promotion

Let’s face it. You might not get as lucky as I did. I had a publisher approach ME and ask me to co-write a book.  I wish I could say it made me rich. It WAS carried in Wal-Mart Stores and Barnes and Noble! But when it didn’t sell at Wal-mart, they returned it to the publisher, and I got negative royalties for several years.

It’s not the end of the world. But the face of publishing has changed drastically in the past few years.

No longer does an author need a publisher, or even printed books!

These days, someone can write whatever they want, however they want, and they can take it to market on their own! Actually, a lot of publishers don’t even NOTICE a new author unless he’s sold a few ebooks or self-published books, and can prove he or she is willing to sell their own books!

Here are a few tips I’ve put together for authors who want to KILL IT when it comes to ebook sales.

• Good Design. I’ve seen so many authors who downloaded a free image program, or paid a foreign freelancer to design a book cover for them that it’s not even funny. I know they SAY never judge a book by it’s cover, but they are going to. So don’t even BEGIN to say that your crappy cover is “good enough.” I don’t mean to offend you, but chances are, unless you are a professional designer, your book cover looks like junk. It doesn’t cost much to get a professionally designed piece of artwork. Spend a few bucks, and then you can MAKE A FEW BUCKS!
• Blog. Get a blog setup. I don’t recommend using a free service like WordPress.org or Blogspot.com. If you’re going to do it right, buy YOURNAME.COM and spend a few bucks on web-hosting, install wordpress, and write a few paragraphs a day. Maybe share an excerpt from your book. Maybe do a mock interview with yourself. Take the time to get some GOOD CONTENT associated with your name.
  Don’t forget to plug your books often! You may put an ad for the online sales link to your book in the sidebar of your blog, and mention it in every blog post, with a linked keyword. You can do this yourself, or you can invest in your future! You can even purchase a premium wordpress plugin that allows you to sell your own ebooks directly, cutting out the middlemen! No percentages taken out by amazon. Pure profit.Shameless Self-Promotion. There are a lot of avenues for this. Make sure your email signature, your personal twitter and facebook profiles, and everywhere that people can find you has a link to your online store. Put a link to it on your business card, and hand it to everyone you meet. Hang up flyers. Send out press releases. Annoy your friends at parties. You’ve got to hustle if you want the flow.Become an Expert.  This works for non-fiction writers and fiction writers alike. Maybe you write vampire romance – than become an expert on that topic. Maybe you write health and nutrition books… whatever you write about – make sure you know as much as you can, and then get a piece of paper and make a list. Make a list of topics that you can write an article about, or give a soundbyte or a quote to a local media outlet. Then learn the art of the press release. Call your local radio station, and ask if they have a daily local talk show. Let them know the topics you are available to discuss, and see if you can book an appearance! Do a quick google search and find some blogs that are about your area of expertise, and send them an email, and ask them if you can write a guest blog on that topic! Guest bloggers, radio guests, etc, often get to mention their book to a wider audience, and it can really give you an edge.

  Evolve. Don’t get stale. You may think of yourself as an artist. And you want to make the art that you like, without any cares in the world. Let’s talk frankly. Vincent Van Gough was one of the most brilliant painters on the planet. But no one new it until after he died. Chances are good that you might think your art is that good, and you might think that holding on to the integrity of that art is important. To an extent, it is… but at the same time – if something isn’t putting bacon on the table – maybe it’s time to evolve. Learn what is selling, and do that. You can still do it without compromising your integrity. I’m not asking you to become a zebra if you are a giraffe – but I am telling you that if you don’t have the ability to be flexible, and to write to the market, you’ll starve. Be willing to adapt and change.

  I’d LOVE to be able to help you out with some of this. In addition to being a writer, I’m a graphic designer, web designer, and marketing gorilla (that’s the official title I’ve given myself.) You’ll see at the bottom of this page some artwork that I’ve created…. some of it with original photos from my staff photographers. Sounds pricey? I guarantee you that I can work with my team to create a book cover, a website, or a marketing piece that is TOP QUALITY with an affordable price tag. Just send me a message, and we’ll make it happen.

   

 

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