up with a few or maybe even most of these ideas on your own, but maybe you’re having trouble with the logistics. If that’s the case and you want someone to help please checkout www.MisterWords.com.

Posted in Writing. Tagged with .

By Andrew Hall
December 31, 2010

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What Does A Good Logo Do For Your Company?

Many business owners are unaware of the power of having a high quality logo to represent their company.

  • A professional logo represents your company in many different ways. Some you may not even be aware of.
  • Your future success depends heavily on the professional image your company presents to your target audience.
  • An effective logo will grab your customer’s attention and draw them to your company.
  • Customers relate much easier to a business with a strong corporate identity
  • A company logo is the most visible part of your professional image.

Read how to design your own logo for more about logos and how they can help you reach new customers.

How has having or not having a logo impacted your business?

Posted in Business. Tagged with .

By Andrew Hall
December 30, 2010

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How I Got My First Customer

I got my first customer over 9 years ago but it still stands out in my mind how I came to make that first connection with another human being who wanted to pay me for my services. I was looking through the phone book for businesses who might need a website, in 2001 there were plenty of businesses who needed websites, but most did not want to spend the money to get one. So I was cold calling these people and getting rejected at every turn, but I was determined. Finally the manager of an art gallery said “I’ve been waiting for someone to call me” and I knew I was on the right track.

This gave me the confidence and affirmation to continue on no matter how many rejections I experienced, I knew sooner or later there would be more people who were “waiting for me to call them”.

After a while I got my timing and my pitch down, so that most of my calls resulted in a short conversation, which led to a meeting with the decision makers and ultimately led to a transaction.

Cold calling is one of the hardest forms of marketing to master, but with a sincere desire to succeed anyone can use it to their advantage.

What strategy did you employ to get your first customer?

Posted in Business. Tagged with .

By Andrew Hall
December 29, 2010

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