With your published book in hand your focus shifts from writing and publishing to marketing and selling.
Whether you self-publish, or your manuscript is picked up by a publishing house, marketing and selling is part of your job.
- Who and where are the people for whom you wrote your book?
- How will they know it is available?
- Do they need some education to realize your book is the answer to their prayers?
- Are they actively looking for the solutions/insights/wisdom/know-how/adventure you so painstakingly penned?
Welcome to the world of sales and marketing.
While promoting other people’s work is usually no problem, something about “tooting one’s own horn” often is.
Maybe sales and marketing is right up your alley. (Uhh . . . probably not . . . otherwise you would have skipped this post.)
If you are a speaker or workshop leader, it is easy. Your book will sell itself if your talk or workshop answers some questions, and raises new ones that your book answers.
If your book is a credibility builder that you plan to give away, no sales or marketing needed.
If it is“none of the above,” and sales and marketing sounds icky, I totally get it!
Before I realized I could make a living doing what I LOVE (writing my stuff, helping other people tell their story, and reading other people’s stuff) I did the only thing a shy-scaredy-cat-who-needed-people-to-buy-her-stuff could do . . . offer my services (as a coach) on the internet where no face-to-face contact was necessary.
5 years and $50,000 down the drain in that venture forced me to come out of my cave to actually interact face-to-face. Without the additional $12,000 worth of sales and marketing training, plus another 5 years and $58,000 in tuition for an MBA from the University of Hard Knocks, I never would have made it.
The secret? Having a simple answer to the question “so, what do you do?” that has “your people” coming to you already wanting to buy.
What can you say about your book when people ask what you do?
Create a two sentence answer that describes who the book is written for, and the results people can expect from reading it, then go where people will ask you what you do.
If your book solves a problem here’s a template for you:
I help/teach/show [people/women/men/lawyers/doctors/ (you get the idea)] how to [make more money/become pain-free/be better parents, etc.] so they [live the lifestyle they envisioned when they started their business/do the things they had to give up because of their pain/ have a great relationship with their kids, etc.].
This is what I say: “I help people who have a book inside them, get it OUT!” If that resonates they will want to know more, which leads to a chat about how I can help them. If we are a fit, and my price fits their budget, I’ve made a sale.
If your book topic resonates you’ll likely have a sale.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let me know. If you want to take a stab at your own “what do you do” statement and get my feedback, leave it in the comments, or send me an email. I’d love to hear from you!
Jennifer the Editor
Helping people with a book inside them . . . get it OUT!
Ghostwriting – Editing – Manuscript Evaluations
http://JenniferTheEditor.org
Jennifer@JenniferTheEditor.org