Increasing Your Book Sales

By far, the biggest concern of any writer (published or unpublished) is being able to increase book sales.  Yes we all love writing and yearn for the thrill and fulfillment that comes with actually having our books on the shelves of Barnes and Noble and the likes, but let’s be honest, we want our books to sell, sell and sell some more; as do our agents, our editors and our publishers.  After all, why did they take us on as clients if it weren’t in hopes of being able to sell our titles?  Are they not in the publishing industry as business professionals?  Yes they are.  This is a concept all authors need to grasp and accept. 

Writing, publishing and selling books is a business, a serious business.  If you want to be successful, you need to understand that it is your business and no one will care about your book sales as much as you do.  So let’s focus on the ever challenging task of increasing book sales. Here are three questions you need to ask yourself before creating an effective book marketing plan:

·         Do I have a targeted audience?

·         Who is my targeted audience?

·         How will I reach my targeted audience?

Once you have answered these questions, you should create two lists.  One list for online and another for offline book marketing techniques.  An important part of book marketing is to know which techniques work for you and to multiply those efforts.  Here are two suggestions for each list to get you started.

Online Book Marketing

• Create a Fan Page on Facebook (this is a great online viral marketing tool).  It’s popular because it works.
• Create a Flickr.com profile and add pictures that would attract your targeted audience.  Be sure to include your author website URL in your profile so viewers can find you.

Offline Book Marketing

• P.O.S – Point of Sales is both a checkout counter in a store and the location where a transaction occurs.  Consider selling your book in a local Mom & Pop store and have them place it near the register.
• Library Press Release – Are you a member of your local library?  Once your book has been published, meet with the branch manager and ask her to issue a press release in the library system’s newsletter.

Remember when working to increase your book sales, it is important to implement a variety of strategies.  Common and uncommon book marketing strategies can increase you readership drastically.  Be sure to track the results of each campaign so you know in which areas to increase your efforts.  When you find a technique that doesn’t work, don’t be afraid to cease your efforts for that particular method.  Don’t be discouraged if you find what works for other writers does not work for you.  Simply move on to the next book marketing strategy.

A final point to keep in mind is to be organized in all your book marketing efforts.  Disorganization will only hinder your progress and success.