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Sunday 23 September 2012

Dana Lynn Smith on book marketing


A guest post this week from Dana Lynn Smith's very useful blog on ways to sell more books. She's based in the US but most of the ideas would work just as well here. In fact a book fair might be an interesting idea. Take it away Dana...
 
Savvy Book Marketing Tips
I've got several book marketing tips and resources to share with you today.
 
Target Your Customers

Few of us have the resources to market to the world at large, and it's much easier to sell a book to people who already have an interest in the subject or genre. Your book marketing plan should define several target audiences and outline strategies for reaching them.

Here are some examples target audiences:

* Readers -- people who buy the book to read. This includes your primary audience (the "ideal customer" that the book was written for) as well as secondary audiences who have an interest in your topic. For example, this article in Book Business Magazine demonstrates that a large percentage of "young adult" books that are bought and read by adults, rather than teens. 

* Purchasers -- people who buy the book for someone else. For example, people buy books as gifts, parents purchase books for children, and women buy men's health books. Who would be likely to purchase your book for someone else, and how can you reach those folks?

* Influencers -- people who communicate with your target customers and can let them know about your book. Think about how much you can multiply your book promotion efforts when other people like bloggers, reviewers and journalists spread the word to their own readers and customers.

Who are your target audiences, and how can you reach them with the message about your books? 

News You Can Use
 
* Many authors concentrate their book promotions online, but there are also lots of opportunities offline. Don't miss this article from Laura Pepper Wu describing 31 ways to find new readers outside of your network.

* I recently updated my Copyright and Library of Congress resource page.
 
* If you publish through CreateSpace, check out this page where you can post a preview of your work and get feedback.

* When I worked for a publisher, I was able to tour two book manufacturing plants to see firsthand how books are made (the old fashioned way!) This video offers a fascinating look at how hardcover books are manufactured.

* I enjoyed this article from Lynn Terry -- The Goldmine in Your Blog Archives: 8 Ways to Make Money Blogging You May Be Missing
 
Upcoming Book Festivals
 
Local book festivals can be a good place to network with other authors and publishing folks, and reach potential customers.

Festivals range from small town gatherings to large events like the Texas Book Festival on October 27-28 in Austin and the Louisiana Book Festival on October 27 in Baton Rouge.

Here are some tips on promoting through book fairs and other events:

The 12 Commandments of Selling Books at Book Fairs, Conventions and Festivals, by Terry Whalin
That's all the news for today. Don't forget to do something every day to promote your books!

Warmly,
Dana

 
About this Newsletter
 
This complimentary newsletter is provided by The Savvy Book Marketer. You can view this ezine and previous issues online at http://archive.aweber.com/bookmarketer.
 
If you know any other authors and publishers who can benefit from this newsletter, please refer them to www.BookMarketingNewsletter.com to subscribe and get their complimentary book marketing tips ebook. Thank you so much!
 
 

 

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