How To Market and Sell Your Book

Before Publishing

You need to start marketing your book and yourself before your publish date:

1. Establish a blog [or website] and refer to your upcoming book in various posts
2. Establish some social networking sites
3. Establish a squidoo lens to share knowledge in the scope of your book
4. Submit articles to article directories - these should link back to your blog or website
5. Submit an Advance Book Information form - [ABI] at BowkerLink.com. This will get you listed in their directory "Forthcoming Books in Print." When your publish date hits, your book will be automatically included in "Books in Print," a directory that reaches just about every major book buyer, and many reviewers.
6. Send advance information and copies of your book to Publisher's Weekly and Library Journal. These publications also reach a huge audience of book buyers. Your ABI may get you a mention, a book may even get a review.
7. Send books to other suitable publications for review. Make sure you do this in advance of publication, many are not interested afterwards.
8. Consider any exclusive distribution right opportunities. They are more active at selling your book than you may be able to.
9. Create a terms of sale sheet for distribution - discounts you offer, how you handle returns, billing, etc.
   • Individual bookstores generally get 40 percent off the list price.
   • General wholesalers and distributors get 50 - 55 percent off the list price.
   • Exclusive (master) distributors get 62 to 67 percent off the list price.
     

At Publishing Date

1. Distribute a press release
2. Announce your book release on all your blogs, websites, social media pages.
3. Notify your business associates of your book
4. Notify online book websites
5. Distribute emails to all those you know may be interested
6. Send postcards to librarians, distributors and independent bookstores

After Publishing

The best way for a self publishing author to sell their book is through online book marketing. With self publishing POD agreements, the publisher may offer some distribution, but any marketing they offer is very limited, and nothing you couldn't do yourself. The following tips will provide you with a good book marketing foundation.

1. Beware of offers you get to publish your book – don’t be tempted to let go of your book for a big advance cheque.
2. Check Amazon Sales Ranks to get an idea of how many books are sold per ranking estimate.
3. Buy a domain name – related to or the same as the book
4. Build a website landing page focused on selling the benefits of your book – avoid making it look too much like an advertisement, but do structure it around a solid sales conversion funnel strategy.
5. Publish a blog.
6. Publish large excerpts from your books on your websites and blogs – up to 50 percent of the total content.
7. Post articles related to your books, such as expanded material that enhance the book, or answers to questions related to the book subject.
8. If your book is an ebook - submit it to Clickbank
9. Join the Amazon Associates program (free) and directly link to Amazon from every post, or you can send readers through a custom order page

Selling is an ongoing process. Manage each shipment independently. If the book is a real success, you may want to hand it off to a larger publisher who can push your sales to a higher level.

1. Keep in touch with online booksellers
2. Manage your returns efficiently - you can resell these as second hand books. Do not offer returns to Campus bookstores, they tend to overorder.
3. Consider any ongoing discount strategies.

Understanding Amazon Sale Ranking

Major Book Sales Channels

Major US Wholesalers

• Baker & Taylor
• Ingram Book Group.

Most bookstores and libraries buy books from these two wholesalers.

Major US Bookstore Chains

• Barnes & Noble
• Borders

By selling to a chain's buyer, you're actually selling to hundreds of individual stores.

Major Online Bookstores

• Amazon.com
• BarnesandNoble.com

Next: On Demand Publisher Directory

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