When my first book was published, I thought it would be an overnight success based purely on the topic and the fact that I knew the world needed it. My idea was that I would re-release the book, get to bestseller status and then it would continue to sell like hotcakes and I would just log into my sales report and see the number growing daily. While I had successfully figured out how to get my book to be a bestseller, after that celebratory day nothing amazing occurred. All too often, I've met people who have a bestselling book, who ask me, "Now what?" Myth 2: A publisher will do all the marketing. And unfortunately, getting a publishing deal can sometime take more time than you'd like. There really is no way around having to market your book yourself. Planned search by author or topic, however, makes up a whopping 48 percent of all book choices." Marketing your book is like that. Soon, you'll be automatically talking about your book everywhere you go, making sales, and people will connect [Your Book] with your name.
Just because your book is a bestseller doesn’t mean you’re making a ton of money.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
When my first book was published, I thought it would be an overnight success based purely on the topic and the fact that I knew the world needed it. My genius marketing plan was to simply publish it. If it exists on the internet, people will find it, right?
As you can imagine, that didn’t work. It’s a bit like showing up to a party, not knowing anyone, trying to make a grand entrance and having zero people pay attention. In fact, it was a lot like that. Hardly anyone blinked an eye or turned their head when my book became available.
Undeterred, I decided that the ticket to my success was that coveted Amazon bestseller ribbon. That will solve all my problems, I thought.
My idea was that I would re-release the book, get to bestseller status and then it would continue to sell like hotcakes and I would just log into my sales report and see the number growing daily. That’s how it works, right?
But, that didn’t exactly happen either. While I had successfully figured out how to get my book to be a bestseller, after that celebratory day nothing amazing occurred.
Myth 1: Bestsellers sell with ease.
All too often, I’ve met people who have a bestselling book, who ask me, “Now what?” The high has ended, and the book sales have fallen off. The marketing is an afterthought because they were so focused on getting their book written.
Related: 17 Steps to Creating a Bestselling Business Book
Ideally, the best time to create a plan to sell your book with ease is while you’re writing. Set your short- and long-terms goals and use the numbered strategies below to help.
If you don’t have a plan in place, it will feel like you’re scrambling after the fact. Luckily, even if your book has been sitting idle for a while, you can pick up at any time to implement a marketing strategy.
Myth 2: A publisher will do all the marketing.
Often I run into people who think that having a publisher will solve this problem. Either they don’t know how to market their book, it seems too scary or they simply don’t want to do it.
These days, much…
COMMENTS