How To Sell Far More Books

Introduction

Discover these proven 'get your book to the cash register' steps.

I was a first time author, unknown and clueless. I didn't even know if my writing was worth a plug nickel. I tried many things to sell my book. These are the most profitable steps that I took.

If you have written your book, you must be passionate about getting it into the hungry hands of readers. You'll find here some very practical and 'doable', like 'falling off a log', steps that will get you more exposure and get your books sold. This is 'not' theory. I've done each and every step and I 'know' that they are worth your computer's weight in gold in selling more books.

Step One

Get and read John Kremer's book '1001 Ways To Market Your Book'.
I've tried several things that he describes and have found them to be effective. This is the Bible on book marketing. I read and reread this book often.

Step Two

Get a t-shirt, sweatshirt or something else with the cover of
your book printed on it. Also, put on it, 'I wrote the book'. I used to have a hangup about being shy about having written a book. I reasoned that I wanted exposure through more traditional and less self-promotional means. This thinking was wrong. I believe in my book enough to believe the people need to know about it, buy it and read it.

Step Three

Do you have an online affiliate marketing program? If you have
a shopping cart then likely you have access to an affiliate program.

In this way, you get others to market your book for you. There are scores of people who make a living with 'affiliate marketing'. They are looking for products to promote.

Step Four

If you are self-published then you need to have your book on
www.Lulu.com . You can get some free exposure and get a nice
30% + of the sales prices. This is far more than a traditional publisher will pay as a royalty. Plus, with Lulu.com, you reserve all of your rights.

Step Five

Have you submitted your book to Amazon.com? If you haven't,
its free to do so. Just Google 'how to get my book on amazon.com' or 'Amazon advantage program.' You need to set up an account. It is far easier than you probably think. You don't need to pay someone else to do this unless you have tons of money and just don't want to do it. You can do it yourself in just a few minutes.

Step Six

Have you sent it to people and asked for endorsements or
testimonials? If you haven't, you might just be surprised that people will read it and give you a testimonial. Even famous people, best selling authors and celebrities.

Be prepared to not hear from most of them. Its a numbers game. You may send 100 requests and get 5 positive responses. However, any one of those 5 responses could be a Mark Victor Hansen or Dr. Harold H. Bloomfied.

Dr. Bloomfied is a world renowned NY Times best selling author. He's written (or as co-author) 19 books and sold 8.5 million copies. I found him online and asked (if you don't ask, you don't give your self an opportunity to be successful in getting a 'yes' answer). He agreed. He read my book and sent an amazing testimonial.

I didn't know if I was any good as a writer or not. Dr. Bloomfield's response let me know that I was and it sent my confidence level into orbit. Then, to top it all off, he wrote my introduction. How cool is that?

Later, I sent another book that I wrote to Mark Victor Hansen, the best selling author in history. He co-wrote all of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books. He and Jack Canfield have sold over 144 million books. The 'only' series of books that have ever outsold them, in history, is the Bible. Think about it. Only God has outsold these guys.

Now, I have a video endorsement from Mark Victor Hansen. How powerful is that? You can see the proof of what I'm telling you at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7DhqOIa7q8.

Remember, don't be afraid to ask. These people won't put a hit out on you for asking. You won't get arrested if they say 'no' or say nothing at all. Do it! You'll be as surprised as I was.

Step Seven

One strategy I took was getting 2 plastic signs made (like
the temporary signs that real estate agents use); one showed the
cover of my book on it and the other one said, 'Buy my book - Only $15'. I stood on a street corner in Dallas, Texas and sold 123 books in one afternoon. I had to buy a homeless guy off of the corner which cost me $20. However, I made $10 per book. Not a bad afternoon plus, people loved it. I also made it into John Kremer's (the guy that wrote '1001 Ways To Market Your Book') Hall of Fame. See http://www.selfpublishinghalloffame.com/murphy.htm

Step Eight

Have you asked any local bookstores about carrying your book?
I have asked smaller or independent bookstores about carrying
my book. Make sure it gets into the proper section and not the
'local authors' section. You'll sell more when you are alongside
other books of your subject or genre.

I'll give you a little secret here. I found one bookstore that put my book in the 'local authors' section and I moved them to where I felt they would be more visible. I sold way more books and the store was happy. They make money selling books. I just helped out the process.

Step Nine

Approach any local television stations about doing
a short story on you. I did and got an interview on the air.

Step Ten

Get and read any and all of Dan Poynter's books on self promotion. He is at http://www.parapublishing.com.

Summary

The key is that you have to believe so much that others need to
have your book in their hands, devouring every page that you will
do 'whatever it takes' to get it out there.

A young man in Dallas said my book changed his life. He was
sent here by his very wealthy parents from Nigeria. They sent
him to the U.S. to 'make his fortune.' When I found him, he was
broke, very down and close to clinical depression. I gave him a copy of my book. He read it and it changed his life. I now have a story to tell about what my book has done for others.

One bonus nugget of gold I'd offer is, connect with Warren
Whitlock. If you have the money to do so, Warren will guarantee
your book becoming a best seller. Go to www.warrenwhitlock.com.
He's become a friend of mine and is a great guy. He'll even
interview you for his podcast.