|
There are a number of components that can help market your book successfully, no matter what its subject. Some features are absolutely necessary if you want to sell enough books to make it a bestseller. Everyone knows that in order for your book to be sold in retail stores, it must have an EAN barcode, an ISBN number, and certain bindings and features.
However, there are several less known features you should add to expand the marketability of your book. Did you know that there are a few common features in almost every New York Times bestseller&63; You can take advantage of the marketing research of the giant publishing houses to help your own book sell more copies.
Below are 7 of the top book features that will make your book much easier to market and promote to bestseller status. When you incorporate these features into your book from the beginning, your book will have an enormous advantage over the other books on the shelf.
Feature 1 – Pick a powerful theme and build it out. Find a flavorful title that makes people demand to know more. Outline your book and be specific with what you want in it so you attract the right people. Just gathering a list of your best ideas and putting a cover on it is not enough. You may get a book written quickly, but it probably won't sell very well. You want something that you (and others) will be proud to promote.
Feature 2 – Become known as the top expert by collecting stories from others. Ask people to share a personal story in such a way that it has a self-help element. You'll reach many more people with stories that teach the reader how to apply a lesson to their own problem than just a dry list of instructions. In every story, you should mix in Tips, strategies, insider secrets, specific examples, and important resources, whether they be from you or someone else.
Feature 3 – Quote lots of experts and you'll build in promotional value. Choose the quotes wisely so that they match the theme of each of your sections. Some experts may be flattered enough that they will help promote your book to their customers, which helps both of you. And, they might even buy some for themselves to give away to colleagues and special clients.
Feature 4 – Be proactive in asking for interviews and endorsements, and selecting a great person to write the Foreword of your book. Interview other experts if you can and use the opportunity to get relevant examples for your section of the book and audio clips for promotion. These interviews and testimonials will add authority to your book.
Feature 5 – Give credit to the individuals and groups who helped create the book. You might also seek a corporate sponsor who might fund some of the expenses in exchange for a prominent mention in the book. Finding a partner to sponsor you in your book promotion is often very beneficial.
Feature 6 – Your book will be much easier to read and reference if you include an index. This feature will make your book much easier to sell to libraries which will enlarge your readership and help you draw more customers to your website. Yet this feature is often ignored in the book writing process.
Feature 7 – Make a list of associations, organizations, services, agencies, and other professionsals in fields around the subject of your book, and include it in your book as a topical rolodex in the resource section of your book. This will broaden your audience and it might even cause some of the leaders/owners to actually purchase quantities of your book for distribution.
Bonus Feature – Include a bibliography. This is not only helpful to the reader who uses your book for research, but there are many people who like to own copies of the books that include theirs in the bibliography. You can list the books of all the authors who were interviewed, quoted, or who gave stories and examples.
ACTION STEP: The more features above you can add to your book, the easier it will be to market and promote. Put emphasis on the features that cause other people to want to help promote the book for their own sake. This makes the Law of Reciprocity work for your benefit because as they are helping themselves, they are also helping you, and vice versa.
|